The Three New Dog Breeds Making Their Debut In This Year’s Dog Show
The annual National Dog Show is introducing three new breeds this year - the Mudi, Bracco Italiano, and Russian Toy.
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Ever since the Christopher Guest movie “Best in Show” came out in 2002 roughly 20 million people tune in annually to watch the National Dog Show. The live taping of the television show always occurs annually on the weekend prior to Thanksgiving in Philadelphia. This year the American Kettle Club approved three new breeds of dogs that are now eligible to compete in the show.
According to NPR, David Frei who has served as Analyst and Host of the National Dog Show for over 20 years explains, “They’re finally recognized by the AKC for competition in the conformation dog shows because they have enough of them in this country. They have a geographic distribution, and they have a parent club that watches over them.” The rookie breeds in this year’s show are the Bracco Italiano, the Russian Toy, and the Mudi. Owners and Breeders of these dogs are ecstatic about them being eligible to compete and bring these breeds into the mainstream conversation.
The National Dog Show competition first occurred 143 years ago in 1879 but it did not become an annual event until 1933. Since then, there has been one every year including the Pandemic years of 2020/2021. The show started airing on Television in 2002 and they are celebrating the 20-year anniversary this year.
The actual show is known by Philadelphians as one of the city’s greatest hidden gems, right behind their cheesesteaks, Eagles, and Rocky Balboa. Stephanie Farr a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer is quoted by NPR saying, “I’ve been in the Philly area for about 15 years now, and I didn’t realize that I could go in person to the National Dog Show,” The show is classified as a benched show, which means that the dogs are required to be present on the floor even when they are not competing which is rare and besides the National Dog show only the Westminster Dog Show and the Detroit Dog Show are benched.
These types of shows allow the spectators and other breeders to interact with the dogs. When the spectators are admitted to the show, they receive a map that indicates which breeds are located where so they can navigate the different holding areas. The Kennel clubs putting on dog shows encourage the audience members to engage with the dogs and their owners.
The original main purpose for having dog shows was for owners and breeders to have the opportunity to educate the public on each individual breed’s habits. This was to give the public a solid foundation of information so they could choose the breed of dog that fits their family’s lifestyle. This is certainly a dog lovers’ dream event for being around the animal that they love most.
This year the show is going to be airing on Thanksgiving Day at 12 pm locally in all time zones. If you are in the Philadelphia area or if you are planning to visit next year the weekend before Thanksgiving you might want to drop by and see the spectacle for yourself. Even if you hadn’t planned to go yet but you are thinking to yourself, I really want to see that. Ask yourself what I am waiting for? They are the most adorable dogs in the world and they are waiting for you to stop by and say hello.
