Tips From a Show Dog Dad

Striker is a world-famous fluff ball who's won over 100 American Best in Shows and was the runner-up at last year's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The most successful Samoyed in history is now retired at age six and living in North Toronto-but he still knows a thing or two about being a pageant pup. We caught up with his co-owner, Marc Ralsky, to talk about the pleasures and perils of raising a show dog

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How did you come to be the owner of such a famous dog?

My wife, Correen, and I have been breeding and showing Siberian huskies for decades. About five years ago, we were at a show in Florida, and a Samoyed breeder named Judi Elford brought a young Striker. He beat everybody. No one E could compete with her white "floofs." I told her I'd love to work with her and show him together. We teamed up, and I became Striker's co-owner. We showed him in Canada first, and then we brought him to the US.

There are a ton of cute dogs out there. What's made Striker so successful?

It's like being a Nadal or a Federer-it's only once in a while that a dog has it all: he's beautiful, he knows what he's doing and he loves doing it. He has phenomenal structure and movement. And there's something about his smile. People who know nothing about the dog show world will stop their cars and ask to take a picture of him. They just feel connected to him.

See Spot Run

Toronto has dozens of off-leash parks, big and small. Here, our dog-tested picks for the best of the bunch

/1/ CHERRY BEACH

This east-end dog park has it all: a sandy beach, stunning sunsets, tree-lined paths and skyline views. In the summer months, the shoreline is packed with pups of all shapes and sizes cavorting in the sand and swimming for sticks. A fence encloses the non-lakeside border, and there's plenty of on-site parking.