Canines of all shapes and sizes strut their stuff at annual Kelowna dog show

Mission Recreation Park in Kelowna was a hub of furry activity this weekend as dogs from all around North America and beyond competed for Best in Show.

The Kelowna Kennel Club’s annual event brought in close to a thousand dogs in total.

“We’ve got about 600 dogs that run per day and, out of those, there are probably around 300 that come from out of area,” said show secretary and event manager Wayne J. Davidson.

Dogs and their handlers travelled to the show from all across British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon and even as far as Japan.

The event includes confirmation, which is the beauty contest portion of the competition.

“Are they up to the quality of a standard which is established by the Canadian Kennel Club?” said one of the judges Charles Bett. “The judge’s job is to look at that standard, make sure they know the standard of all of the breeds and ensure the dog in front of them matches that standard as best as you can.”

Davidson says confirmation is basically a comparison of characteristics.

“The stronger the comparison, the higher the ranking that dog will get,” Davidson explained.

But this event isn’t just a beauty contest.

There were several other categories that non-purebred dogs could compete in.

“The scent detection, which is a new type of Canadian Kennel Club event, where they have to determine different scents in an enclosed space,” Davidson said. “There’s also the obedience competition and the rally obedience competition.”

There were big dogs, little dogs and everything in between.

As for the handlers, they also came in all shapes and sizes.

Like Kingston Beauchamp, an adorable junior handler all dressed up in his Sunday best, who was showcasing his dog Misty.

“All corgis have to have a flat back when they stand still so we make it have a flat back and we make it walk in circles, go on the table,” said Kingston.

The junior handler is hoping Misty scores some additional points for her last showing.

‘If I get two points with her today she’ll become a champion,” Kingston said.

“I like dogs a lot and I like hanging out with my dog. The show is a lot of fun.”