Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

The Annual Westminster Dog Show - General Discussion


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

Gotta love the Las Vegas Oddsmakers. Here's the considered favorites

 

Portuguese Water Dog (4-1)

Old English Sheepdog (6-1)

Skye Terrier (8-1)

Bloodhound (10-1)

Brittany (12-1)

Pomeranian (14-1)

 

The biggest longshots are a tie between the Staffordshire Bull Terrier & the Smooth-Coated Collie at 500-1 odds.

 

I just hope a breed that's never won ends up winning or anything that isn't a terrier or a toy dog. I'd love to see the Bloodhound or the Brittany win.

 

Also, just as a random aside, why is it that the cocker spaniels get separated by color and the Labradors don't? That's something that always bothered me. 

Link to comment

I'm kinda meh with the Portuguese Water Dogs, nice enough but doesn't ring my bell.  I'd really love an Australian Cattle Dog show up in our final selection.  Very sweet faced and I love their multi-colored coat.  

 

All this makes me appreciate my $60 in cat food and litter I bought today for the four ruling cats in this house.  I can't even imagine what it would cost to feed a Dogue de Bordeaux or Neo Mastiff on a two week basis.     

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Hi Bella, what can't I get this to show up in "My Shows" list?

 

I'm pretty sure you have to get the entire forum (Specials, TV Movies) for it to go into My Shows. Then just ignore all the other threads.

 

After you click the Follow button, you'll be given a confirmation box, and you have to click Follow there, too. If that doesn't work, take it to Bugs and the site admin will help you.

Link to comment

I'm pretty sure you have to get the entire forum (Specials, TV Movies) for it to go into My Shows. Then just ignore all the other threads.

 

After you click the Follow button, you'll be given a confirmation box, and you have to click Follow there, too. If that doesn't work, take it to Bugs and the site admin will help you.

 

Ah thanks. That makes complete sense.

Link to comment

Any chance we could get a "live-watch" thread?  It's so fun to talk about it with other dog people while it's happening!

 

I only found a place to do that online one time--it was in days of yore pre-twitter. (Which I still don't have.)  There was one person who showed dogs professionally and knew some of the handlers and lots of the insider politics, plus several wrestling fans chiming in to bitch about their show being pre-empted.  The wrestling vs. dog show comments were hysterical.

Link to comment

Any chance we could get a "live-watch" thread?  It's so fun to talk about it with other dog people while it's happening!

 

 

 

I've been thinking this could happen.

 

Before setting up this thread, I sought guidance from the site administrator. I told him I could see going with a forum or a thread. He preferred a thread, so here we are.

 

However, the PTV mods do have flexibility to use our own judgment within certain parameters. So here's what I'm going to propose:

1. We use this thread for chat during the show.

2. I'll keep monitoring the traffic level.

    a. If there isn't much traffic, we'll keep everything in one thread, since scrolling past a few posts is no hardship.

    b. If there's a lot of traffic, I'll set up a results thread and change the title on this thread to specify that it's for live chat.

    c. If there's crazy traffic, I'll set up a separate live chat thread for Tuesday.

 

So ... use this thread for live chat tonight. If the other threads are needed, I'll set them up.

 

ETA @ 9:45 p.m.: We've got less than a page of live chat, so we're going to stick with a single thread for the entire event.

Link to comment

Trying to work and watch the Best In Breeds today - Best in Breed for the French Bulldogs is a good looking pooch, dark with a dash of white on his/her chest.  I'm so mad that I missed the bulldogs!

 

I would give anything to have Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski do the play by play on the televised portion tonight.  It would be fabulous!

  • Love 2
Link to comment

And we're off!

 

Hello?. . . .lo?. . . . . .. .. lo?. . .. . . . . . . .lo?

 

Hee.  I checked to see what USA channel was showing, since it's on CNBC but they referred to it as USA's presentation of the 139th Westminster Dog Show.  It's wrestling!

Edited by candall
Link to comment

 

I would give anything to have Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski do the play by play on the televised portion tonight.  It would be fabulous!

 

Just no: I find them impossible when they are discussing their own sport, so attempting to add anything intelligent to dog shows is inconceivable.  Ugh.

 

Westminster is the only yearly event I block out ahead of time to watch. I'm so glad Monday (and Hounds, my group) falls on a holiday so I don't have to kill myself to get home from work in time to watch it (I have satellite so get to watch real-time)

Some really nice looking dogs this year in the hound group

Active judges like Pat Trotter should not be allowed to exhibit.  I find that a serious conflict of interest.

That's one cute PBGV!  Pity they are such a vocal dog

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Wow, so when did Erin Roberts start showing Salukis?  She was most famous for "Johnny" the Basenji.

 

Oh good, Chelsea Piers, our Deerhound National Specialty winner in 2014... Oh, no!  She's not very happy at all!!  She looks owie.  What a shame as she's really quite lovely.

Edited by DHDancer
Link to comment

I'm happy for the beagle, but the Otterhound won me over.  What a happy looking dog.  I am always surprised by how bog the paws are on many of the hounds.  

