DOG DAYS OF JUNE

The 688 dogs at the A.C. Brase Arena Building Saturday were almost as quiet as mice.

These aren't just dogs. They're show dogs, and there's a difference.

"They're more disciplined," said Jackie Glastetter, an owner-handler from Cape Girardeau.

"They think nothing of seeing another dog."

The Southeast Missouri Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show was held all day Saturday. Another show involving even more dogs will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at the Arena Building.

These are the two shows the club holds every year, usually on the Father's Day weekend.

The Cape Girardeau shows are small compared to many. The Louisville show attracts 5,000 dogs every year.

Dog shows actually are more precarious for handlers than they are for dogs. "People fall in the ring. That's why the mats are there," Glastetter said.

Because the dogs in these shows come from across the U.S., many owners hire someone from the region to handle their dog in competitions. A single handler might have 15 dogs in the same show.

"It works for people who don't have the time or money to handle them themselves," says Stacy Busch, the chief steward at the show.

One woman was handling all the toy poodle entries in Saturday's show.

William Busch, Stacy's father, is the only handler in Cape Girardeau but is working at another dog show this weekend.

Picking a potential champion from a litter of puppies tricky but possible, club members say. "Sometimes you don't want the dog with the most aggressive attitude, you want one that's more passive," Glastetter said.

"But you do want a dog that has attitude," Busch said. "My dad had a nice Dalmatian but it didn't have the attitude for shows."

The winner of Best of Show receives only a trophy. Prestige and the right to advertise your dog's caliber for breeding purposes are primarily what's at stake at the show.

Glastetter's Alaskan Malamute, Baxter, has won seven of the 15 points necessary to be a champion. She's in it for the pride.

"I'll be proud to have a champion dog at home," Glastetter said.

Each breed has a standard, an array of attributes the judges are looking for. Most judges are former breeders of champions who are licensed by the American Kennel Club.

Wayne Bousek of Cedar Falls, Iowa, was judging wire terriers early Saturday afternoon. He used to breed the dogs. Bousek got his first terrier from a Humane Society shelter and went from there.

He is approved to judge all terrier breeds but said judges are more critical of their own breed. "Sometimes we're hardest on the dogs we know best."

Mary Lou McNair, the club's president, said dog shows also are a good place for prospective owners to shop for a dog -- or at least a breeder.

"That's where I got mine," she said.