Show dog: Pampered and prepped at Tradex

To the untrained eye, Louie may not be the most handsome thing.

He's a bit on the scrawny side, with spotted skin and furry black-and-white tufts here and there.

But in the world of show dogs, he's a champion.

The Chinese crested gets ready to strut his stuff in the "toy specialty" category – for dogs who have won previous championships – at Canada's largest dog show.

Louie – whose registered name is CH Yorkhouse Interview a Vampire – is among the almost 6,000 entries at the four-day fall show hosted at Tradex by the Lower Mainland Dog Fanciers of B.C.

It's the first day of the show, and JoAnn Noffsinger of Edmonton brushes the patches of fur on the pooch's legs, tail and head, and then rubs his skin with lotion.

Almost half of Tradex is taken over by the grooming area – like a huge beauty parlour for dogs. Each station is laden with supplies such as brushes, curling irons, hairspray and blow dryers.

It's almost an hour until Louie's turn in the ring.

A passerby makes a comment about his unusual appearance.

"A face only a mother could love," JoAnn laughs.

She is Louie's handler, not his owner. People hire her to show their dogs, and she's in big demand. She's been doing it since she was a young girl, and people trust her with their beloved pets.

One of them is Linda Spahr, also of Edmonton, who sits and chats with JoAnn as she preps Louie, who seems to soak up the pampering. Linda has a bad leg, and she relies on JoAnn to aptly display her champion pug, Casper.

However, on this trip, Linda has come with Krabi, a pug from Poland. Casper is in Poland with Krabi's owner.

For Linda, watching her dog compete from the sidelines is much like a nervous parent seeing her child perform on stage.

But, for now, Krabi is in a nearby cage. It's not his turn yet. The attention is on Louie.

JoAnn plants a kiss on his tiny head, as his dark doe eyes gaze up at her.

"Look at you. You're ready to go. Good job," she says, then gently picks him up and places him in his carrier for a quick rest.

Finally, it's time. JoAnn tucks a piece of chicken into the armband displaying her competition number and removes Louie from his carrier.

"Hello, handsome. Are you ready to go?"

The two trot off to the show ring, where they wait on the side for their number to be called.

They enter the ring with 12 other Chinese crested dogs – some hairless and others, called powderpuffs, with a full coat of fur – and parade for the judge, who also examines them each individually.

Louie looks like he's done this a few times before and prances confidently across the ring. JoAnn rewards him with bites of chicken in between the maneuvers, and he balances on his hind legs to receive the treat.

The judge points to the winners, but Louie is not among them. JoAnn clears the ring quickly and returns to the grooming area.

She retires Louie once more to his carrier and removes a Yorkshire terrier from one of the other cases. Mansmor Hairy Potter is adorned with a red bow on the top of his head, and JoAnn works quickly and efficiently to comb out the tangles in his fur.

It's almost Hairy's time to shine.

ALL BREEDS WELCOME

The annual all-breed dog show hosted at Tradex by the Lower Mainland Dog Fanciers of B.C. is Canada's largest show.

All dogs in the show are purebred and registered with the Canadian Kennel Club or American Kennel club.

Dogs compete against the written standard of their breed to obtain points toward their Canadian Conformation Championship.

Champion dogs can compete toward the top male and female in their breed and toward top 10 all-breed standings in Canada.

This year's Travel the World show attracted 5,656 entries mainly from across Canada and the U.S. It ran from Thursday to Sunday.

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