Dog shows prove addictive for owners and their furry charges BRIAN MCINNIS The Guardian

Dawn Tufts grooms Logan, her Airedale, before he goes into the show ring during the Island Dog Club show in Charlottetown on the weekend. Guardian photo by Brian McInnis

Dogs figure in many expressions — the dog days of summer, dog-eared or maybe the golf term of a dog leg, but an addiction at first glance does not seem an appropriate reference to dogs until you attend a dog show.
Amid the portable kennels, cages, tables and cases filled with all sorts of grooming items, dog owners and breeders happily feed their addiction as their furry charges bark, yelp or just sit quietly as they are primped to perfection because soon they will be strutting their stuff in the show ring.
This all-breeds show was at the Charlottetown Civic Centre and hosted by the Island Dog Club on the weekend.
One of those self-professed addicts was Dawn Tufts of Halifax who was interviewed as she groomed her Airedale terrier named Logan.
“It’s very addictive once you start,” she said in reference to showing her dogs. “It’s enjoyable and you meet great people and make great friends and you get to be with your dogs.”
Tufts said the dogs like it. Her Airedale loves to perform “and loves the sound of applause and loves the attention.”
Lest some think Logan is a pampered show dog, Tufts said that is the farthest thing from the truth. When he is not in the ring, he “tortures the squirrels around home because he is a house dog and he lives in the house.”
All those dogs at the show have to be judged and one of those is Dr. Everett Mincey of Langley, B.C., who began breeding Airedales in 1970.
“We had a 30-some-year career in Airedales, some standard poodles and miniature dachshunds since and once you start in the dog world one of the ways of carrying on without being a breeder is to get into judging. Both my wife and I like to judge and have judged internationally and on all six continents.”
Mincey began his career with Airedales, but now judges all breeds.
“It takes about 15 years to become all breeds because you add a few breeds at a time and an old joke we use is that it takes longer to become a dog judge than it does to become a neurosurgeon.”
He said the Canadian Kennel Club requires judges be a breeder for at least 10 years, have so many champions, take exams and work their way up to all breeds. When judging, he looks for a dog with the image, outline and appearance that fits the breed standard.
“Every breed has a breed standard and in Canada I think there 170-some breeds, but worldwide there are approximately 400 breeds so we are required to know the breeds standards so we try to judge according to the standards.”
The show comes together because of the breed standard, fitting and confirmation. Some breeds require grooming which some people can do better than others “and you need to get all that together to have a top winner,” Mincey said.
One of the goals of the Canadian Kennel Club is to preserve the breeds into the future.
“Look at all the breeds of dogs and they were all originated by humans and their ideas. The various breeds did not just happen in nature and so we certainly want to preserve the breeds’ instincts, characteristics and behaviour as much as possible.”