Canines will continue to compete at the Westminster Dog Show this week.
For the 147th time, around 3,000 dogs of over 200 different breeds are vying for awards at the Westminster Dog Show.
The Master’s Agility Championship Finals took place Sunday, May 7, but rest assured, Monday and Tuesday hold more competitions to enjoy, including judging that leads to the coveted “Best in Show.”
Truant the border collie took home the prize for the agility championships. Truant had the fastest overall time out of all of the canines that competed.
The preliminaries for this event took place on Friday and Saturday. Also on Saturday was the Master’s Obedience Championship, in which dogs were tested on their ability to obey their owner’s commands. Baker the golden retriever took home the championship title.
Saturday closed with the dock diving competition, a contest to see which dog can leap the furthest off of a dock into a pool of water to catch one of their toys. Three dogs were recognized for their excellent jumps, including Vern the Labrador retriever, Loki the Belgian Malinois, and Tink the Cairn terrier.
The “Best in Show” award will be announced on Tuesday.
Judges at the competition evaluate seven different breed groups. Dogs are judged based on how well they exemplify the ideal of their breed group — that is, the size, weight, body proportions, and gait of the given breed.
If a dog is fortunate enough to win Best in Breed, it proceeds to the Best in Group category. A judge then selects the top four dogs, and the top dog of those four represents its respective group in the Best in Show award.
The seven different breed groups are as follows:
- Herding
- Working
- Hound
- Terrier
- Sporting
- Non-sporting
- Toy
Last year’s winner made history by being the first bloodhound to win Best in Show in the history of the competition.
The event is being held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, which is “one of the world’s largest public tennis facilities” and hosts the U.S. Open.
You can watch the broadcast of the Westminster Dog Show on Monday and Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. CST on Fox Sports 2 and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. CST on Fox Sports 1.
