A DEEPER CONNECTION
AKC show provides competitive outlet for local dog lovers
Many dog owners are content with their furry friend serving as a companion on walks and a welcome presence around the house. For others, their dogs represent a passion and a pursuit for recognition of canine excellence. ♦ As the American Kennel Club National Championship presented by Royal Canin returns Saturday and Sunday to Orlando, several local competitors are busy making their final preparations before the show.♦ The competition show, held at Orange County Convention Center, hosts a variety of events — from conformation to agility to dock diving — with more than 11,000 dogs vying for recognition and titles.
A bold Beauceron
Paige Johnson’s entire life revolves around dogs. She’s the pet therapy team assistant at Orlando Health, a dog trainer at Beyond the Leash Dog Training, a committee member and treasurer for the American Beauceron Club and a volunteer with K9s Helping Heroes. When she’s not working with dogs in the community, she spends time at her Conway home with her three border collies and Beauceron named Harbin.
His full name is actually GCHB Harbin L’Amour de ma Vie CA CGC DS MXP MXJ RN TKP TT. Those letters at the end may seem like gibberish to the average person, but they’re actually testaments to the Beauceron’s accomplishments. He’s a Grand Champion Bronze in conformation, which determines how closely a dog matches the standard of its breed. Harbin is a Dock Senior in North America Diving Dogs and has a title for Master Agility Excellent Preferred. He’s passed the Coursing Ability Test, the Canine Good Citizen test and is a trick dog performer.
Johnson’s journey with dogs started at a young age.
“My passion for dogs is basically my whole life. My grandmother was an obedience judge,” she said. “I was doing agility when I was 12, so I’ve been in dog sports for a little over 20 years.”
When she started showing Harbin nearly seven years ago, Johnson found a passion for participating in dog shows and tests of agility, ability and temperament.
“I got bit by the bug and didn’t stop,” she said. “In 2016, we won the AKC Royal Canin National Championship. It was such an amazing accomplishment, I couldn’t believe it happened even after the fact.”
The Best of Breed win was especially hard for Johnson to believe when she considered the dogs Harbin was up against. Many of the other competitors traveled far and wide for shows, becoming more familiar to judges. Although the competition is stiff, she has high hopes for this year’s AKC National Championship.
“There are going to be 23 Beaucerons,” Johnson said. “Hopefully we can pull out another Best of Breed or at least Best of Opposite Sex.”
Regardless of placement, going to shows still ends up being worthwhile for people like Johnson and their four-legged companions.
“My dog loves doing things. I have made a lot of friends along the way, and we make it a big party,” she said. “A bad day at a dog show is still better than most days anywhere else.”
An elkhound dynasty
Brooke Sunderman, who lives in East Orange County, became interested in showing dogs when she got her Norwegian elkhound, Kuma, more than 17 years ago.
While he wasn’t close enough to an elkhound’s breed standard to be shown in AKC’s conformation events, he did participate in agility competitions.
After Kuma, her elkhound Nikita participated in agility and conformation. Another one of Sunderman’s dogs, Cinder, excelled at agility. Then along came Vinden, her Norwegian elkhound who’s now 7.
Technically, his full name is AM/INT CH Hestsko’s Chaotic Storm AX AXJ OF RATN CGC. Vinden is a champion in AKC conformation events (both American and international), and he has titles ranging from Agility Excellent to Novice Barn Hunt, Canine Good
Citizen and Excellent Agility
Jumper.
While a dog’s performance can be attributed to training and upbringing, Sunderman said she’s also been fortunate to own highquality canines.
“I’ve had very good quality dogs that are worth being in the ring,” she said.
Similar to Johnson, Sunderman is a casual competitor in shows and goes to about four per year. But shows like the AKC National Championship are worth it not just for the opportunity to compete, but also the fellowship that comes with being at a dog show.
“It’s a very fun, busy week that I get to hang out with people that I don’t get to see all the time,” Sunderman said. “Other elkhound people come, so I get to see the other dogs and visit with people. So it’s always a good event.”
Ridgeback on the road
Dog shows have been a large part of Matt Coughlin’s life for almost a decade. Nine years ago, he got a dog from a breeder, and after going to a few shows, he was hooked.
Rooney, a nearly 3-year-old Rhodesian ridgeback, is a dog Coughlin bred. She’s already gained some recognition in AKC conformation and lure coursing events.
Her full name is GCHS CH Bindura’s Breaker of Chains SC FCAT, which makes Rooney a Grand Champion Silver, a Senior Courser and shows she’s earned more than 1,000 points in Fast CAT events, which test a dog’s speed.
“I think we are currently ranked number 16 for Rhodesian ridgebacks in the country. And in the owner-handler series, we finished ranked at number five,” said Coughlin, an Orlando resident and native Floridian. “She’s the only female invited to Royal Canin this year to compete in the national championship ownerhandler series.”
Joined by Rooney and his wife, Denise Eberhard, Coughlin estimated he spends 35-40 weekends per year on the road traveling to local and out-of-town shows.
In addition to showing their ridgeback, they both serve as judges in lure coursing events. Coughlin is also the president of the Sunshine State Rhodesian Ridgeback Club.
He said Rooney has come to love shows as much as her owners.
“Rooney really enjoys showing. We also do a lot of lure coursing — a simulated rabbit hunt — which is her favorite thing to do,” he said. “But she very much enjoys the show and has since we took her in the ring for the first time when she was 6 months old. She’s all business in the ring.”
Even though Rooney and her family have enjoyed success in AKC events, the titles are only one reason behind dedicating so much time to this lifestyle.
“We continue to show dogs because we very much enjoy being with our dogs doing dog sports,” Coughlin said. “We’ve seen probably 40 states in the country by traveling to dog shows. So it gives us a reason to get out and go see things with our friends and enjoy our animals.”