Dogs show their stuff

If indeed every dog has its day, this was it.

More than 60 dogs took part in the inaugural Pooch Party competition Saturday at the Lions Dog Park on London Bridge Beach. The event, which concludes today, features 25 categories, including cutest puppy, fastest eater, most obedient and best kisser.

Organizers expect the event to draw several hundred people throughout the weekend. The event's coordinator Maureen Sieker was pleased with Saturday's turnout.

“We got a great variety, and there's some absolutely awesome dogs down here,” she said. “This is all about fun. It's all about the dogs, that's it.”

Asked who was having more fun - the dogs or the dog owners - she said, “I don't know. That's a toss up.”

Sieker came up with the idea for the event after watching the TV show “Nuts for Mutts.” But she made sure her contest was less rigid than the Animal Planet show. Unlike “Nuts for Mutts,” the contest is open to all dogs.

“I didn't want it to be that restrictive. We just asked that they not bring a dog that was in heat,” she said. “It's all about fun categories. Best tail wager, I mean come on, anybody can win that one.”

Martine Colette was one the judges. She runs the Wildlife Waystation in Southern California. This was her first time judging a dog contest. She said she was nervous at first.

But once the contests began, “it all of a sudden became apparent of what it is you're judging. Each dog just fits,” she said.

The cutest puppy category was the most difficult to judge because they were all cute, she said.

“You change (your mind) a lot. You look at this one and it looks wonderful. Then the next one comes along and it looks wonderful. So there are some difficult decisions,” she said.

Others such as Tom and Marti Londo came for the atmosphere. They said their golden retrievers Maggie and Zoie were too old for the competitions.

“They'd just look at me like, ‘You want us to do what?' ” Marti said of trying to get them to do tricks.

Tom and Karen Crager stood not far from the Londos. They said their golden retriever River won a dog competition before, but they came for the social atmosphere instead of the contests.

“I think it's great. They're doing a great job,” Karen said. “It's good for him and it's fun for us.”

Michael Hays contributed to this article. You may reach Tony Raap at raap@havasunews.com