The adjectives that describe the dogs in our lives frequently also apply to ourselves — whether that’s reserved or energetic, loyal or stoic. Consciously or not, we are often drawn to breeds that reflect our perception of ourselves and our values, both inside and out. And though those qualities can certainly appear in all dogs, in a purebred […]

Showing dogs – the formal term for it is “conformation” – is a sport, and, like any football game or tennis match, dog shows have rules, too. But folks who sit on the sidelines can easily become bewildered if they don’t understand how guidelines apply to the game at hand. Whether you’re taking aim at […]

In any field of endeavor, there are personalities so larger than life that only part of their name is sufficient inducement to bring them to mind. In fashion, there are Valentino and Iman. In music, Adele and Beyoncé and Madonna and too many more to count. And in purebred dogs, there’s Sunny. A Household Name […]

Watch a dog show in action this Easter. The Kennel Club of Beverly Hills Dog Show in Pomona, California will be televised Easter Sunday, April 21, on NBC affiliates nationwide. Sit down and stay awhile. That porch-rocker philosophy used to be prevalent at dog shows, which for the first half of the 20th Century were all-day […]

Watch a dog show in action this Easter. The Kennel Club of Beverly Hills Dog Show in Pomona, California will be televised Easter Sunday, April 21, on NBC affiliates nationwide. It’s at the top of every breeder’s wish list: the once-clueless “pet person” who is now willing – even eager – to show their promising new […]

People in the sport of dogs can wear many hats, and Bonnie Threlfall of Cary, North Carolina, has pretty much donned them all: Born into a dog-show family, she has been breeding her Edgewood English Cocker Spaniels for more than 40 years. After a decade-long stint as a professional handler in the late 1970s into […]

There are champions, and then there are champions. Every year, the American Kennel Club acknowledges the most accomplished dogs in a trio of sports – Agility, Obedience, and Rally – by hosting championship competitions to which the nation’s top-ranked dogs are invited. A handful of these top winners then run, jump, weave, heel, or retrieve their […]

There are two kinds of pointers at dog shows. The first are elegant, English dogs with dished faces, tails shaped like bee stingers, and the hard-wired instinct to signal the location of camouflaged birds with the slow-motion lift of a front paw. The other pointers, by contrast, are found in every ring. Being human, they […]

On Monday afternoon, a black Labrador Retriever named “Heart” earned the title of Masters Obedience Champion at the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show – an accomplishment she has logged every year since the competition began in 2016. The 6½-year-old Lab is owned and handled by professional dog trainer Linda Brennan of Columbia, New Jersey, […]

It’s good to be King. On Feb. 12, the Wire Fox Terrier Grand Champion Kingarthur Van Foliny Home was crowned Best in Show at the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, presented by Purina® Pro Plan® at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The victory was nothing if not dynastic: Wire Fox Terriers are the […]