Westminster Dog Show: February 2011 Archives

If you wondered how judges made their selections at the 2011 Westminster Kennel Club dog show, come to this Thursday's meeting of the South Bay Kennel Club.

Pam Woods, secretary of the club, and Roy Prado, a member of the board of directors, will give their expert opinions about the judging that took place this year at Westminster. They'll also take questions from the audience.

Both have judged shows in the past and have attended Westminster in previous years. They'll explain what goes into making the breed, group and Best in Show selections.

The meeting is at 8 p.m. Thursday (March 3) at the Nakaoka Community  Center, 1678 W. 162nd St., Gardena.

Admission is free.

For information, contact the club via email at SoBayKC@aol.com or by calling 310-324-3549.

It happens every year after the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. The winner of the Best in Show -- especially if it is an unfamiliar or new breed to the public -- is suddenly all the rage.

Hickory, the 85-pound winner who's now officially dubbed the nation's Top Dog for 2011, enjoys chasing deer and rabbits on a 50-acre farm in Virginia, according to an Associated Press story by Ben Walker.

By dog world standards, it was an upset. OK, maybe not quite as big as the Hickory Huskers winning the Indiana high school state basketball championship in the film "Hoosiers," but quite a surprise nonetheless.

.... The 135th Westminster was considered a wide-open field from the start. A smooth fox terrier that was the No. 1 show dog of 2010 recently retired and an Australian shepherd that won the big AKC/Eukanuba event (in Long Beach last December) did not enter.

Hickory's handler, 31-year-old Angela Lloyd, said the dog was not used to all the lights, cameras and noises. But she (yes, Hickory is a "she") obviously learned to cope quite well.





The Scottish deerhound was among the breeds entered in the one of the first Westminster shows more than 100 years ago. But it's the first time the breed has won Best in Show.

But before you race out to get one, check out this site that gives some of the pros and cons of the breed. (Pros: elegant, powerful, athletic, graceful, dignified, doesn't bark much; Cons: needs a BIG enclosed area to gallop, timidity, emotional sensitivity and independent -- and they can be "slow to housebreak," which could be a deal breaker right there for many of you).

But isn't the deerhound a magnificent animal? Hickory was rewarded with a steak at Sardi's Wednesday and will be making the rounds on the television circuit in the next several days.

You can see videos from the show and read about all the winning finalists at the Westminster website.

Wow, This was a surprise -- the first time this breed has won Best in Show. A magnificent looking animal (and he was my #2 preference behind the bearded collie). 

Judging in the first of three groups has finished at tonight's Westminster AKC Dog Sow, with a black cocker spaniel taking top honors in the sporting group. Runners up were an Irish Setter in second place, a wirehaired pointing griffon in third and an irish water spaniel placing fourth.

Still to come are the working and terrier groups, then Best in Show. West Coast viewing is from 8-11 p.m. on the USA channel.

Here's a a video of the group winners from Monday night. And here's an AP story recapping the first day's festivities.

The groups judged Monday were hound, toy, non-sporting and herding (winners below).

Winners from three more groupings -- sporting, working and terrier -- will join them tonight in the highly-anticipated Best in Show ring. In the end, it will come down to seven very different breeds of dogs competing to see which dog best meets its own breed standard.

Terriers tend to win these shows a lot, so keep your eye on them. And you can be sure that whoever wins that honor will then be making the morning TV show rounds for the rest of the week.


Winners from last night:

Hound: Scottish Deerhound (GCH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind)
Toy: Pekingese (GCH Palacegarden Malacy)
Non-Sporting: Chinese Shar-Pei (GCH Vaje's Miss Jayne Hathaway)
Herding: Bearded Collie (GCH Tolkien Raintree Mister Baggins)


Photos of the winning breeds (though not the specific winning dogs) that will compete with tonight's still-to-be-selected three additional group winners in the final Best in Show event (USA, 8-11 p.m. tonight):


Scottish Deerhound:



















Pekingese:




















Chinese Shar-Pei: :

















Bearded Collie: :




 

For many of us, watching Westminster on television was our introduction to the amazing world of dog shows.

It was probably 15 years ago that a co-worker mentioned the show to me. I was still a relatively new dog owner (of only a few years), so I tuned in. I was hooked.

The televised portion of the 135th annual show kicks off tonight at Madison Square Garden with judging in the hound, toy, non-sporting and herding groups. You can see it on the USA Network (from 8-9 p.m.) and CNBC (8-11 p.m.).

Tuesday night (8-11 p.m. on USA Network only) features the sporting, working and terrier groups -- culminating with the much-anticipated Best in Show contest.

(It's all delayed for us viewers on the west coast -- by the time you're watching the show, the winners will have been picked. But if you don't check the AKC's website or other news stories online in advance, you'll still enjoy watching the drama unfold.)

Breed judging highlight videos also will be available at the Westminster website.

You can read up on the show and see some great photos from the first day at boston.com.

And here's the Boston Globe's handy primer on the event if you're new to what is one of the most prestigious happenings in the dog world every year.


Here's some other information on dog shows in general.

So which group/breed or dog will you be rooting for? Predictions? Tell us!

Admittedly I have a bias for those herding breeds -- and it was an Australian shepherd that won the Eukanuba/AKC national championship show in December in Long Beach, so just maybe they're on a roll.

Then again, there's hardly anything cuter than watching those scruffy terriers in the ring.

And really, the entire parade of dogs is so impressive every year.

So enjoy the show -- send in your comments and your own personal favorites -- and may the best dog(s) win.

(A Las Vegas odds maker, by the way, has already predicted that a smooth fox terrier will win this year's Best in Show. He's apparently been right for the past five years in a row.)