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Celebrate canines at AKC dog show this weekend.
Celebrate the love for canine companions during the 2018 AKC All Breed Dog Show at the Four States Fairgrounds both Saturday and Sunday.
Held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with shows each day, the event brings hundreds of dogs to town to compete and put their best paws forward, vying for Best in Show titles awarded at the end of each show.
The AKC All Breed Dog Show here is presented by the Kennel Club of Texarkana, Inc., which first held a dog show in 1973 after being founded in 1967. They’re celebrating their fifty-first year this year.
Annually in June, the show brings top dogs (and their handlers) to town, ones who compete for points on the circuit and have appeared in such shows as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. They follow American Kennel Club rules and also highlight the various breeds and dog groups.
“I think we have eight different rings that we’ll have set up,” said Ronald Bright, vice president for the local kennel club, adding, “There will be a champion for each day.”
Often, people will show their dogs both days. Different judges work each day. Bright said as of last notice they had 800 dogs ready to compete. For dog lovers, there’s a lot to enjoy these two days.
“It’s kind of like an elimination tournament in a basketball tournament,” Bright said about how the show proceeds with winners named for the breeds and then each of the groups (sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting, herding and miscellaneous). The judges have judged shows at famous locations like Madison Square Garden.
“It’s interesting to watch the dogs and see dogs that you don’t see every day,” Bright said, noting the AKC has introduced new breeds of dogs in recent years.
During the dog show, dogs will be shown in the ring, but elsewhere in the building dogs are being groomed and cared for under the stands. There will be roughly 150 grooming stations, said Bright. “Like going to the beauty shop,” he said. There’s also a vendor area where specialty dog products are featured for sale.
It’s a good chance for people to learn about different breeds if they’re not sure what kind they want to get, Bright said.
“It’s a good opportunity for people to really get some firsthand information about different breeds of dogs and to see them,” Bright said. Many of these breeds aren’t common, but handlers and owners can talk about them.
In addition to learning about
the breeds and seeing these dogs handle all of what’s expected of them, there’s also an economic impact.
“It’s a good deal for Texarkana. We’ve done some studies with the chamber of commerce on the number of dogs that we have—I think there’s like one person for every two dogs or something— much money that generates for Texarkana, for our community, that has an event like this,” Bright said. It’s substantial, he said.
For the dog owners it can be an expensive hobby, Bright said. “For a lot of people it’s more like a job,” he said. They’ll take motor homes and go from show to show. The dogs are expensive, too.
“Some of these dogs cost thousands of dollars for the puppies,” Bright said. “And then you have to keep them up: feed them and doctor them and take them to the vets. They spend a lot of money on what I call these little dog beauty contests.”
To see these pampered pooches competing in such beauty contests, visit the Four States Fairgrounds either day this weekend.