did anyone watch the Westminster Dog Show tonight?

I love those little Maltese and these other dogs with the flowing hair. I like the Bichons. Forget the Pugs and Chinese Cresteds (they look like they are aliens from Planet X). And did anyone ever see a great and funny movie called "Best in Show" which is about the dog owners, trainers, etc., for these dog shows.

I can't wait for tomorrow night. Every year, I sit in front of the TV for two nights and say "Awwww, look at that one!" and "Isn't he cute?" and "That one's smiling!" LOL!

I LOVE the movie Best in Show! I laugh my ass off every time I see it. Part of me is laughing at how ridiculous they are ... and the another part of me sees myself in many of their actions because my dog is my baby, too. :crazy:

and I can't even imagine the grooming bucks these people pay. Plus you pay those trainers and it goes on and on. (I have 4 rescue cats so I just have large vet bills).

Tomorrow night I will again watch the entire thing. It is fascinating.

Did you see the Pekingese? It reminded me of a Tribble from Star Trek - it's just a big ball of fur, LOL! And the corded hair on the Komondor must be an absolute nightmare to take care of!

I have a poodle, but he doesn't have a "show cut" - I hate those "naked butt" haircuts and I can't imagine how they maintain the big, poofy hair on the chest and head. My dog gets groomed every 6-8 weeks, so his hair is usually short and curly. But a couple of times, he's gone longer than 8 weeks because he had surgery (he tore the ligament in his leg and 8 months later, tore the ligament in the other leg). When he goes 11 or 12 weeks without a haircut, it is so difficult to keep him looking nice. The hair gets very thick and curly and it's hard to brush. I don't know how they get the show poodles to have such nice, straight hair. It must take hours with a brush and a blow dryer!

It really is fascinating to watch. It's amazing how each dog's personality comes through. You can always tell which ones are playful, which ones are serious, which ones are friendly and which ones are "stuck up" - LOL!

the others. I go for "cuteness" and I know that is NOT how they are judged. I think some of those breeds get powder put in their hair to fluff them up, right?

The poodles' head hair seemed to go about 8+ inches high above their scalps. I couldn't believe it! I don't like the naked butt look either and I imagine the dogs would get cold being shaved like that if they live north. It is so unnatural (those cuts) I dislike it.

I never saw a Komondor in real life and I wonder how their hair feels.

But it is amazing to watch all of them. I got really angry at myself because I thought it would be on Animal Planet and when I looked, it wasn't there. Switching stations I saw it on USA but I missed the first 45 minutes. Tomorrow I will watch start to finish.

1:00pm USA Network :-)

Looked like a tribble from Star Trek. Looked really good in high definition.

but the hound dog won this week-end...in fact all of them that placed were of the more muscular type...I was so happy when the hound won I actually clapped.

I love watching the dog shows - seeing all the different kinds of dogs, all groomed up preening in front of people.

Can't imagine being a judge - it must be a hard job not comparing the dogs to each other but to breed standards - imagine knowing standards for all those types of dogs!

I love the long, flowing-hair dogs, don't like the pug-faceed dogs, love the Working Dogs the most - those big, muscular strong dogs. Don't care so much for the Terriers or Toys. Loved the Tibetan Terrier that won the Non-Sporting Dog category.

Looking forward to watching again tomorrow night.

high, inches long, etc. Did you ever notice the judges aren't using a measuring stick?

And every once in a while a judge will call for one when it looks like there's been an effort to get the coat to make it look like the dog comes up to height standard.

Unless a dog is a LOT over the standard (like 2 inches or more) you won't see anybody saying anything.

How dare you say that about Pugs! (I don't have one, I just like them.)

We have a Border Collie, which was bred to be a working dog -- these dogs love to work! It always makes me sad to see them being bred to a "standard"; the shepards who bred these dogs didn't care what they looked like. All they cared about was getting a dog that could work and help them with their sheep. Amazing dogs...

Cute as a bug, she is! I like the way the Chinese Crested looks, too.

Oh well - I guess it's all in the eyes of the beholder, huh?

breathing problem.

They're noisy little things! :)

I just wish a Rottweiler would win Best of Show sometime. I have an AKC registered Rottie, so I guess I am biased.

He got to do an extra lap around, right before they picked the top four of the Working Group, so at least the judges have their eye on one.

Sure wish I could afford to care for an animal like that, I'd love to wake up to such a BIG happy face. I like all those working dogs the best! I also wonder what a Komondor feels like to pet; it looked just like an old cotton mop head!

Some of the terriers have to be PLUCKED when they're groomed; imagine how tedious that could get! I assume it's cause of how wirey their fur is but I wonder if it bothers the animals, themselves?

And how sweet was that little black Affinpinscher? Looked unreal, almost like a stuffed animal. I must have said "Awwww!" once too often cause we ended up not watching the whole thing thru...thanks Batty for letting us know it'll be shown again...I'd like to see the ones we missed, before the final.

I'm hoping it'll do well in the finals, but my heart is already tied to the English Springer spaniel, Kobe, whose mom and grandfather both previously won Best in Show. He'll be on Tuesday night. I've had two springers and I can vouch that they are incredible dogs, loving, smart and full of heart.

was that more than 10 yrs. ago...I also had a dear old friend, Kenya, my rubber-band doggie (Springer Spaniel) who died in 1991 & a few years after I sobbed all the way thru the darn show, rooting for one who looked just like our boy. Haven't owned a dog since.

