CANFIELD, Ohio - The first day of the Steel Valley dog cluster is in the books, and plenty of dogs made their way through the Canfield Fairgrounds Thursday.

The four-day event attracts some of the country's best breeders handlers and dogs, who compete in a variety of activities such as confirmation, obedience and rally competitions, dock diving, disc dog, and more.

Phil Thomas and Betty Jo Patterson say it took a year's worth of hard work and labor to make this event happen and were happy with the turnout on day one. They also understand how much work handlers, owners, and breeders put into these dogs.

"Sometimes a lifetime of training, at least a dog's lifetime," Patterson said.

Among those competing in this year's cluster, are Berlin Center-native Heather Buehner and her world-famous Bloodhound Trumpet. Trumpet became the first of his breed to win best-in-show at the 2022 Westminster Dog Show, and knows all too well about commitment.

"Trump and I are kind of on the road every weekend for dog shows...but this is the local dog show for us this weekend so we do get to go home every evening which is pretty awesome," Buehner explained.

The cluster even caught the interest of Jennifer Remazki, an owner, breeder, and handler from Canada, who brought her 2-year-old Alaskan Malamute, Maple, to Canfield.

Remazki got Maple just prior to the COVID pandemic, and when most dog shows were shelved in 2020, they did extensive training together.  

"Kept on training him for the dog training ring so that when things opened up again, he'd be ready and primed," said Remazki.

The pandemic saw a significant rise in new pet-owners, with more than 23 million American households adopted a pet over that span. Remazki says training needs to be a daily routine, she also advises people who are thinking about adding a new family member to do their research.

"Investigate and look for what breeds might be appropriate for your family, for your lifestyle, for your activity level." Remazki explained.

The cluster is free to the public but dog-parents and potential pet owners can leave with some valuable lessons. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day through Sunday.