In Thursday’s National Dog Show competition, a Boxer named Scarlett had impressive credentials, but it was Clooney, an Irish Setter, who won Best in Show.
Clooney and his handler, Peter Kubacz, summed up the day's events with an interview at the end of the dog show. When Kubacz was asked if Clooney knew he was the top dog, Clooney nodded yes with the enthusiasm of a true winner.
Clooney was one of more than 2,000 dogs representing 179 different breeds that took to the ring on Thanksgiving Day to compete in The National Dog Show presented by Purina. Hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, the show is one of the oldest benched conformation dog shows in the country and has been held annually since 1933. A conformation dog show shows off breeding stock and a benched show allows those attending to mingle with the dogs behind the scenes.
To pick the winning dog, the judge has to know the breed standard of each dog.
Six new dog breeds were among the breeds showcased in this year's National Dog Show. New breeds are recognized by the American Kennel Club when the breed has a good following spread across the country with a parent club to oversee them. The six new breeds introduced this year were the Boykin Spaniel in the sporting group, the Cane Corso and the Leonberger in the working group, the Bluetick Coonhound and Redbone Coonhound in the hound group and the Icelandic Sheepdog in the herding group.
This year's National Dog Show was a wide open field with no particular favorite. The breeds competing in the finals for the coveted title of Best in Show were:
* in the sporting group, Clooney, a 3-year-old male Irish Setter;
* in the working group, Scarlett, a 3-year-old female Boxer with 52 all-breed Best in Show victories under her collar;
* in the herding group, Beyonce, a 3-year-old female Australian Shepherd;
* in the hound group, Hickory, a 4-year-old female Scottish Deerhound;
* in the terrier group, Maddy, a 2-year-old female American Staffordshire Terrier with nine Best in Show wins to her credit;
* in the non-sporting group, a 6-year-old male Schipperke, Johnny Be Good, who was aptly named because, as a puppy, he wasn't good;
* and in the toy group, Joe, a 3-year-old male Affenpinscher.
Interesting facts and bits of trivia learned the National Dog Show:
* The Chinese Crest is a breed that, unlike other dog breeds, has sweat glands on its body.
* Responsible breeders do recognize that some dogs are smaller than their breed standard, but there is no such thing as a teacup dog and they will not breed any dog for a smaller size.
* A conformation dog show is meant to show off breeding stock and a dog is disqualified if they have been altered.
* Redbone Coonhounds can bark 125 times in one minute.
* The Doberman Pincher was named after the man who first bred them for man's protection. He apparently had good reason for wanting protection: His last name was Doberman and he was a tax collector.
* Most of the breeds from the terrier group evolved in Britain.
* Helen Keller brought the first Akitas to the United States in the 1930s.
* The Rottweiler was bred to be a drover dog for butchers. Once the railroads became popular and the butchers no longer needed the Rottweiler as a drover, the dog was used to protect the butcher's coin purse. They hung their purse around the dog's neck.
* The Boxer got its name from standing on back legs and boxing to get attention.
* The Schipperke has no tail.
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Congratulations, Clooney!!
Clooney, an Irish Setter, Captures Best in Show at 2010 National Dog Show
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