Westminster Dog Show – Interesting Details

The Westminster dog show is one of the most famous dog shows in the world. It’s a two day contest and occurs in New York City in the Madison Square Gardens on a yearly basis. Dogs from all over the world are brought to compete at the show and the judges are provided by the American Kennel Club.

The Westminster dog show was originally created for setters and pointers and was created by a group of hunters who frequently got together at the Westminster Hotel in Manhattan. They created the Westminster kennel club with the primary reason being to having a dog show. Over time the dog show didn’t just focus on hunting dogs and numerous other breeds were allowed to compete at the Westminster dog show.

The first show actually took place at the Gilmore Gardens which is now the location of the New York Life Building. The first dog show the group put on was filled with more than twelve hundred dogs. The show went from three days to four days; however in 1941 it had become a two day show.

Wide Variety of Dogs

A wide variety of dog breeds are entered each year in the Westminster dog show and the average person has never heard of some of the breeds that are participating in the contest. The show is televised each year and is comprised of over 2500 dogs each year and more than 150 breeds of dogs participate in the dog show. The contest features the Best of Group awards as well as the Best of Show which is the dog that has been selected as the winner from the Best of Group dogs at the Westminster dog show.

To participate in the dog show the dogs have to be registered with the AKC. There are a vast amount of owners that desire to have their dog participating in the dog show, thus the Westminster dog show requires that in order for a dog to be allowed in the show he must have acquired a breed championship.

Breeding Fees

A significant amount of the dogs at the show are handled by professional people who make a significant fee for participating in the show. The winning dogs of the show can provide their owners with opportunity to collect huge fees for breeding. The criteria of winning at the dog show are basically the appearance of the dog. If you enjoy dogs, have a good time and watch the Westminster dog show.