Posts tagged "national dog show"

Sadie, the four-year-old Scottish Terrier who won it all at the National Dog Show earlier today, says she's too famous to talk to us now. But her handler, Gabriel Rangel of Rialto, Calif., was willing to indulge a few of our post-show questions.

Are you the only handler Sadie's ever had?
I've been her handler for two-and-a-half years. I'm the only handler she's had since then. She earned her championship status through another handler before me.

Besides this win, what other career highlights have you two shared?
When we won Best Terrier [i.e. Best In Group] at the Westminster Dog Show. She performed beautifully there.

When you first started handling Sadie, did you have an instant connection with her?
No, we needed to work at it. Dogs need to trust you, and they need to know what you want from them. Now, after all this time, it's a perfect understanding. I know what she wants and how she wants to do it, and she knows the same about me. There's a great connection between us. She gives me a great show every time.

Just like there's a sport or two added to the Olympic games every four years, dog shows add a few new breeds to their show rosters. This year, the National Dog Show (airing on NBC Thanksgiving Day) is debuting three new adorable breeds: the Pyrenean Shepherd, the Irish Red and White Setter, and the Norwegian Buhund.

"There have been times when we've gone three of four years without adding a new breed, and then maybe just one breed and then no more for a while, so three is a lot," says longtime National Dog Show announcer Wayne Ferguson.

If a breed is new to the National Dog Show, that means it's also newly recognized by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia (which runs the show) and the American Kennel Club, the granddaddy of all dog registries. But it doesn't mean the breed hasn't been around long. The Irish Red and White Setter, for example, is one of many breeds that was first introduced to America after World War II.

"The AKC is constantly being approached about miscellaneous breeds," says Ferguson. "They only accept 168 of them, but there are a couple hundred more out there that are recognized in many countries." Other American kennel clubs, like the United Kennel Club, recognizes many breeds that the AKC doesn't.

The process of gaining recognition for a particular breed can be lengthy and takes a lot of lobbying on the part of breeders and dog-show enthusiasts. "Various people will plead their case over and over, and the AKC will compile a file and then say, 'You know, we're getting a lot of Buhund people talking to us; we got 80 emails last month asking when we're going to bring them in.' Then they'll see what good examples there are out there of the breed." When the AKC feels that an exemplary standard of the breed has been achieved, chances are it's show time.

So what do you need to know about this year's debuting breeds? Read on.

Every Thanksgiving Day since 2002, 20 million Americans have tuned in to watch the National Dog Show on NBC, and the man they have to thank for it is Jon Miller, executive vice president of NBC Sports. It was his idea to air the Kennel Club of Philadelphia's annual Best in Show -- right after the Macy's Day Parade and right before football. He spoke with Paw Nation about how the show came to be.

How did you know that Americans wanted to watch a dog show on Thanksgiving day? When did the light-bulb go off?
On a Saturday night in January -- it was a nasty night. My wife rented [the movie] "Best in Show." We watched it with some friends, then I stayed up watching it a second time and just loved it. I thought it was so much fun.

How did that one spark lead to the show?
I came to work on Monday and grabbed one of our interns and said, "Find out what the second oldest dog show in America is," thinking that the Westminster was the oldest dog show in America. He came back about an hour later and said, "Well, the second oldest dog show in America is Westminster." I said, "Well, what's the oldest dog show?" and he said, "Philadelphia." He then got me in touch with [KCP president] Wayne Ferguson, and we had a great conversation. I asked, "Have you ever been on television?" He said no, but he'd be very interested. Then I went to Michael Crawford, who is a friend at Purina, to see if he had any interest. I said, "Michael, if we could get a dog show on NBC --" He said, "In a heartbeat, we'd support it."

John O'Hurley has probably had as many different jobs as the National Dog Show has different breeds. This devoted dog lover is a co-host of the NDS, strut his stuff on Dancing with the Stars, authored the bestselling books "Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It" and "It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump," and is perhaps best known for playing the bombastic J. Peterman on "Seinfeld. Like Peterman, O'Hurley lives life to the fullest, and -- as we discovered when we caught him for a chat in Philadelphia -- that's a lesson he learned from the dogs.

What's your dog situation at home?
We have a Cavalier King Charles and a little Havanese. They're both puppies. And then I have a 19-and-a-half-year-old Maltese who was actually the inspiration for my second book. He's the little old man in the group. At 19-and-a-half, he still has the spirit of a drill sergeant.

