Valley College to Host Weekend Dog Show

Jumping through hoops and appearance are just two of the criteria that will be used to judge more than 2,000 dogs when Valley College hosts the Burbank Kennel Club Championship Dog Show this weekend.

“Besides just the ‘beauty contest,’ they will also tackle agility courses,” said Marilyn Mayfield, president of the Burbank club. “They run through tunnels and across things, through loops and down slides and are timed.”

Different winners from each of the canine groups and a best in show will be chosen on Saturday and Sunday. Competition is conducted in seven groups--herding, hound, nonsporting, sporting, terrier, toy and working--with the winner of each group competing for best of show.

Along with the traditional dog show and agility course, dogs will compete in a fly-ball contest, in which teams of dogs participate in a relay race to retrieve a ball. And Alaskan Malamutes will do what they do best, haul weighted sleds in a tractor-pull-like competition to see which can tug the largest load.

But not everything will be for the dogs this weekend. Food and drink vendors will provide refreshments. Celebrity impersonators will be on hand to entertain. And when the heat becomes too intense, organizers invite people to take a break under one of the many shade trees or in a tent hooked up with a misting machine.

Although there will be dog shows for specialty breeds today, the event will not be open to the general public until Saturday and Sunday in Monarch Quad at the college, 5800 Fulton Ave. Gates open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.

Tickets cost $5 for general admission, and $3 for seniors and children 12 and younger. Parking costs $5. Only dogs preregistered for the competition will be allowed on the grounds.