Print Story: All on their best behaviour on Yahoo! Canada News

Sun May 10, 7:33 AM

The Mid Canada Dog Show, which wraps up its three-day run today, will see about 600 dogs strut through the doors of Century Arena.

They are dogs of all breeds, of all shapes and sizes. Though some of the canines are quiet and shy, the majority are friendly and curious about their surroundings. Others just sit patiently when they have their hair combed and blow-dried.

Incredibly, even with all these different breeds and personalities inside the confined space of a junior hockey rink, it’s unlikely any fights will break out — at least not among the dogs.

Karen Downie used to show dogs in the United Kingdom before coming to Canada four years ago.

“Oh boy, some people go over the top. I’m surprised there aren’t more fights between the handlers,” she said with a laugh as her pooch Coda, the second-ranked Japanese Akita in the country, sat by her side at attention.

In terms of canine combat, Nancy Carkener — a dog obedience teacher from Brandon — said it doesn’t happen as often as people think it does.

“It’s more a case when an owner is sitting at ringside waiting to go in, they just let their attention wander and then all of a sudden their dog is off-leash. And then it’s in the ring with the other dogs,” she said.

Carkener, who showed her nine-month old longhair daschund Brooks yesterday, said instances of dog fights are rare and that people are generally very good about keeping an eye on their dogs.

Never seen a scrap

“I was in Saskatoon one time and a little white fluffball got loose and came into the ring,” she said. “It was some chaos there. All the handlers are pulling up their dogs so they didn’t attack the little guy. It happens.”

Just not at the Mid Canada Dog Show.

Laurie Diamond has been the chairman of the event for 44 years and he’s never seen a scrap between contestants. A former dog handler, he said with the amount of money and time spent on the animals, having a troublemaker in the mix just isn’t part of the equation.

“Remember, we’re talking about dogs that people have paid up to $5,000 for,” he said. “The training starts when they are pups. One of the things you do — and I used to train dogs — is you let the pups socialize with other dogs.”

Diamond points to that early interaction as the basis for an obedient, non-aggressive, dog.

“They occasionally get off-leash but it usually never amounts to anything,” he added. “Usually they just want to say hello.”

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