 

And the beagle wins my heart when he goes for his handlers pocket full of treats.  The hound are really showing personality this year. 

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Oh dear!  The commentator just said the greyhounds "still need to run."  Eek.  My first plan for this farm was retired racer greyhounds but none of the responsible rescues would let me have one because it's hundreds of acres in the middle of nowhere and I wasn't planning to leash walk.   They said sighthounds just keep going and racers are even trained to ignore people yelling at them to stop.

 

The few retired greyhounds I've met were couch potatoes--they were tired of running. (But they were still on leashes.)

 

********

Beagle takes out Nathan the bloodhound.  Upset!

 

***********

Banana Joe has his own Purina commercial!  He's such a little rockstar.  The papillon in the loving cup, Kirby, is still my favorite winner.  Just looked him up:  1999!?  Damn, these years are going fast.

Edited by candall
  • Love 1
Link to comment

HA!  Out of 14 dogs, my chihuahua Tic Tac was the only one who went screaming off the couch and bit out a leg chunk when an intruder broke in the back door.  No need for the chuckling about how they "think they're big dogs." 

Edited by candall
  • Love 3
Link to comment

Still LOVE that bulldog, and the Frenchie had a sweet face and look.  I see the poodles are up....boring.

 

I know the the chances of a Xolo win for Best in Group is slim and none, but I would love to see one be chosen.  If a bulldog didn't get in there.  

  • Love 1
Link to comment

The announcer should not have been allowed to 'announce' that the standard poodle was Reserve Best In Show last year!  You are not allowed to verbalize dog's names or wins in the show ring.  It puts the judge in a bad position.  No wonder at the result then, is there?  It is a nice poodle, but the dog should win on it's own merit, not it's previous win record.  Sigh.

Edited by DHDancer
  • Love 1
Link to comment

I really wanted the xolo to take the group.  Then again I was also rooting for the Chinese Crested for the toys.  I'm a fan of hairless dogs.  They are too often overlooked. I know the Crested was a powderpuff, the hairless dog's hairy brother.  We have one of our own.  They are great dogs.  

Link to comment

I have to admit that the minute I laid eyes on the standard poodle, I caught my breath and exclaimed it was one magnificent animal. I then proclaimed it the winner of the group, although my sister was sure it would be the dalmation. There was just something so special about that poodle. Wow. I must admit I love the winners so far this year. At this time, I am rooting for the beagle but I reserve the right to change my mind, which I do quite often ;-)

Link to comment

The announcer should not have been allowed to 'announce' that the standard poodle was Reserve Best In Show last year!  You are not allowed to verbalize dog's names or wins in the show ring.  It puts the judge in a bad position.  No wonder at the result then, is there?  It is a nice poodle, but the dog should win on it's own merit, not it's previous win record.  Sigh.

They're so strict with the number ID's and the quarantine for the BIS judge, etc.  This seems to me to be a HUGE error.  Like maybe disqualification should be on the table.  Does anything like that ever happen?

Link to comment

What happened to the Pekingese? 

 

Anyways, onto my thoughts. I was kind of underwhelmed with most of the choices save for the Herding Group (though it would've been fun to see the Aussie make it) which I swore was going to be the Corgi. 

 

I was hoping for the Otterhound or the Bloodhound for the Hound Group. I mean Beagles are fine and all but I prefer larger dogs. 

 

I don't really care for the Toy Group that much but I really liked the look of that Powderpuff Crested. But seriously, what happened to the Pekingese? Regardless, I would've preferred to see that Crested or the Cavalier Spaniel win but mehh, they wouldn't have been my overall pick for anything. 

 

As for the Non-Sporting Group, I was hoping for the Dalmatian. I loved the markings on that guy. And the Schipperke and the Xolo were pretty awesome. I feel like they picked the Standard Poodle because they probably had a Newer Breed Bias against the Xolo. That would've been a fascinating choice. 

 

And Herding, I love the Old English Sheepdog and I was a fan of the choices that were made for the Top 4. It would've been nice to see the Aussie make it to the next round, but I'll take what I can get. It'd be nice to see someone from the Herding Group win since they have the fewest Best in Shows. 

 

Anyways for tomorrow night, I'm not sure what to expect. I'm thinking either the Brittany or a Spaniel ends up getting the Sporting Group slot (though I'm holding out hope for a Retriever. I just hope their Labs are a lot more healthy looking this year) and it seems like the Portuguese Water Dog has the Working Group category sewn up but I'd love to see the Newfie or even the Weimaraner) and Terriers are always huge favorites for everybody but I like the look of Skye Terriers and I like Airedales. 

 

All in all...I'm holding out hope for some awesome breeds tomorrow night. 

Link to comment

They said the Pekingnese was not reacting well to the crowd so the handler asked to be excused for the good of the dog.  

 

I like when the lesser known breeds make the finals.  It brings much more notice to the show than when a well known breed wins.  Non-dog show people tend to remember them more and may become interested in viewing the show to learn more about other breeds.  That's how it was for me. 

