Show dogs to strut their stuff

Annual AKC event this weekend

By Andrea J. Cook, Journal staff | Friday, October 19, 2007

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HERMOSA -- When he's not parading around the show ring as Champion Kyllburg's Chaos in Action, Chaos is the big white dog in a baggy T-shirt sharing Adrienne Freyer's home with 12 other American Kennel Club champions and two aspiring champions.

Currently ranked as the top komondor male in the United States, Chaos is also rated as third in all-breed competition this year.

This is Chaos's year, Freyer believes. He's reaching his peak, his hair coat catches judge's eyes, and he is in prime physical condition.

It's taken Chaos five years to grow the 15 pounds of shaggy white dreadlocks that are a breed characteristic of the komondor, according to Freyer, who bred, raised and shows the 115 pound canine champion.

Komondors originated in Hungary, where they were bred to guard sheep. They are classified as working dogs by the American Kennel Club.

Chaos is just one of the dogs Freyer is showing this weekend in three dog shows the Rapid City Kennel Club is sponsoring. Showing begins at 8 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. About 1,300 dogs are expected.

Freyer expects to show five of her dogs and a Rhodesian ridgeback named RomaRidge Badlands Shiloh for Tracie Crawford of Wasta.

Shiloh and her Rhodesian ridgeback housemates, Champion Jakona's Boxcar Willie and Izzy, a rescued ridgeback, wrestle in the living room right next to her five boys.

Unlike Freyer, who has shown registered dogs for 30 years, Crawford is new to the sport.

Willie was Crawford's first registered dog. She bought him four years ago after the family's mixed-breed dog died.

"Kids need dogs," Crawford said.

As the name implies, Rhodesian ridgebacks were bred in South Africa. Their name comes from the distinctive ridge of hair running down their backs. The ridge is a carryover from their African semi-domesticated ancestors that colonists called Hottentots.

The Crawfords liked the dogs because of their gentle dispositions despite their versatility as hunters or herders.

Willie's purchase included a contract that required Crawford to show him to championship status if possible.

"I'd never even heard of dog shows," Crawford said. Her first show was in St. Paul, Minn., where 6,000 dogs were on display.

She eventually connected with the more experienced Freyer, who knows how to get the best out of a dog in the show ring, Crawford said.

With the exception of two vizsla hound puppies -- Rocky and Red -- Chaos's housemates (including two adult female vizslas, seven komondors and a Siberian husky), all are champions under the AKC point system.

Rocky and Red have never seen a show ring but are already learning how to stand property to show off their confirmation.

Although the four hounds are crated at night and two komondors sleep downstairs with Adrienne Freyer's mother, the rest of the dogs roam free.

Stepping through a dark house can be tricky, according to Alan Freyer.

"You have to feel before you step," he said.

As a show veteran, prepping for a show is routine for Chaos.

To get ready for the show, Chaos had a two-hour bath on Thursday. The bath started with a 20-minute soak in a warm tub of water. It takes about eight hours for his hair to dry.

With the grace of a champion, Chaos calmly lopes on a treadmill to stay in shape or jumps on a grooming table.

"This is what he does," Freyer said. "Some dogs go hunting, some dogs do search and rescue. ... He's a show dog."

If you go

What: Rapid City Kennel Club Annual Show

When: Starts at 8 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 19-21

Where: Rushmore Plaza Civic Center

Admission: Free

More: Inquire about dog-show tours at the Rapid City Kennel Club trophy table near the arena entrance.

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com