It’s a big name for a small dog – GCHP Pleasant Hill Avram of Carters Creek CA FCAT, but the 50-pound, black and white pup they call “Avi” for short has a big heritage to uphold. One of just a couple thousand purebred Canaan Dogs in the world, Avi captured his fourth straight Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show title last week in New York City, winning the breed class and representing Canaans in the herding group semi-finals.
Owners David Golden and Cynthia Dodson traveled from their home in Marshall with professional handler Brittany Cipriotti of Bealeton to the historic Lyndhurt estate north of the city for the nation’s most prestigious dog show.
The four straight victories are unprecedented, but the winning formula is in the bloodlines – Avi’s uncle, Magnum, was Canaan class winner at Westminster a few years ago, placing fourth in the herding group semi-finals in the highest placing for the breed, ever.
The "local" Westminster win isn't without precedent - Gainesville veterinarian Dr. Scott Dove and wife Ceil won the Best in Show title with their Scottish Deerhound Foxcliffe Hickory in 2011.
Avi has carried on the genes, winning most of the nation’s top dog show prizes, including taking the herding group title at the National Dog Show last year.
Avi with handler Brittany Cipriotti of Bealeton (right). Sheree Moses Combs of Wardensville, West Virgina (left) was the Best of Breed judge.
But Westminster is special, Golden said, televised and publicized and part of even the non-dog-show public. The popular movie “Best in Show” parodied the somewhat insular, high-energy backside of the dog show world, but there’s some truth to it, say insiders. It really is a dog-eat-dog world back there, figuratively speaking.
“Westminster is one of the very few dog shows left in this country where the dogs have to be out where the public can see and interact with them,” Golden told a magazine reporter after the win. “It gives us a chance to educate folks about the history and the characteristics of the Canaan Dog. And that's what I liked the best. It was my favorite part of the whole weekend."
The Canaan Dog is one of the oldest breeds in the world, dating back thousands of years to the middle East.
Also known as the Bedouin Sheepdog and Palestinian Pariah Dog, the breed was revered for their alertness and loyalty, initially used by Bedouin tribes for guarding livestock and their camps. Dr. Rudolphina Menzel, who died in 1973, is credited with introducing the intelligent breed to Europe and, later, in the late 1960s, to the U.S. The breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1989, and began competing in conformation in 1997.
In appearance, the Canaan looks as much wild as it does domestic. The medium-sized, square-built dog has a wedge-shaped head, erect and low-set, pricked ears with a broad base and rounded tips. Their double coats – evolved for protection against the harsh middle Eastern climate – come in many colors. All of Golden and Dodson’s current Canaans are black and white.
Golden and Dodson got their first Canaan Dog in 1998, strictly as a pet, but they fell in love with the breed and soon wanted another. “They’re so smart, too smart sometimes,” Dodson said. “They’re clean, attentive and alert but not needy, more like a cat, almost.”
They selected Avi from a breeder in Tennessee in 2014, but Donna Dodson (“no relation,” Cynthia says, but as it turns out, seven generations removed related) stipulated Avi be sold only to a competition home.
They loved him so much, Golden said, they agreed to enter the wild world of dog showing. Before he would show, they decided to put Avi in obedience classes to gain the social graces for the show ring.
Initially, it was a big fail.
“So I started taking him (as a puppy) to Canine Good Citizen classes,” Dodson explained. “He broke my finger during class one day.” They needed an intervention for the smart young Avi.
“We’d already realized he was too good a dog for us to show (ourselves at the amateur-handler level), so we contacted Brittany,” Golden added.
Once Avi got over his propensity for spinning in circles with excitement in the show ring, it was a winning combination: Cipriotti and Avi won the breed trophy at the historic Morris and Essex show in New Jersey in one of their first outings. Avi is the only Canaan to earn platinum grand champion title.
But he’s not just a pretty face: Avi also earned herding and coursing titles, throwbacks to his Bedouin genes.
Family portrait – Westminster winner, Avi, left, and his sister Anni visit with owners Cynthia Dodson and David Golden at home in Marshall. They’re two of just a couple thousand rare Canaan Dogs worldwide.
“Avi is a wonderful ambassador for the breed,” Cipriotti said. “He’s pretty perfect.” Avi’s sister Anni comes close – she has her silver grand champion title and earned the coveted American Temperament Test title. Anni had four puppies in March, and has already returned to the show ring.
Before they got into dog showing, Golden and Dodson were active mountain climbers, summitting many of the world’s 7000- and 8000-meter peaks, including in the Himalaya.
“Actually, it was our world travels that gave us this ‘vision’ of the perfect dog,” Golden said. “The closer a dog breed is to the ‘wild,’ their ears are pointy; they’re not too big, not too small. They’re a little aloof, but they work well with humans. Loyal but not needy. We saw this type of dog in some of the places we’d go to climb.”
“So when it came time to get a dog, we were looking through a book of dog breeds and found the Canaan. That’s the one,” Dodson recalled. “That’s the one we want.”
When their small yard in Falls Church became insufficient for play and exercise for their growing group of Canaans, Golden and Dodson followed Cipriotti’s advice and looked for land in Fauquier. They moved to a small farm southwest of Marshall in 2018.
“It’s a very dog-friendly area,” Dodson said. “We take Avi, or the puppies, to places like Tri-County Feeds (between Marshall and The Plains) all the time. It’s great for socializing, and, really, it’s part of our desire to introduce more people to this wonderful breed of dog.”
“They’re preservation breeders,” Cipriotti said, interested first and foremost in perpetuating a rare breed of dog, a living history.”
Golden said that though Canaans are known for their intelligence, Avi is a cut above. “He rings a bell to let us know when he needs to go out.” Golden corrected himself. “Or, actually, when he wants to go out, I guess. He pulls on a bell we have hanging on the doorknob.
“This is a really smart dog, a really smart breed. They’re great pets and wonderful companions.”
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