Portage la Prairie played host to four-legged, furry visitors from across the country on the weekend at the Canad Inns.
The Portage Kennel Club held it's annual International Dog Show from Friday to Sunday.
Show secretary Tammy Dunbar said the event was fantastic.
"We had a great turnout and some really nice dogs being shown and some great weather, so I don't know if we can ask for much more than that," she said.
Dogs and their owners came from around the country and even some from the U.S.
"We had dogs from across Canada and as far away as Texas," Dunbar said.
The event was full of spectators all weekend with club members, exhibitors and the public checking out the assorted breeds of dogs.
The weekend featured three days of obedience trials, where the dogs were put through their paces, and six specialty shows featuring a specific breed of dogs.
"This year, we had some specialties — specific shows for specific breeds — which helped bring in some more entries," Dunbar said.
About 250 dogs were shown and about 30 different breeds.
The show moved to Canad Inns from Centennial Arena last year and after two years in the new venue, Dunbar said it's part of the reason for such a strong turnout.
"It's a great venue," she said. "It's air-conditioned so for heavily coated dogs it's lovely. It has easy accessibility and the hotel is very easy to work with."Dunbar also said she hopes people come back because the Portage Kennel Club is nice to deal with during the show.
"I think we have a great club," she said. "I hope people consider us friendly. We try to accommodate our exhibitors, so I think that helps."
Sunday's show was the Portage Kennel Club's 111th show since it started 30 years ago. Dunbar said the success of the show was in thanks to the hard working Portage Kennel Club members.
"I just think it's the members of our club that are just willing to really keep giving," she said. "We're all exhausted by the end of the weekend, but for some reason we come back and do it all again the next year."
Putting on the show is also a way for Portage Kennel Club members to give back after taking part in other shows.
"We love our dogs and we like to go out and do shows in other venues that other people put on," Dunbar said, "so we give back to the dog community by putting one on here."
rthomson@cpheraldleader.com
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