SUPERIOR, Wis. — Dog shows display the work owners put into obedience, and grooming of their furry friends. Superior brought back their 2nd annual Head of the Lakes dog show, and officials say, they’re grateful for its return.
What’s really nice about having an event here is there was none before. There were no events like this in Superior for many, many years, if ever,” said Michael Melton, President of the Head of the Lakes Kennel Club.
The dog showing business is a unique sport. There’s a large amount of preparation that goes into it. To get the dogs ready for the ring, you need to start them young.
“Our training starts at 4 weeks. We get them on the table, we get them used to being standing, being groomed, the formal show training starts around twelve weeks,” said Darry Griffin, a longtime dog show handler.
Handlers have to keep in mind common scenarios while training their dogs for these events.
“You learn everything. Every situation like thunderstorms a dog reacts differently. Just anything and everything that happens in yours and my life that changes day to day also happens to dogs,” said Griffin.
Griffin has been showing dogs now for 49 years, and he says his retirement gives him the opportunity to frequently attend shows. Even if their dogs don’t win, they still enjoy each other’s company.
“You see people not every weekend, the same people every weekend. So, people are coming from California or whatever. People are traveling from all over the United States,” said Griffin.
The sense of community flourishes within this group of people.
“The shows are over by 3-4 in the afternoon, so everybody in the motor homes, we tend to have a few adult beverages occasionally,” said Griffin.
Over the years, dog showing has had drops in attendance numbers. To help this, venues have been putting on what they call “show clusters” instead of just a one show day. Head of the Lakes Dog Show is no exception and is grateful to be putting on these four days of fun for the dog handlers.
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