Dogs show off at AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in Long Beach
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The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship dog show, held over the weekend at the Long Beach Convention Center, attracted conformation show dogs and highly trained obedience and agility dogs from around the country.
Winning the conformation competition -- in which dogs are judged by how closely they conform to the standard of perfection for their breed -- was Ch. Propwash Reckon, an Australian shepherd from New Hampshire who goes by Reckon for short. (The ‘Ch.’ stands for ‘Champion,’ a title bestowed on show dogs who have won a set number of points competing against other dogs of the same breed.)
Reckon emerged from the herding group to beat Scout, a German wirehaired pointer from the sporting group; Chanel, a whippet from the hound group; Lady Bug, a Portuguese water dog from the working group; Adam, a smooth fox terrier from the terrier group; Malachy, a Pekingese from the toy group; and Drummer, a bichon frise from the nonsporting group.
The show’s highly competitive AKC National Obedience Invitational was won by High Times Ris’n Above the Tide, a golden retriever from Nebraska whose nickname is Buoy and whose full name contains many fancy-sounding titles, including Obedience Trial Champion (OTCh).
The AKC Agility Invitational is divided into categories by height, with a Pomeranian named Popeye winning the 8-inch division; a poodle named Lilly winning the 12-inch division; a border collie named Vixen winning the 16-inch division; a Labrador retriever named Scarlett winning the 20-inch division; and a Weimaraner named Booster winning the 24-inch division.
Of course, arguably the biggest story of the show happened outside the convention center: Four show dogs -- two Akitas and two Pembroke Welsh corgis -- were stolen along with their handlers’ van from a motel parking lot just days before the show. All were later found, and an investigation is ongoing.
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-- Lindsay Barnett