Nanette Johnson has been showing shelties about 30 years.
On Saturday she'll enter Brew in the Augusta Kennel Club fall dog show, being held at Riverview Park. Brew was a runner-up last year.
Getting Brew ready for the show is a weeklong task, she said. In addition to exercise, she'll have to whiten his coat with a special shampoo, brush his teeth, cut his nails and other routine grooming.
Johnson plans to enter Brew in the obedience and conformation contests.
Obedience is the time for the owner and dog to shine together, she said, as the pair go through a set of exercises such as heeling.
Conformation, however, is dependent on the dog's looks.
"Dogs are judged on who comes the closest to the standard of perfection for that breed," she said.
Johnson said Brew has a winning figure, coming from an all-breed Best In Show mother and a father that was an American and Canadian champion.
"He was sort of born to be a show dog," she said.
She chose to show shelties because she thinks they are beautiful.
"They are intellectual and their looks really appeal to me," she said. "They are an easily trainable breed."
She said the hardest part to training is motivation.
"Finding out what motivates an individual dog and setting aside time to (train)," are the biggest tasks, she said. However, Johnson said, most competition dogs only need 20 minutes of training a day.
For Brew, food and applause is his motivation, she said.
"Some don't care about food, but want to chase that tennis ball," Johnson said. "You have to find ways to keep it fun for them. They have bad days just like we do."
Brew will be competing against about 700 dogs at this weekend's show. Only American Kennel Club registered dogs are eligible for the show and must be pre-registered.
Visitors to the show are asked to not bring their own dogs. Johnson said it's also not a good idea to have babies in strollers because they are at eye level with the dogs which might entice them to touch a dog, or could cause a dog to get moody. She said dogs view being stared directly into their eyes as a challenge.
Regardless of the outcome of each individual show, Johnson said, at the end of the day she still has her beautiful Brew.
"I always feel like I go home with a winner," she said.
Reach Crystal Garcia at crystal.garcia@northaugustatoday.com.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Augusta Kennel Club Fall Dog Show
WHERE: Riverview Park Activities Center, 100 Riverview Park Drive
WHEN: Practice rounds begin 6:30 p.m. Friday. The show begins at 9 a.m. Saturday
COST: Free admission and parking
INFORMATION: augustakennelclub.org
