The Heart of Iowa Kennel Club will hold two American Kennel Club All-Breed and Obedience shows on Sept. 12-13 at the Central Iowa Fairgrounds in Marshalltown.

According to Show Chair, Shelley Barron, “Although the Westminster Dog Show or the National Dog Show which is televised on Thanksgiving are considerably larger, our shows follow the same procedures and American Kennel Club rules and guidelines. Our judges may have judged at those shows and we have should top dogs that are nationally ranked. Our judges come from Maine, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky.”

Each day of the weekend is considered a different show for exhibitors and there are more than 400 entries each day. These dogs will come from all over the United States and often from other countries. Top winning dogs in breed, obedience and rally will be strutting their stuff at these shows.

Breed competition involves judging individuals of a breed against the judge’s idea of the perfect representative of that breed. There are more than 103 breeds or varieties scheduled to compete, from Airedale Terrier and American English Coonhound to Yorkshire Terrier and Xoloitzcuintli. The breeds with the most entries are the Golden Retriever, Siberian Husky, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Airedale Terrier, Pekingese, Yorkshire Terrier and Miniature American Shepherd.

Some of the less common breeds expected to compete are the Bracchi Italiani, Sussex Spaniel, Scottish Deerhound, American English Coonhound, Treeing Walker Coonhound, Black and Tan Coonhound, Xoloitzcuintli, Miniature Bull Terrier, Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, Welsh Terrier, Tibetan Mastiff, Japanese Chin, Tibetan Terrier, Chinese Crested, Briard, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, American Water Spaniel, Belgian Sheepdog, Beauceron, Danish-Swedish Farmdog, Basenji, Havanese, Border Terrier and Cane Corso.

The “C” in AKC may not stand for cute, but the beginner puppy competition has loads of cute. The 4-to-6 Month Beginner Puppy Competition is a low-stress, mini-dog show designed to introduce young puppies to the ring. Fifteen puppies from the following breeds, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Golden Retriever, English Setter, Alaskan Malamute, Great Dane, Siberian Husky, Rat Terrier, Pekingese and Cardigan Welsh Corgi will compete for Best Puppy.

Thirty dogs will compete in 12 obedience classes. Most spectators will recognize many of the basic commands taught in beginning obedience classes such as sit, stay, come, down and stay. Advanced competition includes these basics plus directed jumping, directed retrieves, off-leash heeling and scent discrimination. Rally obedience has the handler and dog following a specific course with signs indicating the obedience exercise to be completed. Thirty-six dogs will compete in the eight rally classes. The AKC allows mixed-breeds known as” All Americans” to compete in rally and obedience and to win titles.

There are eight boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 entered in junior showmanship where the handler is judged, not the dog; similar to 4H and FFA competition. These junior handlers train, groom and present their dogs in the best possible manner in each of the four classes and the winner of each class competes for Best Junior Handler. Some of these handlers may also be competing with the adults in regular breed competition.

Judging begins at 8:30 a.m. each morning and will run until 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. No unentered dogs are allowed in the show buildings. Spectators should be aware of their surroundings, especially regarding strollers and children and remember that many of exhibitors may have spent an hour or more grooming their dog, so please ask before meeting the dog. Many exhibitors show more than one dog or might be in different classes and may be pressed for time.

There will be a raffle featuring dog products such as grooming and training supplies, toys and treats, leashes, dog food, supplements and other supplies, even some things for cats. Books, stuffed toys and stickers will make up baskets for kids. The money from the raffle will support the dog show and be used to purchase supplies for the Marshall and Tama County 4H dog projects. Also on site are vendors of dog supplies including scissors and scissor sharpening and fleece dog products. Clare’s Tenderloins food truck will be available for lunch on Saturday and Holy Grounds food Truck will be on site for breakfast and lunch on Sunday.

For more information on the shows or the club contact Barron at 641-750-2862 or skycutter@heartofiowa.net.