My Pet World: Westminster Dog Show celebrates its 140th year

By Steve Dale, Tribune Content Agency on Feb 10, 2016

The second bucket at Westminster is the Masters Obedience Trial Championship, as 35 of America's top obedience dogs will partake.

"This is the first time we're showcasing obedience at Westminster," says Bisher. "The discipline these dogs have is amazing. And then we're also trying something different, a sort of freestyle obedience where owners will create their own obedience routines. It's our obedience version of free-style ice-skating."

The third bucket will be the Masters Agility Competition. This canine sport sets dogs off to race the clock, going through, over and under obstacles on an agility course. Sometimes dogs on TV make mistakes, running in the wrong direction, or even wandering off to snatch a spectator's hot dog. Fun as watching the "wanna' be" dogs is, these are the best of the best. "No question, these are the masters, among the top agility dogs in the nation," says Bisher. "And watching them is exciting, and can take your breath away."

Learn more about the Westminster Dog Show, http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/.

Here are six fun Westminster factoids:

1. The most popular dog breed in America for many years, the Labrador Retriever, has never won Westminster.

2. The oldest dog to win Best in Show: Sussex Spaniel in 2009: 10-years old

3. The youngest dog to win Best in Show: Collie in 1929, 9-months old.

4. Individual dog to win the most Best in Shows: Ch. Warren Remedy, a Smooth Fox Terrier won in 1907, 1908, 1909.

5. In 1993, after capturing Best in Show the previous year, Ch. Registry's Lonesome Dove, a Wire Fox Terrier, failed in an attempt to repeat when the dog was awarded third place in the Terrier Group. This was the last time that a BIS winner has tried to repeat.

6. Martha Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore are all among the long list of celebrities who have attended the show over the years.