Sure, there are the framed show ribbons on the walls of the Bowmansville kennel, next to the photos of the champion dogs posed, legs straight, heads held just so.

And there is the dogs' beauty box, a wooden case filled with sturdy wooden brushes, TRESemmé hair spray and other "cosmetics."

There are the dogs themselves, snoozing and waiting their turn for the practiced hands of the groomer.

But none of that tells the story of Ernesto Lara, a Lancaster County resident who is one of the country's top dog handlers at The National Dog Show Presented by Purina in Reading this weekend.

Lara took a stable of 25 dogs from Bowmansville to the show, which will be broadcast to the nation on Thanksgiving Day, after the Macy's Parade. Last year, almost 20 million people watched it.

No, Lara's story is told when the slim, dark-haired man opens the kennel door and 14 eyes and seven black noses all swivel in his direction.

Shane, a retired gray-muzzled champion who looks older than Moses and who has scrupulously avoided even the tiniest of contact with visitors to the kennel this day, pulls himself to his feet. A decade melts from his stiff frame as his tail wags, his face lights up and he eagerly shoves his nose into Lara's hand.

Lara works his magic with dogs in the ring not by being the "alpha dog" or the leader of the pack, he said.

"I like them to like me first," he said, as he gently patted Shane. "Then you can ask a lot. If they don't like you or trust you, it doesn't work."

That has worked for Lara.

One of the dogs he took to the national show is Lucas, a caramel-and-black dog with snapping eyes who is the nation's No. 1 Airedale and among the top 10 terriers in the country.

Also at the show and top in their classes are Romeo, a cairn terrier; Paris, a Kerry blue terrier; and Henry, a Scottish terrier.

Lara and Hernando Garcini, his first assistant, travel all over the country with the dogs. They are on the road for 150 shows a year, including the grandfather of all shows, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in February at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Lara, 45, started his journey toward dog world stardom more than 30 years ago in his hometown of Mexico City.

As a young teen, Lara was wary of dogs.

Then his cousin got a dog, an Airedale named Bengal. One day, the dog got loose in the street and Lara's mother asked him to go outside and retrieve it before it got into a fight with other dogs.

Lara summoned the nerve to go out and break up the growling pack, grabbing his cousin's dog.

Lara began working with the dog, which was spoiled and headstrong at first, and he made it his pet. One day while walking around the city, he met some people who showed Airedales. He ended up going to a dog show with them, and a career was born.

Lara came to the United States after he met a friend of Peter Green, tops in the handler world and owner of Greenfield Yarrow Kennels in Bowmansville. Lara helped Green and ended up coming to his kennel in 1994.

Green retired two years ago, and now Lara leases his kennel from him and lives next door.

Lara said he tries to make life fun for the show dogs in his care.

"The dogs spend a lot of time standing on the table, and traveling," he said. "I try to make it a game, to be kind to them."

The dogs are a lot like people, he said.

"Some are social. Some aren't," he said. "Some like the attention and the crowds. Others don't."

After all these years, Lara is still most fond of Airedales, the breed of his very first dog and his current top dog.

In fact, if it weren't for their daughter's allergies, President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, would find that an Airedale makes a wonderful first dog, Lara said.

When Airedales are little, they are mischievous, creating a ruckus "like a healthy teenager."

Once they mature, he said, "They are the king of terriers. They're great with children. Whatever any dog can do, they can do."

Lara is hoping for a good weekend at the show. He is hoping his shy dogs come out of their shells and that his stars shine.

He's put in the work and is hoping that his efforts pay off.

"It's like baking a cake," he said. "If all the parts are good, it's good."

E-mail: cstauffer@lnpnews.com or call 481-6024