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Kindasorta watched it tonight. Disappointed that a poodle made it to the finals, because the breed standard is a bit of a joke. Tomorrow is going to be tough . . . I gotta watch The Flash and Agent Carter. I'm thinking of DVRing The Real World and Kroll Show and catching the final hour. Understandable, right?

 

I hope the Peke is okay . . . the breed is a bit of a joke, but I wouldn't think ill of a dog just because it looks like a pug in a fur coat. I liked the Bulldog . . . he looked like he had a freckled coat.

Link to comment

The shih tzu who won the toy group was a beautiful dog.   That frou frou haircut hides what a happy hearty little dog a shih is.   I feel sorry for the Peke....those poor dogs have such ridiculous breed standards that they have ruined the breed.  No wonder the poor thing had to be excused.  He was probably overheating with all those lights.

 

Did something happen to the deerhound...it looked like she was limping when she went around the ring?  I'm not surprised that Nathan the bloodhound didn't win...it didn't look like he was his normal self.  He just didn't show at his best. 

Would love to see a golden or lab win but that happening must be  against Westminster rules :(  I'd be ok with Swagger winning it all.  He is an awfully special dog. 

 

Link to comment

The shih tzu who won the toy group was a beautiful dog.   That frou frou haircut hides what a happy hearty little dog a shih is.   

 

One of the things I have learned from my mother's experience as a dog owner is that the haircuts are no reflection on the dogs. She's had a Maltese with a sparkling personality and now owns a highly intelligent and devoted poodle. One of my neighbors fosters for a poodle rescue, and I've come to love those dogs. They don't give themselves those haircuts!

 

I couldn't watch last night, but I did record the show, and all the comments here are making me look forward to finally viewing it.

Link to comment

I'm working and watching some of the best in breed judging again.  While I missed the Bull Terriers (darn!) I love the little Smooth Fox Terrier, he or she is white with that black mask, very cute, very sheeplike.

 

Can somebody tell me what Best In Opposite is exactly?

Link to comment

.

 

Did something happen to the deerhound...it looked like she was limping when she went around the ring?  I'm not surprised that Nathan the bloodhound didn't win...it didn't look like he was his normal self.  He just didn't show at his best. 

Would love to see a golden or lab win but that happening must be  against Westminster rules :(  I'd be ok with Swagger winning it all.  He is an awfully special dog.

I wondered about the deerhound as well, and the (forgive my spelling) lunderhund. Seemed distracted, distressed - not happy to be there. Felt so sorry for both of them.

Oh, and my black lab would agree with your guarded optimism that we may some day see a lab win. ;) I'm not sure I'll live to see that day, but hey. We all have our dreams.

Link to comment

Re the Deerhound:  when I rewatched at 8pm, it became clearer to me that she was really worried about her footing. Her toes were very splayed like she wanted extra grip, and that crouching posture is something they will also do when afraid they're going to slip.  I watched the breed judging and she seemed fine on the carpet at the Piers so I wonder what was wrong with the group ring.  She and her handler are extremely experienced so this wasn't a case of first time nerves.

 

A real shame, but showing is all about performance "on the day" and it's one of the things that can happen when you are working with another sentient being.

Link to comment
why is it that the cocker spaniels get separated by color and the Labradors don't?

 

The parent/national breed club makes that determination. Members of The Labrador Retriever Club would have to initiate the effort to change the breed standard to create separate color varieties. It's a huge undertaking to change a breed standard so unless there is a determined, coordinated effort supported by a majority of the members, it won't happen. English Cockers have black, red and liver solids, and black/white, liver/white, red/white in roans and parti-color and none of them are separated by varieties

 

I'd loved to see a retriever win the group tonight and go on to BIS, my preference being the golden. I think the closest a golden has come to BIS is winning the group some time ago so still waiting for that first BIS.

 

My favorites so far have been the OES and the Xolo. They really have that ring presence that says, this is MY show. 

Edited by Suzee2
  • Love 1
Link to comment

Thank you Sonnet02 - I had considered that and wanted it confirmed by the smart people here.  

 

Had some time to watch some of the BIB  judging in the morning and early afternoon, especially enjoyed the Cane Corso, which were in every color variety, the gray and black and fawn with some brindled looks.  The Dogue de Bourdeux were all copper colored, don't think I saw any differences in coat amongst them.  Watching this and then reading up on them is quite the education in DNA, to say the least. 

Link to comment

I'm partial to the bassets and keep hoping one of them will win the hound class some day. It melted my heart last night when the little guy trotted around the ring wagging his tail. Was wishing the bloodhound would have had a better night. 

Link to comment

I'm all for a non toy, non terrier BIS tonight.  I love the sporting dogs (once had a Lab/Irish Setter mix), the working dogs and the herding dogs.  And if we have to have a terrier, please, please, please let it be a smooth one like the Bull Terrier from years ago.  After a while all of the wire haired terriers all look the same.  

Edited by Linderhill
  • Love 1
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...