Peering Into the World of Dog Shows

In 2013, over 22 million people tuned in to watch National Dog Show Presented by Purina on their television on thanksgiving day. Over 2 million people tuned in to watch the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog show in 2014 on CNBC and USA. These televised dog shows draw huge numbers of viewers and is loved by many, possibly because of the love they have for their own furry friend.

However, the sport of dog shows isn’t just the shows we see on TV. These dogs and people work very hard to get to the shows that are nationally televised. The journey is long and sometimes expensive, as is the sport of AKC dog showing.

The American Kennel Club was established in 1884, where its only competition was confirmation shows. This judges the dog purely on its appearance and structure, and essentially confirms that the dog is good breeding stock. Confirmation as a sport itself has evolved into a somewhat glamorous sport, one that includes professional handlers.

Stephanie Hentschel, 22, of Midland, Michigan has been showing dogs for 11 years and recently became a professional handler for confirmation shows.

“My favorite part of dog shows is the fact that you’re always still learning. Every dog is different,” Hentschel said.

She travels to dog shows in the midwest almost every weekend, and brings along a mixture of her own dogs and “client dogs.” Client dogs are owned by others that pay the professional to handle them at shows. Sometimes the client dog lives with the handler, sometimes it gets dropped off or picked up on the way to the show.

At the Ingham County Kennel Club show in Lansing, Michigan on Nov. 27 Hentschel had 14 dogs with her in her rig, a motorcycle motorhome transformed into a traveling dog kennel. When asked about money, she said that showing dogs professionally doesn’t make a ton of money, but enough for her to breed and show her own dogs.

Stephanie Hentschel praises a Shar-Pei, one of many dogs she showed at the Ingham County Kennel Club on Nov. 27, 2015 in the MSU pavilion in Lansing, Michigan. Hentschel has been showing dogs for 11 years, and has recently became a professional handler where she take client dogs to shows nearly every weekend. “My favorite part of dog shows is the fact that you’re always still learning. Every dog is different,” Hentchel said.

Karen Warncke grooms a havanese that she bred at the Ingham County Kennel Club on Nov. 27, 2015 in the MSU pavilion in Lansing, Michigan. She has been showing and breeding dogs for three and a half years and got started when her friend who owned havanese introduced her to the sport. “I wanted to show people how beautiful my dogs are. It’s a lot of hard work and I’m very proud of them,” Warncke said.

Erin Myers, left, chats with a fellow dog shower at the Ingham County Kennel Club on Nov. 27, 2015 in the MSU pavilion in Lansing, Michigan. She has been showing dogs for over 25 years, and say it’s been a family sport. Her grandmother used t o breed dogs. “I love the dogs and the comrodery with friends. These aren’t my dogs, we’re just helping out a friend,” Myers shared.

Melanie Rock runs through an agility course with her border collie at the Ingham County Kennel Club on Nov. 27, 2015 in the MSU pavilion in Lansing, Michigan. She started off showing horses, and now shows and trains dogs for agility competitions. She has had 5 dogs that she has explicitly trained and shown for agility in the past ten years. “You’ve got to let the dogs think that they’re always right so they have a good time,” Rock shared.

Ray Cash grooms a Chinese crested powder puff that he bred before going into the ring at the Ingham County Kennel Club on Nov. 27, 2015 in the MSU pavilion in Lansing, Michigan. He has been showing dogs for twelve years, but originally started off showing miniature horses. He transitioned into dog shows when you became a groomer to pay loans for very school. “I love being a handler. The comradery, dogs and people. There are nice and not so nice people in this sport, but I just kill them with kindness,” Cash shared.

Lianna Frazer, who has been involved in dog shows for 20 years, holds her black and white basenji at the the Ingham County Kennel Club on Nov. 27, 2015 in the MSU pavilion in Lansing, Michigan. When asked why she enjoys dogs shows she replied, “The dogs, for these guys. I do it for these guys.”

Sue Wyglendowski from northeast Ohio trims the whiskers of Tobey, a shetland sheepdog before the Ingham County Kennel Club on Nov. 27, 2015 in the MSU pavilion in Lansing, Michigan. “I love the relationships. Even if I don’t own the dog, it’s always special. This boy likes to jump up in bed at night and licks my neck to say goodnight,” Wyglendowski shared.

Sue Travis smiles as her portuguese water dog as he jumps on her lap at the “meet the breeds” event at the Ingham County Kennel Club on Nov. 27, 2015 in the MSU pavilion in Lansing, Michigan. “I’ve been in the dog show world since I was 20. The dogs can tell when they do well, they really can. I love seeing their enthusiasm,” Travis shared.

