My Pet World: Westminster Dog Show celebrates its 140th year
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second oldest sporting event in America, celebrating their 140th year this year. Only the Kentucky Derby is older, beating out the prestigious dog show by a nose, or a year.
Among dog shows Westminster is considered prestigious -- even snooty by some. However, when sitting in a packed house at Madison Square Garden, hearing fans scream colorful advice to the judges (as only New Yorkers do) and root quite vocally for their favorite pups, the atmosphere is anything but stodgy.
Of course, you don't need to be at the Garden to watch the show. Westminster will be broadcast Feb. 15, 8-11 p.m. ET on CNBC and Feb. 16 8-11 p.m. ET on the USA Network. For $1.99 you can see additional competition on the Westminster dog show app.
"We're very excited about making dog show history yet again," says Gail Miller Bisher, spokesperson for Westminster.
In all, 3,000 dogs representing 197 breeds and varieties, including 12 foreign countries will compete. The competition falls into three buckets, or dog bowls.
The first, and most well-known, is called conformation -- that's what's seen on live TV in the evening. Before that happens during the day, dogs of each breed compete against all others in the same breed to determine Best of Breed. So, all the Labrador Retrievers compete against all the other Labs, and all Miniature Schnauzers compete against the other mini-Schnauzers, etc. Only one winner is chosen for each breed.
Televised live in the evening is the Group competition. Each of the breeds is a member of one of seven Groups. So, Labradors are in the Sporting Group and Miniature Schnauzers are in the Terrier Group. The other groups are the Herding, Hound, Non Sporting, Toy and Working Groups. Each Group judge will choose one dog, the "most perfect representation" of that breed within the group. It's those final seven choices that partake in Best in Show.
Dr. Richard Meen is this year's Best in Show judge. Meen, who is in Toronto, will be the sixth foreign judge and third Canadian to make the top dog selection at Westminster. Meen, who is past president and chairman of the board of the Canadian Kennel Club, is a psychiatrist. Perhaps he will ask the dogs to lay on a sofa and bark about their mother's before he chooses Best in Show.
Asked to pick a favorite, Bisher laughs and says, "That's impossible. I know I'm rooting for Dachshunds because I think they are so cute. And I personally have a special place in my heart for Bearded Collies."
If you're placing money on the event, a member of the Terrier Group has won the big show 46 times (more than any other group). The breed with the most Best in Show honors belongs to the Wire Fox Terrier, taking home the top trophy 14 times.
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