In the world of Super Dogs, there are high fliers like Leap, a sleek Ibizan Hound who set a record jump at the National Western Stock Show on Monday.

There are canine athletes like Flint, a handsome Ruff Collie search-and-rescue dog from Calgary, who can catch a Frisbee on a dead run.

There are movie stars like Bentley, a photogenic Golden Retriever/Otter Hound mix who survived being abandoned in the northern Ontario woods to later co-star with Matthew Broderick in the re-make of The Music Man.

And then there's Pot Roast, an aptly named English Bulldog. In a world of canine over-achievers and superstars, Pot Roast is your basic Joe Six Pack. He's Everydog. He's the comic relief.

He also is a notorious show-stealer. That was evident Monday when he briefly took part in a competition where the dogs were supposed to jump over a barrier of several plastic pipes.

But he didn't go over the poles - he went through them. Then he grabbed one of the poles in his huge jaws and briefly refused to let go. His bulldog colleague Pork Chop doesn't run around the barrel. He knocks it over.

"He doesn't believe in doing it the right way," his trainer Joan Weston said after giving Pot Roast some water backstage during the show. "He believes in doing it his way. You know, the hell with the pipes."

The bulldog's antics are what Herb Williams of Toronto had in mind when he started Super Dogs 31 years ago. Williams had been a show-dog handler with 100 Best of Show trophies.

"After 100 Best in Shows, I figured there's got to be better ways I can have fun with dogs," he said. "And it was interesting to me how people were really more interested in dogs being dogs than in dogs being judged."

This year's marks the fourth time Super Dogs has appeared at the National Western.

Fifty dogs, 12 of them local, took part in the show, which played to a packed house during a matinee at the National Western Events Center. They do a repeat performance at 6:30 tonight but only a few tickets remain.

The show puts some intense physical demands on the 24 handlers.

"It's a big work out," said Jo Crickenberger of Brighton, after keeping pace with her two Australian Shepherds, Kona and Hilo.

"I had an absolute blast and the dogs had a great time," she added. "If asked, I would do it again in a heart beat."

ensslinj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5291

Tickets

To buy tickets for tonight's 6:30 performance of Super Dogs:

* Call toll free at 888-551-5004.

* Visit nationalwestern.com

* Go to the stock show box office, 4655 Humboldt St., Denver.

* Drop by any King Soopers store.