The sport of dog shows doesn’t stop there. Obedience, introduced in 1936, is a competition that tests the dogs training. From there, other events evolved. By the 1980’s obedience trials, field trials, coonhound events, and hunting tests were established. In 1998, agility, was introduced. This popular sport tests a dogs fitness, responsiveness and training by running through a course of obstacles including jumps, weave poles, and tunnels.

Melanie Rock has been showing dogs in agility for the past ten years. She originally started the sport when she was looking for something to do doing the winter, when training her horses for shows was slowing down. Now she has trained 5 of her own border collies for agility and is a trainer for other people’s dogs as well.

“You’ve got to let the dogs think they’re right so they have a good time,” Rock shared.

If there’s a consensus on why people enjoy the sport of dogs shows, its definitely because they love the time spent with dogs, and love seeing them happy.

“I love the relationship. Even if I don’t own the dog it’s always special,” Sue Wyglendowski, a professional handler shared. “This boy likes to jump up in bed at night and licks my neck to say goodnight.”

Photo Credits

Top Dog breeds in the US

Are you a “Dog Person?”

From the American Kennel Club Gazette: Learning How to Evaluate Dogs: a Four Part Approach

According to the American Kennel Club “Developing an eye for assessing dogs is like any other skill. You need basic understanding of what you are looking at, and then you need practice. The more you train your eye to look for variations, good and bad, the better you will become at evaluating a dog or group of dogs.” 

Read the Article for more insight to the world of Dog Shows.

 

Where in Michigan are Dog Shows Held?

Ever wonder where Dog shows are held through out the state of Michigan? Here’s a map of the AKC dog shows being held in Michigan from Nov. 2015 through May 2016.

Flipping Again: Starting the CMU Club Gymnastics Team

For Morgan Taylor, starting the CMU Club Gymnastics Team is more than just a chance to flip again, but a chance to say goodbye to the sport she loves. In high school, Morgan broke her back and her gymnastics career stopped abruptly. Now, after months of planning, she and two others started a CMU Gymnastics club that will start competing in the spring of 2016, giving her and other gymnastics lovers a chance to practice and compete with in the sport they love one more time before saying their final goodbyes.

Volunteers spook students and Mount Pleasant visitors at Legends of the Dark Tours

CMU’s “Legends of the Dark” tour fundraiser hosted by Trout Hall celebrates it’s 20th year raising money for local charities on Oct. 21 through Oct. 23, 2015. Volunteer tour guides and scarers took students and Mt. Pleasant community members on a tour around campus to learn of the ghostly tales of Central Michigan University at the event.

The National Day on Writing

The Writing Circle celebrated National Day on Writing with chalking, a nine hour writing marathon and thought banner in the Writing Center on Oct. 20, 2015.

Maye Zerull, co-President of Writing Circle, dresses up as a ‘oxford comma’ in front of Anspach Hall for the National Day on Writing on Oct. 20, 2015.

 

Lake City graduate student Carrie Prolega chalks the sidewalk in front of Anspach Hall for the National Day on Writing on Oct. 20, 2015.

 

Illinois graduate student Meagan Blacker chalks the sidewalk in front of Anspach Hall, despite the rain, for the National Day on Writing on Oct. 20, 2015.

 

Lexington graduate student Abigail Hollingsworth, co-president of Writing Circle, begins her shift of the nine hour writing marathon as part of National Day on Writing on Oct. 20, 2015.

 

Lexington graduate student Abigail Hollingsworth, president of Writing Circle, begins her shift of the nine hour writing marathon as part of National Day on Writing on Oct. 20, 2015. Participants were allowed to read only the previous page of the story before adding their own section during the marathon that started at 9 a.m. and ends at 6:30 p.m.

 

A thought banner for The National Day on Writing is written on a white board in Anspach 154 on Oct .20, 2015. Anspach 154 is also one writing center on campus, where student consultants collaborate with other students to improve aspects of their writing.

 

Notes and snacks left for participants in the nine hour writing marathon located on the fourth floor the writing center in the Charles V Park Library on Oct. 20, 2015.

Destined to Drum

Jacob Elliott, a Central Michigan University Astronomy major, has had a passion for drumming from a young age. With over seven years of drumming experience he is now the section leader of the Marching Chippewas drumline.

An Introduction

I am a Central Michigan University student majoring in biology and photojournalism. This unique combination of passions had lead me to many places filled with incredible opportunities, and a unique look at journalism as a study.

This summer I had the opportunity to intern for Alaska National Parks. I wrote 2 blog posts for Katmai National Park, one about collaring brown bears and the other about brown bear observations, and made multiple photo and video packages for a number of parks and affiliations.

This job in particular fueled my passion for scientific photojournalism. I welcome you to follow me in my journey to share the stories of scientists across the world.