Pooches on parade

The Baltimore Sun

In the eyes of longtime Great Dane breeder Joseph Alluisi, it's obvious why dogs have come to be known as "man's best friend."

"Dogs are just like humans," Alluisi, chairman of the Independence Cluster Dog Show, said. "I think they're smarter than us, to be truthful. They're very interesting. They're very loving, caring and affectionate."

Dog breeders, dog owners and dog lovers alike will convene at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship this weekend for the Independence Cluster Dog Show. The family-friendly dog show starts this morning and concludes Sunday afternoon. Admission to the event is free and parking is $3.

"It's something for children," Alluisi said. "People spend the whole day there because there's a lot there for families to see. They can spend hours and hours with their kids looking at dogs."

One hundred and fifty different breeds and 1,500 to 2,200 dogs will be at the event each day, many of them foreign to the casual canine aficionado.

"People can see breeds of dogs that they've never seen before," Alluisi said. "Most people haven't seen a Bullmastiff before. I've heard people say, 'Look at that dog! I've never seen one of those before.' There's so many different breeds there. ... I don't even know all of them."

Among the more popular breeds competing at this year's show are Australian shepherds, Burmese mountain dogs, Labrador retrievers, boxers, Siberian huskies and standard poodles.

The Independence Cluster Dog Show is an American Kennel Club-sanctioned conformation show. In conformation shows, dogs are evaluated based on how well they conform to accepted breed standards such as coat quality and color, temperament, gait and size.

The dogs are first judged as individual breeds with the Best of Breed advancing to compete against other breeds in their group classification. The seven group classifications are Herding, Hound, Terrier, Toy, Working, Sporting and Non-Sporting.

After judges determine the best show dog in each of the group classifications, the final seven dogs compete for grand champion status as the Best in Show.

Four area kennel clubs are holding their shows at the Independence Cluster Dog Show. The show dogs of the Catoctin Kennel Club compete today, while the dogs of the Northeastern Maryland Kennel Club, Upper Marlboro Kennel Club and the National Capital Kennel Club are showing tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Judging schedules can be found at the Northeastern Maryland Kennel Club's Web site, nemkc.org.

Additionally, more than 30 vendors will be on hand selling canine supplies, toys and dog food. Human food is also available for hungry visitors.

matt.vensel@baltsun.com

The Independence Cluster Dog Show runs today-Sunday at the Howard County Fairgrounds, 2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship. Show hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission is free and parking is $3. For more information, call 410-254-8426 or go to nemkc.org.

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