CANFIELD — At the end of August, the Canfield Fair will celebrate its 179th year and there will be plenty of livestock and other animals to see. But this past weekend, the fairgrounds belonged to the dogs.

The Steel Valley Cluster dog show welcomed members from four regional kennel clubs — Fort Steuben Kennel Association, Columbiana County Kennel Club, Beaver County Kennel Club and Mahoning Shenango Kennel Club — but dogs (and those who love them) came from all over the country. Champions from as far away as Michigan and California gathered to strut their stuff and enjoy one another’s company, and maybe a treat or two.

“It’s the biggest cluster of the weekend. It’s a major event,” said Heather Buehner. “It’s almost twice the size of a regular show.”

Buehner, of Berlin Township, is a local and international dog show celebrity, having won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show with a bloodhound named Trumpet in 2022.

This week, she was handling dogs for multiple breeders, including Nancy Lewine, the owner and operator of Golden Soul Dogs near Philadelphia. As the name implies, Lewine raises golden retrievers. One of her males, Bam, won his first AKC championship in his class at the Steel Valley Cluster, with Buehner handling him.

From there, it was on to the next round to compete against other champions from different groups of golden retrievers. He showed well, but could not quite advance beyond that point.

“A realistic expectation is that they showed well in the ring,” Lewine said. “That’s the first goal.”

Another of Lewine’s goldens, a female named Aura, also won the title of Winner’s Bitch, which, according to the AKC, is the nonchampion female dog (bitch) chosen by the judge as the best in its breed among all the female class dogs present.

When the class winners and other champions compete against each other, several titles emerge. The coveted prize, of course, is to win the Best of Breed ribbon. There is also the Best of Winners and Best of Opposite Sex, which is the best of the opposite sex of the winner.

Once a dog earns Best of Breed, they move on to the Best in Group and Best in Show competitions, competing against dogs of other breeds from the seven groups: sporting, hound, working, toy, terrier, nonsporting and herding. Those winners move on to compete for Best in Show.

Lewine said ribbons are not the only reason the dogs and their keepers are there, though. Much of raising a dog of any breed is about bringing out the best in the dog and perpetuating the traits expected of the breed.

“In the ring, they’re mimicking what they were bred for,” she said. “Retrieve, then come socialize with their people.”

So judges look at how the golden moves and its general social affect, along with the regular grooming and health standards like dentition and coat. She said socializing with people after retrieving the duck or other game is somewhat unique to goldens and not common to many other hunting dogs.

“We want to preserve those traits in our breed so people have the kind of golden retriever they expect,” she said.

Khaleesi was another dog trying to make a statement this weekend. She is a Finnish Laphound from Sterling Heights, Michigan. Her handler, Deana Lemire, owner of Qavvik Alaskan Malamutes in Culver, Indiana, usually competes — and often wins — with those dogs. But on Saturday morning, she was busy grooming Khaleesi, who was trying to win back some AKC champion points after a brief hiatus from showing.

The thing about females in the herding breeds, Lemire said, is that they often lose their coats at times. Without a sympathetic judge, a thin coat can cost a dog points. Lemire also paid close attention to Khaleesi’s feet.

“Finnish Laphounds need to have their feet properly trimmed. They’re not like arctic dogs (such as Malamutes) who have thick furry snowshoes,” she said. “They herd in wetlands.”

That soft coat also serves to protect them from mosquitoes, which is another problem Malamutes don’t usually have to contend with in their native environment.

The show brought Pembroke corgis and Italian greyhounds, English mastiffs, poodles, beagles, Portuguese water dogs, and a seemingly endless parade of dogs and their owners, handlers and breeders, all hoping to have a fun week, and bring home some AKC points and maybe even a ribbon or two.

Lewine and Buehner said the show has everything a dog show needs and more. There was plenty of room for kennels, enough food vendors to keep everyone well fed, and no shortage of small businesses selling collars, leashes, clean-up bags and other goods. But there were also niche services like scissor sharpening for groomers, health clinics and plenty of other amenities that make Canfield a special show.

And, in case you wondered, the winner of the cluster’s Best in Show was Jolene, an Old English sheepdog from Morristown, New Jersey.