Top Dogs Are at Their Finest for Father’s Day Festival

How can 2,377 large and small dogs, of 138 different breeds and personality types, spend 13 hectic hours together with scarcely a snarl, snap or scuffle to mar the harmony?

Watch them in action to find out, and pick up some tips on civilizing your own pet, Sunday at the Kennel Club of Beverly Hill’s semiannual All Breed Dog Show & Obedience Trials, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

“One of the two most prestigious dog shows in the country,” according to Dog World magazine (the other is New York’s Westminster Show), the Beverly Hills Kennel Club Show is far more than an eye-blurring parade of clipped and fluffed canine pin-ups.

Families treating Dad to a Father’s Day outing will find not only 23 indoor and outdoor rings busy with the usual judging events, but daylong entertainment with live demonstrations, educational programs and 65 commercial booths.

“Our motto is top competition, entertainment and education about dogs,” kennel club spokesman Bob Rains said. “A main purpose of this show is to teach families about dogs.”

As expected for any gala associated with Beverly Hills, movie dogs will make an appearance in the “education ring,” demonstrating special tricks and learning techniques. Also scheduled in this ring are the junior handling and obedience exhibitions, designed to show young people how to raise, train and show a puppy.

For visitors with more technical questions, other experts are at hand. Want to know about diets for older dogs, or whether teeth cleaning prevents disease, or why your dog, who doesn’t have fleas, keeps scratching? Medical queries will be fielded by volunteer doctors in the “veterinarians’ corner.”

For families with disabled or blind members for whom a dog might truly be a best friend, two booths--”Canine Companions for Independence” and “International Guiding Eyes”--will tell you where to get and how to use such a dog.

Sports Arena concession stands will be open with their usual menu: hot dogs, hamburgers, tacos, peanuts, popcorn, ice cream, soda pop and beer. Parking is available.

Entrance fees (the Kennel Club is a nonprofit organization) are reasonable. Dads are $2.75, other adults are $3.50, seniors 75 cents and children 50 cents. The Sports Arena is at 3939 S. Figueroa in Exposition Park close to Martin Luther King Boulevard. For further information on judging schedules and show times, call (818) 789-8350 for a recorded message.