Ruth MacDonald has made the two-day drive from Anchorage for the past 10 years to compete in the Yukon Kennel Club's dog show weekend.

"It's just my favourite show of the whole year,” she told the Star earlier this month at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre, where the 41st annual event was held.

"Compared to American Kennel Club shows, it's a really relaxed atmosphere, the dogs are all good, they're excellent examples of show dogs, but it's a little more relaxed,” she said.

This year, MacDonald was showing her white bull terrier, Mia, who's less than a year old.

MacDonald is a second-generation dog show fancier, first introduced to the circuit as a child by her aunt.

"It's a great hobby; you have a living, breathing piece of art work that lives in your home and it's really rewarding,” she said.

It's not just the showing MacDonald is fond of though, it's the whole weekend event.

"The drive over here is spectacular,” she said.

In past years, she added, she's seen "the biggest, blondest grizzly bears,” wild horses, elk and wolves on the roads.

Once in Whitehorse, MacDonald settles into her room at the Airport Chalet, where she stays every time she's in town.

Most of the people who attend the dog shows are all friends, she added, which really contributes to the experience.

"When you're looking for the best examples of sportsmanship, dog shows are really it.”

Donna Burkhart, also from Anchorage, can attest to the friendships that grow from following a dog show circuit.

"All of my friends are dog show friends,” she said, calling it her little piece of "sanity.”

This year was the 41st annual Whitehorse dog show. The weekend consists of six confirmation shows, three obedience shows and three rally obedience shows.

Both MacDonald and Burkhart entered their dogs in the confirmation category. There, they are compared against their own breed's standards to determine which is the finest specimen.

A lot of work goes into preparing for a confirmation show, and the Star received a first-hand glimpse speaking to Janine Starink as she coiffed her giant schnauzer, Abbey.

Starink applied a generous amount of mousse to Abbey's legs as she spoke fondly about her 18-month-old puppy.

The fur on the legs should be fluffy, Starink said, but "we want the body coat to lay flat.”

Abbey has competed several times since she was six months old, the age when a dog is allowed to start showing, but this was her first Yukon show.

Starink, a dog breeder from Tsawwassen, B.C., said she first thought about entering in the obedience categories when she started showing her dogs.

Abbey's not the most obedient dog, she joked, as she brought out her blow dryer.

But that's not the reason she decided to move into confirmation showing.

"I started to really appreciate the beauty of dogs. It's kind of like people, some are less fortunate, some are more fortunate and you start to appreciate the more fortunate.

"I wanted to start breeding and making the breed better,” she said.

Starink is passionate about the importance of responsible breeders, and you can tell a good one from a bad one "from a mile away,” she said.

"I have many people come to me for giant schnauzers, and I probably turn about 70 per cent of them away.”

Starink always wants to know why a person wants a giant schnauzer, and she wants to hear about more than how it looks.

"Do they know anything about the dog, have they read the books, do they know the temperament?”

A good breeder sets the right owner up with the right dog, she said, and they are available to answer questions night and day.

For those in the market for a pure bred with specific needs and temperament, Starink suggests visiting www.yourpurebredpuppy.com for the good and bad about various breeds.