For immediate release: March 4, 2016 Contact: Katie Campbell • Seattle Kennel Club • 206-914-5798 • taji@ktcampbell.com
Annual Seattle Kennel Club Dog Shows coming to CenturyLink Field Event Center March 12-13, 2016
There’s something for everyone at the city’s biggest dog event of the year.
SEATTLE—We all like the new and unusual. The Seattle Kennel Club Dog Shows will serve up a bit of both March 12–13 with two newly recognized American Kennel Club breeds—the Berger Picard and the American Hairless Terrier—and a perky Miscellaneous Group breed, the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje (OK, try to pronounce that!).
The Berger Picard is one of the oldest French herding breeds; the American Hairless Terrier is a small to medium-sized, active terrier whose ancestors were bred to hunt rats and other vermin; the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje (affectionately called Kooikers) is an ancient spaniel-type breed, appearing in the works of the Dutch Masters as early as the 17th century, but brought to near-extinction during World War II, only to see their popularity spread slowly worldwide in recent decades.
From a standpoint of breed entrant popularity at the big weekend shows, the Labrador Retriever leads the way again with 41 competitors, followed in the Top 10 by the Great Dane 30, Papillon and Havanese 28 each, Australian Shepherd 25, Doberman Pinscher and Rhodesian Ridgeback 25 each, Golden Retriever 24 and Newfoundland and Vizsla 23 each.
Seattle’s most popular dog event has 1,371 entries representing 169 breeds on March 12 and 1,333 entries with 164 breeds the following day.
As usual, the shows have everything for every member of the family. In addition to the standard conformation offering, there will be junior showmanship, obedience, agility and rally.
Add to that the popular Meet the Breeds feature, where members of the public can get up close and personal with a wide array of breeds throughout both days and discuss breed maintenance, temperament and exercise requirements of each with the experts.
But the public’s opportunity for breed interaction and discussion with breeders doesn’t end there. Fifty-six breed booths will be manned with personnel to answer your questions. And, of course, the featured breeds will be there to interact with.
If you’re a dog-show newcomer and need an explainer of what you’re about see, you will want to take a guided tour led by a Seattle Kennel Club member from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. both days. These high-demand tours are limited to six guests each and perennially book solid. New for 2016 are online advance reservations for $3 per person to guarantee your spot and preferred time. https://seattledogshow.org/product/2016-show-tour-advance-reservation/ Further availability will be on a first-come, first-served basis at the club table at the front doors.
Action-packed demonstration events will feature Olympic Disc Dogs, Emerald City K-9 Freestyle Dancers, R2Agility, Ewe-Topia Herddog Training and others.
Special demonstrations this year will include national celebrity Amy, a pig that trains in obedience and agility at Family Dog Training Center in Kent; an introduction to lure coursing with puppies, featuring the Cascade Coursing Club; a University Canine Learning Academy interactive demo that serves as an introduction to clicker training.
The 140-pound Amy, owned by Lori Stock, of Frederickson (Pierce County), was named the Most Dog Like Animal in The CW Network’s World Dog Awards recently in Santa Monica, Calif. Amy and Stock traveled to the event, stayed in hotels, walked the green carpet and were honored on the nationally televised show.
Add to this array of attraction are more than 40 vendors who will be selling a wide assortment of canine products and you have another can’t-miss event for the entire family.
Show hours each day are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission is adults $14, children under 4 free, children 4-14 $7 and seniors over 62 $12. Only dogs entered in the show events will be admitted on the premises.
Show information will be updated regularly in coming weeks on the show’s web site, https://seattledogshow.org.
For more information, please contact Katie Campbell, at taji@ktcampbell.com or phone her 206-914-5798.
