Newton Kennel Club celebrates 75 doggone years

LAFAYETTE — Want to learn how to champion your dog? There's a club for that.

The Newton Kennel Club is about to celebrate 75 doggone years dedicated to the promotion of the pure-bred dog. The club was incorporated in August 1939 and remains the only American Kennel Club recognized all breed group in all of Sussex County though there are other specialty breed groups in the county. Today the Newton Kennel Club boasts 45 members with 45 different breeds from Yorkshire Terriers to Great Danes and they welcome all dog owners — though the competitions are geared towards purebred dogs.

“These days our club attracts all kind of people. It used to be that the dog club was for the higher class," Vice President Cindy Geertsema explains. “With the rise of commercial dog food, it became easier and more convenient for people to own pets.”

The club meets in Lafayette and even though it was initially named the Lake Mohawk Kennel Club, it actually never met in Lake Mohawk. The club became known as the Newton Kennel Club in 1961 for reasons that have been forgotten by its members including Geertsema.

Geertsema says the club’s name may have changed, but its mission has not. The club remains dedicated to the sport of dog training and the promotion of the purebred dog, a notion that has come under attack by animal rights groups that would characterize the breeders and owners as doggie racists.

But as Geertsema explains it, “each breed has its own specific characteristics,” and when you choose a pure-bred dog as your companion animal, you know exactly what temperament you are getting.

“For example, if you want to go hunting, you wouldn’t take a Chihuahua,” she quips.

Geertsema has a pair of Siberian Huskies and one Bernese Mountain Dog. The huskies were bred to pull sleds and so they run very fast, she explains. Knowledge is power for these dog owners. Geertsema says when you know your dog’s history, you know what to expect when your dog shows signs that something may not be quite right. You can also go back to the breeder for more information and see if an issue has cropped up in the past.

The club members are also very supportive of each other. The club’s oldest member is Mary Cummings from Stillwater and she’s been breeding golden retrievers for many years, so if anyone is having a problem with their dog, they know they can count on her for advice.

Aside from the monthly meetings where club members trade advice and information, the club’s activities also include matches and handling clinics. A match is a practice dog show which helps members prepare for the real competitions that allow their dogs to earn points. If your dog scores enough points, he might just be called a champion. The next match is taking place on Sept. 22 at Memory Park in Newton at 9 a.m.

This year, more than 1,000 dogs from all along the east coast came to compete in the two day Labor Day event. The Best in Show title went to a toy poodle named JP Sakura owned by Ron Scott and Debbie Burke of Dillsburg, Pa. Local member, Jackie Wagner of Newton can also boast about a recent win. Her golden retriever took the best in specialty show title at a match in Pittsburg, Pa. before moving onto the Grand Championship title in July. Geertsema also has her fair share of brags posted on the Newton Kennel Club's web site.

A big part of the purebred dog sport is showing your dog and how it conforms to the specific breed standard. Mixed breed dogs can compete in the obedience categories and to help prepare a pooch for the competition, famed dog handler Greg Strong will be in the area to teach a handling seminar in March.

As for the big anniversary event, the club is planning to hold during its 2014 annual Labor Day dog show.

For more information about the Newton Kennel Club visit newtonkennelclub.org.