I can never remember the names of those show dogs, was the Pyrenees called Imperial something? The only one I caught for sure last night was the long-haired toy called "I believe I can fly"!

Mom won in 2000. Don't recall the name of the Great Pyrenees but we'll see him again tonight.

I just got back from the vet-my 6 year old spring weighs 77 lbs! The vet said he's never seen one so big, yet he's still not fat...

Ours was big & fat, plus he was mis-trained by some jerk as a pup; Keeners was a registered English Springer who was abandoned after his owner totally tried to ruin him as an animal. He'd been sired out all over the area, so I can still "see" him around here.

Watch it with that weight; ours got arthritis so bad that his hind end couldn't carry it & we had to put him down at 12 yrs. old. I think also that he'd been pushed down on his rear...the original owner should have been shot for the "methods" used to try & rein in the spirit of that dog!

I still cry when I picture how sad he was in his last year, trying to go up steps.

That pretty Pyrenees was named "Fame" maybe.

Champ already favors his left hind leg, and he's been hit by a car twice, so I imagine he's gonna have problems with arthritis. We'll definitely move downstairs as soon as he shows any problems.

dogs, loved nothing more than being chased around the yard.

:o

I had no idea he could do that! :P

funniest scenes ever.

We're primarily a terrier house (3 JRTs, 2 minischnauzies and 1 golden lab)

We came in at the end of the toy group.

I watched part of Westminster last night, hoping that the Alaskan Malemute or the Siberian would win, since I have a mutant Siberian Husky. I really want to watch tonight for the hounds since we also have greys and whippets. I hope a whippet or a grey takes hounds, but usually it's something small. If I had to own a terrier, I'd want one of the newly recognized Russian ones. They were cool. Fang from Harry Potter movies aside, I really don't like the Neopolitan Mastiffs - too jowly and drooly.

Most common comment heard by Neopolitan owners! On our news last night, the anchor said they look like hippopotamuses.

this one; I think it weighed 175 and still growing. But he looked to be very sweet-tempered. He just sat there for a few minutes...drooling a lot. It reminded me of the"Beethoven" movies

love to watch Westminster. The dog sits and watches the whole thing. He'll sometimes go up to the teevee when he sees one that's especially interesting and stick his nose on the screen, but when he doesn't get any scent he just snorts and walks away, like those must be fake dogs. I'm going to miss it tonight 'casuse I have class from 7-10 central. I'll get Mr 'pede to tape it. I liked the Tibetean terrier from last night.

I tape it every year. I just want to see the doggies and i don't need to hear the commentators blather. So, i fast forward to each doggie march, and then wait to see who wins in each category. Then, FF again. I can watch the whole thing in about 30 minutes.

I saved a couple of them over the years.
The Professor

was really tame compared to what really goes on in the dog show world.

dirty tricks. All the same things you see in human sports.

BIS only touched on some of what would seem the more ridiculous aspects.

of some very good breeds.

and other stuff like that should be outlawed in this country. TOTALLY

this has been over done in movies such as Best in Show and, recently, CSI. The standards are very strict for the dogs, no artificial enhancements allowed. Many shows even do drug testing. This statement above is simply not true. It does make for good Fictional drama though. :hi:

Drug testing is done in other countries, not here. The AKC doesn't crack down on it because they lose money if they do. The same reason they don't pull registrations from people running puppy mills.

As a long time attendee and groomer. Nice story though...for CSI. Perhaps it happens in some of the shows you've been involved in, but none that I have. It's a shame to perpetuate this myth. Yes, there are bad people in a walks of life, but this is just not prevalent. Are there kooky people by the boat load? Heck Ya! :hi:

are totally benign when put up against thyroid meds to promote coat growth, steroids for coat and muscle mass, hair dye to even out unallowed colorations and breeding for looks rather than the temperament and genetic soundness of the breed.

I love Bouviers. I have one with cropped ears and one natural. But a Bouvier natural tail is a lethal weapon.

and friendship with breeders and handlers. You're giving the show world a name it doesn't deserve based on heresay and fictinal programs. :hi:

I've seen it. I've been there. I know what happens. And the bigger the prize, the more risks people are willing to take.

One of the best Bouvs in this country, a best of group (herding) at Westminster a few years ago, died early because of the extra meds he was fed by his handler to keep him in muscle mass and coat. His owners trusted the trainer and were horrified to get their dog back with a bag full of drugs and instructions on how to wean him off them.

I even know of one dog that had a bad bite corrected by braces before he was campaigned.

I'm not saying every breeder or every handler does it. But when you get to the top of the game, it's rare for it not to.

And I'm sure you weren't privy to the dirty tricks, such as pulling dogs at the last minute so that a strong contender cannot make a major. Or influencing the local club to invite only certain judges. Or campaigning a bitch in heat to throw off the dogs entered. (Even if the bitch gets benched, you get an uproar and throw only the chance of a BOS...best of sex...at a male)

years and I'll never buy this particular urban legend. I dare you to post this on my Sheltie list. My Sheltie? Too tall by just a touch so spayed and a loving pet. Perhaps in some of the shows you were involved in, but not a single incident in any I was involved in, and I'm pretty "privy" as part of the grooming crew. :hi:

have seen it all and it's NOT an urban legend.

:shrug:

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