SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A tail wagging event is taking place this weekend in Sioux Falls.
Paws were polished and tails wagged with excitement, for the 2024 Sioux Empire Kennel Club all breed dog show. Latisha Woods, who is the chair of the event, and her dog Ruger compete in both rally and obedience, and conformation at the show.
“It was to compare you know, like how can we improve on this breed according to the breed standards? And so that’s what’s going on on this side of the building is conformation,” Woods said.
While Ruger is a larger breed, there are seven different groups of dogs, resulting in a wide variety of breeds.
“Alice is in the conformation ring today and she is a miscellaneous breed. So meaning her breed, the Teddy Roosevelt terrier, is not yet fully recognized by the AKC. She is in the rare breed category in the miscellaneous class,” Vendor and Reserve Grooming Chair, Stephanie Oswald said.
Anywhere from 500-600 dogs will compete each day of the 4 day show.
“They look at structure, they look at teeth, their bite, sometimes color. And then we will put them up on a table because she’s the smaller dog and the judge goes over her,” Oswald said. “They’ll look at her teeth, feel her all over, check her shoulders, her knees, her tail set.”
“Obviously, there’s so much that goes into these dogs. You know, all show dogs are pets, but not all pets are show dogs. And so they take a lot of care in these dogs,” Woods said.
On Saturday morning, the show will have a Meet the Breed event
“They are on 30 minute intervals, and they are there to where people can actually come and speak to this person and get there and, you know, a lot of the dogs are going to be very friendly and they’re going to actually be able to touch them and know exactly how this dog acts. And they can ask these people all the hard questions,” Woods said.
Whether they win or lose, dogs and people alike are excited for the show.
“I love showing and competing in it. And then I get to have hands on on helping make this happen, which is very enjoyable,” Woods said.
The show started on Thursday and runs through Sunday, and on Saturday they will have a Halloween costume contest that is open to the public.
Click here for more information about the costume contest and the event.
