[Desdemona]

I'm rooting for the Newfie. Well, unless the Lab wins the Sporting Group.

Although, the Pekinese did look good. And that poodle (it's called a field cut) was okay.

[kms61]

The AKC dog shows are a joke when it comes to sporting breeds. Those "sporting" dogs for the most part couldn't hunt their way out of a paper bag.

Those "beauty contests" are the worst thing in the world for dogs...encouraging breeding to some idealized physical standard and largely ignoring such factors as intelligence, health, and what the breed was originally developed for.

There are other organizations which run contests in which dogs actually compete in real world tests of their ability...retrievers retrieve, pointers point, etc. Watching a lab work, taking whistle and hand signals at 150 yards, makes you realize just how far removed the "show dog" world is from reality.

Dog shows? Bah, humbug.

Rant over.