Dog show marks Crocus Obedience and Kennel Club’s 50th anniversary

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This article was published 20/02/2018 (3024 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Half a century later and with dozens of dog shows under its belt, the Crocus Obedience and Kennel Club had many reasons to celebrate.

Over the long weekend, the club marked its 50th anniversary with its annual dog show in the Canada Room at the Keystone Centre.

Hundreds of dogs were on full display over the three-day event, competing in a range of classes from obedience trials to best in show.

“It’s quite an accomplishment,” said Brenda McKague, the club’s longest active member.

McKague has been involved with the Crocus Obedience and Kennel Club since 1974 when she brought her miniature schnauzer in for obedience classes.

As a non-profit organization, the club has managed to host successful dog shows throughout its history, despite the fact that most events are run by private businesses.

“For a club to be active for 50 years is tough,” McKague said.

The club can trace its roots back to couples Joan and John Svenson, and Diane and Glen Numbers, who founded the Crocus Obedience Club in 1968.

Glen served as a captain at CFB Shilo and for its first few years, the club offered training classes on base.

The club switched to its current name in 1970 and held its first shows and trials the following year.

In 1973, members Earl and Betty Wesselman built the Brandon Boarding Kennel on a piece of land about five kilometres west of Brandon and sold the surrounding three acres of property to the club for $1.

The club would later add an H-hut bought from CFB Shilo and undertake a number of renovations to the property — adding a kitchen and bathrooms, and installing a fence and parking area.

The Crocus Obedience and Kennel Club incorporated under the Corporations Act of Manitoba in 1977.

At Saturday’s show, Brandonite Louise Templeton was seen alongside her three-year-old Papillon Cash in the obedience trials, a competition where entrants are graded based on how well their dogs walk and respond to calls.

The event was Templeton’s first obedience competition in five years and the eight-year dog show veteran said she was nervous going into it.

But by the end of Saturday’s showing, Templeton and Cash came out on top with the highest score.

“Makes me want to go do it again right away,” Templeton said after the win.

Meanwhile, outside the conformation pen, Donna Bernier waited as her dog Wyatt got a quick haircut before his next event.

The four-year-old Australian shepherd won best of breed earlier in the day and was scheduled for a group competition shortly after.

“I love the sport, I love the people, I love being around the animals,” Bernier said.

Bernier, who was born and raised in Brandon and currently lives in Hamiota, has been showing Wyatt since he was six months old and has worked with his particular breed for approximately 15 years.

This weekend marked her 10th appearance at the Crocus Obedience and Kennel Club Dog Show. “They create a great environment for us and they’re very helpful and supportive,” she said.

The dog show focused on three competitions — obedience, rally and conformation — but McKague said the field of dog sports has grown to include events such as agility, flyball, disc dog, barn hunt and scent detection.

To train a dog successfully in any category requires a great deal of time and because of this, McKague said the number of competitors in traditional events such as obedience and conformation have dropped.

But McKague wasn’t worried about the expansion in dog sports and said each dog is good at different things.

“It gives people more choice,” she said, “so I think it’s a good thing personally.”

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