Big-time bow-wow

Two area hound dogs will face steep competition at the Westminster Dog Show with the help of a local handler.

By KATIE SEMINARA

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

Dog Show Contestants

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Two of Bob Urban’s hound dogs “have a little bit of ham in them,” he says.

That trait will favor Camilla, an American Foxhound, and Zeke, a black and tan coonhound, while competing in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden, which starts today.

Urban, 47, of Orwell in Ashtabula County, and his girlfriend, Megan Anderson, 34, of Boardman, packed up the dogs and headed to New York City on Saturday.

“They are used to traveling,” Anderson said of 2-year-old Camilla and 5-year-old Zeke.

The dogs have competed in many shows before, but both will be first-timers at Westminster.

In the dog showing realm, Westminster is considered one of the most “prestigious” of competitions, Anderson said.

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is known as America’s Dog Show.

The kennel club was established in 1877 and the same year the First Annual New York Bench Show of Dogs was hosted at Gilmore’s Garden, the forerunner of Madison Square Garden, according to www.westminsterkennelclub.org.

“Westminster’s claim to fame is that it’s the oldest [show],” Urban said.

“It’s the toughest to get in to,” added Anderson.

The show entered 1,201 dogs in its first year and now hosts about 170 different breeds, totaling more than 2,000 entered dogs. The annual show is the second-longest continuously hosted sporting event in the U.S., a year behind the Kentucky Derby, according to its Web site.

Urban has witnessed the event first-hand since 1985 and is confident that Camilla and Zeke will perform to the show's standards.

“I think we’re going with the best two in their breeds,” said Urban.

“It would be nice to win best of breed with both of them,” he said. “Whatever happens after that would be gravy.”

Urban started showing dogs at age 19 when he got his first black and tan coonhound.

“It was trial and error,” Urban said of teaching himself the etiquette of showing by reading books.

Over the years Urban has learned all aspects of showing and said, “You know who else is going to be [at the shows] and you can size up competition.”

Westminster’s competition is steep, and Camilla and Zeke will each face about 10 in their breed and then about 20 others in the hound group, if they advance, he said.

Judges look for eye coloring, ear set, shape of legs, location of the tail, among a number of other traits, Urban and Anderson said.

“It’s really the whole package,” Urban said.

“[Camilla] is as close to perfect as any dog I’ve had,” he said, not failing to mention that he knew Zeke was a champion the day he picked him from the litter.

Although both Zeke and Camilla are big dogs, not much primping is involved to get them prepared for shows.

“They are both wash and wear,” Anderson said.

Before they left for New York, the dogs were bathed and groomed, and during the show, Anderson said, she’ll use a damp towel to keep them looking competition-ready.

Urban’s trick to keep the dogs attentive in the ring is rolling up some dog food and keeping it in his pocket.

Anderson said, outside the ring “anything that squeaks” works like a charm keeping the dogs’ attention.

If all goes as planned, and Camilla and Zeke keep their attentiveness and swagger, they will compete against each other in the hound group.

In that case, both Urban and Anderson will be showing at the same time.

“She is Zeke’s designated handler,” Urban said of Anderson.

This year is Anderson’s second time at Westminster. She hopes if she gets to the ring with Zeke that he’ll stay focused.

“His dogs love him a lot,” Anderson said of Urban. “So when I’m showing them, they look for him.”

No matter the outcome of the show, both Urban and Anderson participate because they love dogs and enjoy the camaraderie at the shows.

“If you’re a dog lover, it’s just something fun to get into,” Urban said.

But the dogs have to love it too.

“The dogs that excel are the ones that like doing it, they’re not forced,” he said.

The hound group competes in today’s coverage of the 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The show will air live from 8 to 9 p.m. on USA Network and then from 9 to 11 p.m. on CNBC.