Meet the dog handler family helping run the Great American Dog Show

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Great American Dog Show returns to Chicago this weekend; and, like the breeds, dog handlers come in all shapes and sizes.

At Country Comfort Boarding & Grooming in Yorkville, it's almost showtime. Amid all the fluffing and buffing is a young pup. We're not talking about one of the dogs. Thirteen-year-old Spring Krickeberg trains show dogs. So do her mom and dad. 

"I have beat my mom a few times," she said.

Raised in the ring, the teen is a fourth-generation dog handler. The sport has been a family pastime for seven decades, starting in the 1950s.

"My grandmother and my grandfather both showed dogs, and then my mother showed dogs," said Spring's mother, Sarah.

Then Sarah met Correy, who also showed dogs. Now husband and wife, they opened their boarding, grooming, and handler training facility in Yorkville about 10 years ago.

"I describe it as a niche business. So what keeps me involved is, first, it's just what I've done my whole life, right? It's what introduced me to Sarah," Correy said.

Their passion hit a whole new level when Spring started learning the ropes.

"My dad taught me how to trim them, and get them to be all ready. My mom taught me how to show," Spring said.

"We all have different talents we bring to it. Spring's the cute one," Correy said.

Cute and getting more and more confident at competition. She and the rest of the Krickebergs will be at the Great American Dog Show in at McCormick Place Chicago as organizers. They won't be vying for any ribbons this weekend.

"I wanted Spring to experience it all; the behind-the-scenes work of how to do a dog show, and how to run a dog show, and how to support team members at the dog show," Sarah said.

Handling the handlers; add that to the family skillset.

The "Great American Dog Show" kicks off on Friday. CBS 2 is a proud sponsor of the competition.

Catch demonstrations, competitions, and much more in person at McCormick Place and on the CBS News Chicago livestream Friday through Sunday.