Love the Working group but this year the Whippet should have been Best In Show!
I’ll see you all your working dogs and raise you one Brittany
Spaniel. RIP Pumpkin, Ace, Angel, Friskie and Sadie
But at the end of the day, there's nothing like settling down for a nice jar of peanut butter...
On the other hand, our kids have a black Scotty named Rex, and he's like a big dog in a little dog's body. Our half lab/half Komondors are more gentle than he is. LOL
Here’s the breakdown by group of winners:
Terrier Group: 44
Sporting Group: 19
Working Group: 15
Non-Sporting Group: 10
Toy Group: 9
Hound Group: 4
Herding Group: 2
Ping
I am owned by a Chesepeake Bay Retriever and a German Shepherd. GREAT dogs [and breeds] that have no shot. I gave up on Westminster years ago.
[I think all four, combined, eat about 1/2 of what a Great Dane would... LOL...]
They're all minis and one of them looks like that one...
I thought this link had some great photos of the dogs (backstage.) We have Weims and I got a kick out of the characteristic way the Weim was sitting, ours do the same thing. (guess a breed trait is a breed trait whether they’re show dogs or household pets.)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2010/02/westminster-kennel-club-dog-show-photos.html
Second, "Best In Show" is not literally, the best in the show. It is simply the single dog that most closely conforms to the written AKC standard for it's individual breed. "Best in show" is not a competition between all the dogs in the show, but more so a competition between individual breeders and their ability to produce a dog that exemplifies the written standard for its breed.
I've owned either GSDs or Belgians virtually my whole life, and have never once felt slighted by the AKC shows. Why fret about "best in show" when you already own "best on earth"?
NYC is such a small place that they really don’t matter in the scheme of the whole country. Most people think the cities are so great and look down at people who live in the country where dogs are more of a fit. What part of this country is city and what is rural, 90-10? so why do the cities take most of the money and all the credit?
I have a Great Pyrenees named Brother Bear and I think HE is the most beautiful dog in the world. You never see a dog like him getting the nod. Very unfair.
See that very hairy white object at the lower right that looks like a sheep?
I own one of those! She is my first Komondor. She’s 13 weeks, and the hairiest/fluffiest ball of fun you ever seen. Her resemblance to a polar bear cub is scary.
This is to no one in particular, I’m just proud of my Komondor.
Well... the AKC is just a beauty pageant.
Breeds that were created to work (almost all)
are reduced to outward conformity.
Sad.
Not to mention that there are over 1200 breeds
worldwide, but only a third in the AKC.
For example, the Azores Cattle Dog. Great
beast with true working ability - not in
the AKC.
Thanks for the great photos, Joe...I have had Rotties for 35-years.
I agree with the article...the Scottie was pretty cute, but I picked two of the top three dogs that placed just because that’s the way the show is stacked. If a breed happens to fall out of popularity, there is no chance it will do well at major shows...or minor shows for that matter.
I really liked the Boxer and the Akita was beautiful.
does a Komondor replace a string mop?
Working breeds don’t belong in dog shows. Labs need to retrieve. Pointers need to point. I’m not sure what Rottweilers do - maybe they need to growl. Border Collies need to herd.
No one should care how pretty a Border Collie looks - can he herd sheep? I once met a Lab who was kind of a scrawny, odd looking little girl, but she sure could bring back the birds.
Dog shows are for foo-foo breeds.
Working dogs are exactly that, a worker. Their breed standards should be based upon performance first, looks second. The AKC “beauty pageant” can absolutely RUIN a good working breed of dogs.
Witness what they are trying to do to the Bull-mastiff. The entire point of having a “Bull”Mastiff was that it was smaller, and more active, than a Mastiff. But people want a “big” dog to look BIG, so the standards have crept upwards. Now instead of an active guard dog, you have a gorgeous big and lazy dog that doesn't want to go on patrol with you if it means abandoning its comfy bed.
The more the AKC ignores a working breed, the better for the breed.
Field trial champion hunting dogs over AKC beauty pageant dogs any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.