This show went to the dogs

Competitors came from around the country

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Despite two days of rainy weather, hundreds of dog lovers gathered this weekend at the Brown County Fairgrounds for a chance to compete in a national dog show.

Many different breeds of dog, from poodles to German shepherds to cocker spaniels to bulldogs to Newfoundlands, were on hand as the Key City Kennel Club held its 29th all-breed show and obedience trials in New Ulm.

The show attracted many breeders, owners and handlers from around the country.

Judging began early Saturday morning and ended Sunday afternoon. Two dogs were bestowed the title of "Best In Show." making them of the eligible to compete at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club show in New York City this coming February.

Ron Schulz, show chairman, said this year's show had 750 entries initially.

All of the owners and breeders are members of the American Kennel Club. Any dog that takes best in show at an AKC show is eligible to compete at the Westminster Kennel Club.

Schulz said judges look for the dog that they think is the best example of a particular breed.

"We take the winner of each group and it pyramids down," he said.

The Key City Kennel Club last held a show in New Ulm in 1998 after the Nicollet County Fairgrounds were damaged during the St. Peter tornado. Schulz said that location was already booked for this weekend, so the show returned to New Ulm.

The show found dogs from local places like Renville, Hector, Redwood Falls, Lake Crystal, Jeffers, Gaylord, New Ulm and Nicollet competing against entries from Chicago, New York City, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Sioux Falls, Omaha, Des Moines, Mobile, Ala., Ft. Worth, Texas and two Canadian provinces.

The judging started early in the morning on both days with 10 judges examining 112 different kinds of dogs in nine different rings each day.

With each breed, males are judged before females and each sex is then separated by six classes -- puppies; 12-18 months; novices, for dogs which have never won a first prize; bred-by-exhibitor, which are shown by members of the American Kennel Club; American-bred, for dogs bred in the United States and another class for all dogs bred inside or outside of the U.S.

The first prize winners from those classes went into the winners class. The two dogs chosen from the winners class competed again and one was deemed "Best Of Breed."

When all the breeds were judged and only one dog in each breed remained, the dogs competed in one of seven groups, depending on what kind of dog they were -- sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting and herding. The seven group winners met in the final competition and one dog got the title "Best In Show."