What do you love about hosting the National Dog Show?
Because my wife and I share such a common love for dogs and they're such a part of our life, it's just a wonderful event. It's actually one of our favorite days of the year, because we get to wander up and down the aisles, talk to the breeders and owners, and celebrate what we really enjoy in life. In addition to our two-and-a-half-year-old son, we enjoy our dogs.

Planning on watching the National Dog Show for the first time this Thanksgiving Day on NBC? You might wind up with more questions than answers. Dog shows have their own quirky sets of rules, manners and habits. We spoke to Wayne Ferguson, longtime announcer at the National Dog Show, to help answer some questions about how the whole thing works.

What is a "benched" dog show?
A benched dog show is one in which spectators are allowed backstage, where the dogs must be kept throughout the show to be available for public viewing. The exhibitors cannot pack up and leave early even if their dogs bow out of the competition.

Why is the National Dog Show one of only five benched shows left in the U.S.?
"Basically, they're very expensive for us to put on," Ferguson explains. "They take a lot of manpower and man hours, and they're not popular with the exhibitors, because they don't like sitting there all day with their dog. They'd rather be able to take their dog outside, go out for lunch, hang out in their motor homes, or just go home." Benched shows are, however, very popular with spectators, because no matter what time of day you arrive at the show, you're guaranteed to get to see your favorite breeds even if you miss them in the ring. It's a good opportunity for those who are thinking about getting a new pup to meet with breeders, too, since many of them show dogs.

I've owned a dog for seven years, and I've been a dog lover for longer, but until recently I had never been to any kind of dog show. This year, I made it to the National Dog Show, held just outside Philadelphia in Oaks, Pa. on November 14, and set to be broadcast on NBC Thanksgiving Day.

Like many folks, anything I knew about dog shows and dog-show people I gleaned from countless viewings of the movie "Best In Show". Though the popular film doesn't exactly portray dog-show people in the best light, I learned from NBC Executive Vice President Jon Miller that "Best In Show" was, in fact, what inspired NBC to put the National Dog Show on the air. (You can read my interview with Miller later this week as part of Paw Nation's week-long National Dog Show coverage.)

In "Best In Show", the focus is on the quirky dog owners, but at the National Dog Show, the dogs are the real stars. It doesn't take long to get the feeling -- even if you're a layman like me -- that these are truly exemplary specimens on display. When a particular pooch really catches your eye or takes your breath away with its beautiful face, majestic stance, regal bearing or lissome gait, you can feel like you're in the presence of something great.

They say that dogs have the intelligence of a two-year-old child, but I've never seen a two-year-old willingly sit quiet and nearly motionless for the better part of an hour as these dogs did, waiting to be judged. By day's end, I was in total awe.

And the dog-show people? Yes, they do have a sense of humor. The Hound Group was introduced to the tune of "Hound Dog." The Working Group was heralded by John Lennon's "Working Class Hero." And when the real Best In Show hopefuls entered the ring? Why, of course, "The Final Countdown" by Europe.

We're not going to reveal the identity of the winning dog here. Otherwise, where's the suspense on Thanksgiving Day? But keep checking back throughout the week for more National Dog Show features, including an interview with the winner after the big TV reveal!

National Dog Show novices: what you see on your screens come Thanksgiving Day may look like nothing more than a pack of pretty pooches parading about for the judges, audience and cameras. But there's some serious consideration happening on that blue carpet. Paw Nation asked National Dog Show co-hosts John O'Hurley and David Frei for their expert tips to train your layman's eye.

Dogs are not graded on a curve. "Every breed is judged not against one another but against the written standard," explains Frei, "which is the description of the ideal specimen of that breed."

Play a game of "how doggy is that doggy in the window?" This is Frei's personal trick for judging what he sees in the ring. "You look at the Afghan Hound and you say, 'On a scale of 100, I'm going to give the Afghan a 90 as an Afghan hound. Now, the next dog is the Saluki. I love this Saluki -- it's this and this and this -- and I'm going to give it a 92.' Which means the Saluki is a better Saluki than the Afghan is an Afghan, in my opinion. Everybody doesn't do this trick, but it's what I do in my mind."

Familiarize yourself with doggy formal wear. Show dogs are often groomed much differently than dogs kept as pets. (For example, take a look at how this Shih Tzu's appearance changed from its show days to its retirement.) "Some of the coats and the cuts on the dogs may not be cuts that you would maintain your pet at home with," says O'Hurley, "but that is a way of recognizing the history of the breed. Some of the coats are a little bit more traditional in their cuts."