Hundreds of dogs compete at McKinley Kennel Club dog show in Canton
CANTON — Gideon, a 2-year-old smooth-coat collie from Nimishillen Township, exuded confidence that he had won.
He easily aced the test where a judge he did not know held his leash to see how he would respond to being near a stranger.
Gideon stayed still and calm for the required minute during the farm dog competition at the Stark County Fairgrounds on Saturday morning.
"He's a show dog," said his co-owner Brianna Stevens of Louisville, adding that she hopes to eventually train the farm dog to herd sheep. "He's used to being handed off. ... He has an A form."
More: Gone to the dogs? McKinley Kennel Club's annual show taking place at the fairgrounds
But every farm dog entrant had to exhibit confidence on different surfaces commonly found on a farm and keep their cool around farm animals and other dogs.
"He did good except he peed on the hay bale," Stevens said, adding that this didn't cost Gideon in the pass/fail farm dog competition.
Gideon was one of roughly 670 dogs who competed in a variety of categories at the McKinley Kennel Club dog show at the county fairgrounds Saturday. The club was set to hold a separate dog show with about 660 dogs on Sunday.
Judges from around the country evaluated dogs for appearance, structure, movement, obedience by breed, at times by age and across many types of competition. The show was to culminate in the selection of a best of show dog by late Saturday afternoon.
Chester, a 3-year-old brown German Shorthaired Pointer, passed the farm dog tests including being able to handle being around ducks and a goat.
His owner, Linda Lombardy of New Franklin, said Chester had some fear of the ducks and goat and stayed away from them.
Dog contest has more entrants this year
In the conformation competition a couple of buildings away, well-dressed dog handlers were moving with the dogs by leash in rings as judges observed how well the dogs moved.
Diana Garcia, the McKinley Kennel Club's chair, said the dog show this year has roughly 100 more dogs than last year after not taking place in 2020 due to the pandemic.
"All breeds should be well-behaved at dog shows. They are supposed to be friendly, approachable by strangers," Garcia said. "These dogs are brought up in home environments. They get good socialization. Good training. They're good representations of their breed. ... Purebred dogs. We want people to know that well-bred purebred dogs are a joy to own. You just have to know which breed suits you."
At the south end of the confirmation competition building, a large number of poodles, toy poodles and small dogs were leashed to grooming stations as they awaited their turn to compete in the ring. Judge Karen McFarlane then examined them carefully and watched the handlers lead them on a leash around the ring.
In the papillon competition in Ring 5, Keegan, a 14-month-old brown and white Papillon, won the round, garnering him a point toward the 15 points he needs to become an American Kennel Club champion. Keegan did not advance toward a best of group or best of show contention.
His owner, Jack Sirkoch, said getting the point was well-worth the drive from Butler, Pennsylvania.
He said his dog's results depend entirely on a judge's subjective judgment. Some judges weigh movement over appearance and for others, it's the opposite.
Obedience competition among challenges for dogs
Jeff Liddicoat of Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, said his 6-month old white husky-like Samoyed dog, Oroblanco Storm, placed fourth in her puppy competition.
"It's just that judge's opinion," he said. "If she judged them tomorrow, she might place differently."
During the obedience competition in an adjoining building, Dev Milo of Mentor was happy that her poodle, Indi Tsu, had through her third-place showing advanced to open status. One of the tests was to stay still standing and lying down for a minute at a time.
"She loves to play," said Milo. "She can stay still longer than that."
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.
Correction: Dogs competed in the conformation competition at the McKinley Kennel Club dog show Saturday. An earlier version of this article gave the wrong spelling for conformation.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: McKinley Kennel Club holds 2022 dog show at the Stark County Fairgrounds
