Westminster dogs: Big, small, hulking and delicate

NEW YORK -- It’s that time of year in New York City, when the beauties of the world converge in Manhattan to strut before sharp-eyed spectators looking for those excess bulges, off-center noses, over-sized ears or buck teeth.

Yes, it’s Fashion Week. But we’re not talking about those beauties. No, we’re focused on the ones at that other most stylish of events: the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which opened in suitable splendor Monday and concludes Tuesday with the coveted Best in Show award. This is the show’s 137th year. There are 187 breeds and 2,721 dogs, but this is the story of just two of them, both hometown hounds who proved their doggedness by getting here from California despite last weekend’s blizzard.

PHOTOS: Westminster Dog Show

You couldn’t ask for two more opposite dogs than Luke, a 130-pound Greater Swiss Mountain Dog from Westlake Village, and Marlo, a balletic, golden-eyed Vizsla from North Hollywood who weighs in at about 46 pounds. But they share a handler, Stephen M. Cabral of Duarte, who has been doing this kind of work for nearly 30 years and sees star quality in both of them.

So, of course, do their owners. And don’t call them masters. “Never,” Cabral said gravely.

“Our dog is a rock star,” Kenneth Fink, part of team Luke, said as the giant dog lounged placidly in his crate, his baseball-sized paws crossed in front of him. “Actually, he owns us,” said Luke’s owner, Joanne Schottinger of Westlake Villge, who is an oncologist when she’s not tending to the needs of Luke, now in his third year at Westminster.

Schottinger knows these working dogs well. She also knows the heartbreak of learning the brutal truth about when a dog is better left as a dog and not steered toward potential stardom. Some years ago, she was trotting out her other Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Strider, at shows and coming home ribbonless.

Enter Cabral, who is nothing if not honest.

He sized up Strider, a 165-pound bundle -- er, mountain -- of fur, and declared him too plus-sized for the runway. Not fat or overweight. Just huge.

“He was honest and told me I shouldn’t show that dog, which other handlers had not done,” Schottinger said.

So when Cabral plucked Luke from a litter of puppies and declared him show material, Schottinger listened. Last year, Luke, now 5, was ranked seventh in the nation in his breed. The year before he was eighth,and the year before that he was 18th.

“He’s got some age and maturity now, so he’s stronger in the ring,” said Cabral, who scouted Luke when he was just 8 weeks old. In the world of puppy-spotting, that’s just about the right age for picking a winner, Cabral said, explaining that handlers work with a set of factors they call the Puppy Puzzle.

“What you see at that age is what you get when they get older,” said Cabral, citing everything from personality -- Luke is one happy, smiling dog -- to head size, jaw placement and symmetry in color.

Luke has everything just as it should be. “He’s got a textbook perfect headpiece,” said Cabral, referring to the head size, which is large enough to fit the muscular body but not so big as to look heavy.

Cabral and Schottinger work together to keep Luke in shape. He goes hiking while wearing a small, weighted pack. He runs alongside Cabral as he bicycles. He eats healthfully, as opposed to the hoardes of reporters covering Westminster, who were devouring massive muffins and stale coffee while trying to keep track of the action going on in 12 show rings.

And to ensure nothing goes awry before the big day, Luke is driven across the country from California to New York so that he doesn’t have to fly. He clearly would not fit under an airline seat. And, Schottinger said, he could get lost in cargo.

As she and Fink kept Luke company before his afternoon turn in the ring, the sounds of the dog show were decidedly un-doggy. If there was any barking or whimpering going on -- doubtful considering the experience of these cool, calm dogs -- it was drowned out by the sound of hair dryers smoothing down or fluffing up lustrous locks of fur, and applause erupting from various rings as judges picked finalists from various breeds. Owners combed and brushed their dogs, wrapping long-haired ears in tape to prevent the frizzies.

Cathy Cline of North Hollywood didn’t have to worry about that. Marlo, or Miss Marlo as Cline often calls her, is a satiny, short-haired breed known as a Vizsla. If you’re not familiar with this breed, Cline understands. She also didn’t know what they were until she was in college and returned home for a visit.

“I heard a woof, woof, splash!” said Cline, who spotted a dog swimming in the nearby river with a stick in its mouth. A long game of fetch followed. When it was over, Cline, enamored of the dog, followed it home to learn its breed. Years later, when she had moved to California from Oregon, her father brought her a Vizsla to alleviate her homesickness.

“They’re like little people. They’re very attentive to your needs. They call them a Velcro dog because they like to be on you and around you all the time,” Cline said as Marlo sat ever-so-politely in her crate, her delicate front paws placed in front of her like a sphinx and her elegant head held erect.

Marlo isn’t just a dog of supermodel-like glamour. She is also a service dog for Cline, who is deaf in one ear and relies on Marlo to nudge her when they are out together. If Cline doesn’t hear a siren’s scream or footsteps coming up from behind, Marlo alerts her. And because Marlo is a service dog she gets to fly with Cline in the airplane, which they did Saturday -- a day later than planned -- after a snowstorm canceled their scheduled flight.

Like Luke, it’s the third time at Westminster for Marlo . She has never won her breed but has always come away with an award of merit, which is akin to an honorable mention.

This year?

“Who knows. It’s a dog show,” said Cline as Marlo gazed coolly at the passing crowds from the comfort of her pink-blanketed crate. “I’ll only be disappointed if she doesn’t show well. I treat her exactly the same whether she wins or loses.”

Spoken like a proud owner. Never say master.

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tina.susman@latimes.com