STERLING, Mass. — This weekend, dozens of dog handlers and trainers from across the country are in Sterling for a three-day competition hosted by the German Shepard Dog Club of Central Massachusetts.

For dogs and their handlers, the show is all about proving they've got what it takes to take home a ribbon — but for those unfamiliar with how a dog show works, some may wonder how they are supposed to set themselves apart from all the other German shepherds.

Ken Rayner, an official judge for the American Kennel Club, spent most of his life as a handler, following in his father’s footsteps.

“Each breed has a standard, and the judge looks at that breed to see how close they are to the standard,” Rayner said. “So you’re not really judging dog versus dog. You’re seeing how that dog compares to the standard, and you pick out the animal you feel is closest to the standard that day.”

Rayner travels the country to judge competitions, and his lifetime of experience and commitment to an intense travel schedule isn’t out of the ordinary — handlers are the same way, and it is the life they signed up for.

“We are a three-generation family business, my mom started when I was a little girl back in the ‘70s and we’ve just been doing breeding, showing, and conditioning all these years,” said Donna Calabrese. “My daughter grew up in the business also, and we just love what we do.”

Calabrese flew from Virginia for this weekend’s competition, and her daughter showed their German shepherd, affectionately nicknamed "Babushka."

She won best of breed on Saturday, and Calabrese has been happy to let her daughter take over the hard work.

“I’m getting too old for this,” Calabrese joked. “It’s a lot of wear and tear, and I work a full time job at a pet hospital also. I go the weekends where it’s really important, where the dogs need me to look and get that extra specialness out of them.”

Other handlers are newer to the lifestyle, and didn’t have to travel quite as far to get to Sterling.

Autumn Dugan, who is from Dartmouth, said she does not come from a multi-generation line of German Shepherd enthusiasts.

“I started watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show years ago on TV, and the National Dog Show on Thanksgiving,” Dugan said. “I kind of just got into it, I used to run around with my pets in the backyard and I got my first show dog from a relative of mine, and then it just took off from there.”

Although she hasn’t been involved as long, Dugan already has plenty of accolades on her resume, including showing her dog Lucifer in 2019 at the very same National Dog Show she grew up watching.

She is happy to have had success, but is mostly drawn to dog shows because of the community she has found.

“It’s awesome because it’s like a family here,” Dugan said. “Everyone knows everyone, we’ve all been involved with it for years, and we’re all just in it for the same reason.”

The dog show runs through Monday, and is being held at The Hall in Sterling.