The fun, however, didn’t stop there, as contests that ran throughout the weekend featured many competitions and shows.

“So each individual day is an individual event so there’s a final every evening,” Julie Engstrom, chairwoman of the show told the OBSERVER. “We have been on the Dunkirk fairgrounds since 2011, but the club has been in existence since 1948, so we’ve always been in Chautauqua County.”

The club brands themselves as being for people from all walks of life.

“We have people that have purebred dogs and we have people that have what we call your all-American breeds,” Engstrom added. “We have members that just have service dogs, but they want a social aspect, so we welcome everybody with open arms.”

The Conewango Valley Kennel Club’s annual competition was last week at the Chautauqua County Fair, Pictured at left. Jolene, a Kerry Blue Terrier is pictured at right with her handler and trainer Dana Ben Sunday at the Conewango Valley Kennel Club’s annual show. The pair came from North Carolina. P-J photos by Jo Ward

Engstrom then took time to explain how the shows work and what to expect. “Every dog show, no matter how high you go, is points,” Engstrom began. “You have your average show dog and they need 15 points for the championship and two of those wins are what they call major wins, so they have to be three points or more. Then you have dogs that want to compete at the national level and they are going for the best in show.”

Different competitions call for different costs as well. A typical show entry is $34, for puppy matches (for people who want to give showing a try) it’s $10, if you want to do just the puppy competition it’s $23. The club also gives a three-dollar price cut to people who breed their own dogs and they can enter in the breeders class.

“In the end it gives them bragging rights,” Engstrom noted. “Dog people, we have a lot of pride in our animals. It doesn’t matter if we are that pound puppy, it doesn’t matter for that dog that traveled halfway across the country for a show, everybody’s got pride and dog shows are a good way for people to show that pride.”

The Kerry Blue Terrier was Best in Show with the Reserve Best in Show going to a Great Pyrenees. The show also featured a National Owners Handler series, which is just for people that own and handle their dogs, that same Great Pyrenees won Best in Show for that segment with a Smooth Dachshund taking reserve.

Sunday’s shows included the puppy competition, the National Owners Handler series, traditional classes, competitive obedience, competitive rally and a junior showmanship competition for kids ages 9 to 18.

Owner Christine Jewell shows her Irish Setter Diego at the Conewango Valley Kennel Club’s annual show Sunday.

If people are interested in any information about the club, they have weekly classes the first, third and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. at the Den Adelsman Klub in Gerry; monthly meetings are the second Tuesday of each month at the same time. For more information please visit conewangovalleykennelclub.com or look for them on Facebook.