Thoughts on the Westminster Dog Show

The Westminster dog show has once again come and gone. And once again there was griping and moaning about the winner from those unknowledgeable armchair judges who thought that this was a dog popularity contest and that audience applause determined the winner. But the complaining was not nearly as bad as it was last year when some dogs had to be excused due to conflicts of interest with the particular judges. People who know nothing about dogs or dog shows really should not comment until they get more education on the subject. The judge can only evaluate what is in front of him on any particular day. That being said let's move on. The Hound group is not my particular group but there were a couple of breeds that I did take a fancy to. The Afghan Hound was a nice dog. I have not seen an Afghan that good since Tryst of Grandeur showed many years ago. The Portuguese Podengo Pequeno is a really adorable dog and could be on my short list if I ever entertained getting another dog. I also looked with particular interest at the Treeing Walker Coonhound since my grandfather trained and hunted with that breed. My dad kept Dachshunds but that is not a breed I would consider due to the numerous back issues the dog can have due to it's body shape. The Whippet won the group and was a nice dog. I took a nap during the Toy and Non-Sporting groups so I only saw a few of those dogs. The Herding group was one of great interest to me since I used to train and handle German Shepherds, which are some of the best type dogs on the planet!!! The German Shepherd in the group was a brother to the Best In Show winner from 2017 but, while I did really like him, he just did not wow me like his sister Rumor did. I muted the tv whilst the Belgian dogs were on because the announcers always get it wrong. Every other registry in the world has them as one breed with four varieties (Groenendael, Malinois, Tervuren and Laekenois) but the AKC insists upon them being three separate breeds with the Laekenois not being officially recognized but does seem to be in the Miscellaneous group now. The Shetland Sheepdog won the Herding group. The Sporting Group began night two and for the second year there was this little heart thief of a breed there -- the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje. I had the very first rescue of this breed in the USA. They are really great little dogs and I really would not mind having another one. I also looked with particular scrutiny at the Pointer -- not too bad but still not like Karlyn was. My girl Karlyn was very properly structured and is really a dog I wished I could have been able to get as a puppy, she was just that good and had the best tracking nose I had ever seen on a dog. The Golden Retriever was a really nice dog and a breed that would be on my short list if I wanted a big dog. The Irish Water Spaniel did not want to be examined and after two attempts by the judge to examine it, the dog had to be excused from the ring. I felt really bad for the handler because that is something I went through before because my dog just did not like the show ring -- I had people in Arkansas making nasty comments about me and my dog and they started a rumor that my dog tried to attack the judge, which was untrue because my dog just looked at the judge, who was acting extremely arrogant and pompous towards the dogs and my dog was not of the type to tolerate that behavior and intimidated the judge. The Working Group included the Doberman, a breed I am definitely familiar with since my mum was heavily involved with this breed when I was growing up. I grew up knowing about such great dogs as Hotai Copper Tattoo and Marienburg Sun Hawk. The Doberman was a nice one and was a son of a previous group winning Doberman who just recently passed away. The Rottweiler was also a nice dog and was a huge change from previous ones that looked like barrels with legs. The Terrier Group was the last main group before Best in Show. The Australian Terrier would be on my short list for another dog in the future. I had one as a kid and they are great little dogs. The Wire Fox Terrier won this group. The Best in Show class is the last one that picks the winner of the entire show and there was a very good line-up. Naturally people are once again carping about the winner -- this year the Standard Poodle won. I saw one person on Twitter posting about how racist the judges were since a black dog never won -- I hope this person very quickly shut his stupid mouth since the Spoo was black!!! So far, the griping about the winner is nowhere near as bad as it was last year but people still need to get a clue about dog shows!!!