Print edition: 
The year was 1952 and the place was the Forum in downtown Wichita when purebred dogs first competed in obedience trials at a Wichita Kennel Club dog show.
Now, 58 years later, mixed-breed dogs won't be left out of the fun as the American Kennel Club opens its companion events — obedience, agility and rally — to dogs of mixed or uncertain ancestry.
The Sunflower Cluster Dog Show, April 9-11 at the Kansas Coliseum, will be one of the first AKC shows in the country to allow mixed breeds to compete and earn titles in the companion events.
"One of the great things about competing with your dog is that it gives the dog and owner an opportunity to enhance and deepen their bond through training, and to take it to the next level through competing," said Lisa Peterson, an AKC spokesperson.
The new AKC Canine Partners program "gives the shelter dog a chance to shine and be engaged in a fun activity as well."
Mixed-breed dogs must first be listed with the AKC at akccaninepartners.org. The dogs must be spayed or neutered, and the owner must pay a $35 fee ($25 before April 30) to obtain a competition card and certificate of participation.
Obedience trials — a demonstration of a dog's intelligence, good manners and willingness to please — will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days of the dog show, as will conformation, agility, rally, herding and lure coursing. Admission is free.
Although the fast pace of agility makes that sport more popular with spectators, Don Richardson, a Wichita Dog Training Club member, says he prefers obedience because of the precision involved.
"When the dog sits in front of you, it has to be perfect. When it sits at your side, it has to be perfect," said Richardson, who has guided his Doberman, Windy, to advanced obedience titles.
"This is the part that I enjoy, just getting a dog to where there's perfection."
At the show, dogs and handlers will try to achieve that perfection in three classes of obedience competition: novice, open and utility, said Don Ristro, obedience trial chairman.
In the novice class, a dog performs basic tasks — sit, down, stay, come, heel —"with the dog primarily on a leash so that it is at (the handler's) side," Ristro said.
In the open and utility classes, the tasks become more difficult and the dog performs off lead and often at a distance from the handler, he said.
Nadine Conner, a dog trainer at All Paws Pet Center in Wichita, has entered two of her mixed-breed dogs, a blue heeler mix and a vizsla mix, in rally, a sport that is similar to obedience but less structured.
A rally course includes 10 to 20 stations marked by signs that illustrate tasks the dog and handler must perform together.
Rally is "a lot more fun and more relaxed than the obedience ring," Conner said. "You're encouraged to talk to your dog and communicate" by clapping your hands and shouting encouragement.
Trainers and handlers agree that, beyond the fun of competition, the biggest advantage to obedience training is having a better pet.
"Obedience is basically teaching a dog how to be polite," said Janice Ronald, a trainer at Family Dog Training and Behavioral Center in Valley Center.
Obedience skills also are "good building blocks" for advanced activities that help humans, such as therapy, search and rescue or service dog work, she said.
One of the newest places in Wichita to offer behavioral training is the Kansas Humane Society. The first classes in puppy kindergarten and basic manners graduated in February, said spokesperson Jennifer Campbell.
The Humane Society started offering the classes for two reasons, Campbell said: To provide "a resource for the community, for people who struggle with issues with their pets," and because the training "fits into our larger goal of ending euthanasia" of adoptable animals.
"If you can help owners and pets bond better and solve behavior issues they may be having, the owners are less likely to ... turn over the dog," she said.
Keeping dogs in homes and out of shelters is a main objective of obedience training, agreed Conner, who emphasizes that she trains people to train their dogs.
Owners who have a well-behaved dog are "more apt to keep the dog and enjoy it," she said.
*** AKC Companion Events
The deadline to enter your dog in the Sunflower Cluster Dog Show is noon Wednesday.
For more information, call Don Ristro at 316-946-4120 or 316-721-0997.
For more information on the AKC Canine Partners program, go to akccaninepartners.org.<
