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PUTTIN’ on the DOG at annual Canfield show
By Sean Barron
CANFIELD
It won’t be long before the Canfield Fair shows its longtime traditional side, but for now, fox terriers and French bulldogs, not Ferris wheels, dominate the landscape.
“She has coarse hair and a wet beard,” Haley Wilkins of Bowling Green said about Mia, her 1-year-old Spinoni Italiano, an uncommon breed that is the Italian version of the pointer variety and known for its hunting prowess.
Wilkins was preparing her pet for one of Saturday’s conformation competitions, which was among the events at the annual Steel Valley Cluster dog show at the Canfield Fairgrounds.
An estimated 1,979 dogs of about 153 breeds and varieties are in the four-day event, which got underway Thursday and continues from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the fairgrounds. Admission is $5 per vehicle.
The gathering features four American Kennel Club-based All-breed dog shows and obedience trials.
Entry dogs must be AKC-certified, and puppies have to be at least 6 months old to compete, organizers said.
Competitions include best-of-breed and best-of-show, and points are given based on breed and wins. An animal that earns 15 points is champion dog on record.
Roughly 40 local, regional and out-of-state vendors have set up shop, noted Paul Thomas, show chairman. In addition, more than 100 dog-product vendors are at the event.
The four entities showcasing the cluster are the Fort Steuben Kennel Association Inc. of East Springfield, Ohio; the Mahoning-Shenango Kennel Club Inc. of Youngstown; the Beaver County Kennel Club of Rochester, Pa.; and the Columbiana County Kennel Club Inc.
Wilkins entered her dog in the 12- to 18-month old class before the animal was judged on its coat and posture, among other criteria.
Accompanying Wilkins was Serena Oehlers of Toledo, who is Mia’s handler. Oehlers also brought Stella, her German wire-hair pointer.
It’s likely few spectators have gone home empty-handed because of an assortment of merchandise available to them that includes dog toys, treats and bedding, embroidered dog-themed clothing, shampoos, grooming and oral-care products, solar screens for recreational vehicles, crate pads, leashes and magnets.
All that was necessary for those who wanted to stretch the dog theme a bit was a visit with Jim Miller of Annandale, N.J., who started a business called Pawsaholic.
“People know where I am,” said Miller, whose items include handmade and hand-painted brooches, gemstone bracelets, pendants, necklaces, lapel pins, beads, handbags and car-shaped magnets – all dog-friendly, of course.
Miller, who runs the business with his wife, Pat Miller, recalled having sold his line of clothing during weekend street fairs in New York City. The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, however, caused him to move to New Jersey, where he established Pawsaholic, said Miller, who attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
“These are all good people,” Miller said of those he’s met in the Mahoning Valley, adding: “People who come to dog shows are good souls.”
A bit of legwork is required to groom and prepare the animals for their appearances in the conformation competitions, so that’s where people such as Maria Lanphier come in.
“It’s not just about looking pretty; it’s also their function,” Lanphier explained while taking a break from brushing and spraying several large, solid-white and black standard poodles.
One of the main functions of such poodles is retrieving items from water, noted Lanphier, who spent much of Saturday assisting Tim and Tracie Zeitz, both of whom are professional dog handlers.
Also, Lanphier’s mastiff dog was in a competition Friday in the cluster’s 4- to 6-month-old category, she added.