600 Dogs Compete in Annual Dog Show in Farmington

All dog owners think they have the best dog in the world, and none are wrong, except perhaps at a dog show. 600 dogs from across the country vied to look and perform their best, when the Durango Kennel Club presented its annual American Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show at McGee Park in Farmington. You're watching the Local News Network, brought to you by Ute Mountain Casino and Servicemaster Restore. I'm Wendy Graham Settle. Dogs and their handlers, owners, and judges traveled from across the United States to attend the annual four-day event.

Last year, we had a show in October, and due to COVID, we were down quite a few dogs in the way of entries, meaning fewer dogs and fewer people. This year, we're back to almost our pre-COVID numbers of between five and 600 dogs each day here at McGee Park.

Four shows were held each day, in such categories as obedience and rally trials, confirmation, and best in show competitions. Dogs are judged by how well they can perform their job.

We want dogs that are sound, which means they can move good, and their legs are straight. We look for level top lines, so not bouncing all over the place. Because if you get a working dog, and they don't have a nice strong top line, they break down and they can't do their job. And so we want each breed to represent what they should look like for the job that they're supposed to do.

All breeds are in top form.

This is Trigger, champion Dar Rich, Janice has pulled a Trigger. His group placing multiple best of breed winner. He's a puppy. He's about 10 months old, and he is currently number nine in the US. He weighs about six pounds. He's 10 and a half inches tall.

And what kind of a breed is it?

This is a toy fox terrier.

One breed's lineage originated in ancient Peking China. Its purpose was to accessorize stylish nobility, sometimes referred to as the sleeve dog.

It's the oldest pure breed dog in the world, it's the pekinese.

Wow.

3000 years old.

Tim and his pekinese, Huey, from Idaho, won best in the toy dog category. After 42 years of operation, Durango Kennel Club's best show might have been the one in 2022.

We have happy exhibitors, we have happy dogs, happy and beautiful dogs. And we're very happy to be in New Mexico. We have had a lot of comments about this show site, how lovely it is, how people look forward to coming back here every year. And they'll be back again next year.

For more information, go to durangokennelclub.com. Thanks for watching this edition of the Local News Network. I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

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