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How'd a Pekingese Win Best in Show?

Crixus

Crixus

I enjoy watching the Westminster Kennel Club's annual show each year, and this year was able to watch in high definition for the first time. Tremendous! But.....

The Pekingese won the coveted Best in Show. That is the best of the best. The problem (at least from where I sit) is that the Pekingese that won no more looked like a dog than a cat looks like a horse. It literally looked like a caterpillar straight out of Alice in Wonderland. It had so much hair that there was just hair moving around with a face in it.

Granted, they really groom some of those smaller dog breeds to look "un-doggy" (the Dandy Dinmont---poor thing), and I am sure the groomers, trainers, owners, etc. of the Pekingese put in just as much time, money, love and heartache as the other breeds. But I want my country's dog representative to look like a dang dog. There were many choices. We ended up with a furry caterpillar.
 
xXClockwork

xXClockwork

Most of the dogs in these shows don't appeal to me. I like the look of the larger breeds of dogs, strong and masculine (Malamute, Great Dane, etc.). The "froofy" dogs usually end up being the ones most beloved and talked about.
 
Granaura

Granaura

I love the Bichons... They look like a cute army of darkness.... Cute but you know they are inwardly just a bit evil..
 
oc_in_fw

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
auk1124 said:
While I love dogs, I'd think it would be the rare dog that could take on a really ticked-off Mama cat in a dark alley.
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A friend I had in Cleveland had a black lab. Any time a cat would walk within the dogs eyesight, he would look at his owner who would say "Go ahead". The dog would then run after the cat. Never to hurt it, mind you, it just wanted to chase. One day a big old tom was moseying across the street, dog looks back, get the go ahead, and charges the cat. The cat stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the dog as if to say "Yeah, let's do this". The dog made a BIG circle around the cat and came running back to us, tail a little lower, while we were laughing at him.
 
Granaura

Granaura

oc_in_fw said:
A friend I had in Cleveland had a black lab. Any time a cat would walk within the dogs eyesight, he would look at his owner who would say "Go ahead". The dog would then run after the cat. Never to hurt it, mind you, it just wanted to chase. One day a big old tom was moseying across the street, dog looks back, get the go ahead, and charges the cat. The cat stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the dog as if to say "Yeah, let's do this". The dog made a BIG circle around the cat and came running back to us, tail a little lower, while we were laughing at him.
Click to expand...
Yeah.. Cats are waaaay sharper and ouchier...Although... If I came across this in a back alley I would need a change of underwear... Pure evil I tells ya...

$A_Bichon_Christmas_2005.jpg
 
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Phog Allen

Phog Allen

I was certainly pulling for the Alsatian(German Shepherd) since I had one as a lad. And I must admit our Jack Russel terrier is a grand canine even if he more resembles Courage the Cowardly Dog in temperament. But Pekes? I have to admit I rather dislike the whole dustmop without a handle look. Tell you what though, read Alf Wight's(James Herriot) books such as All Creatures Great and Small. Dear old Mrs. Pumphrey's little Tricky Woo kind of made me give them at least a pass despite their ridiculous appearance. The vet, "Uncle Herriot", was so good to Tricky that the practice received a gift basket from Fortnam and Mason so loaded with jams, cheeses, and good brandy the doctors were beside themselves. Of course Mrs. Pumphrey had sent the basket to Herriot "From: Tricky Woo." It was all rather cute. So yeah, Pekes can come in handy at times.

Cheers, Todd
 
garyg

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
Next door neighbors have a rat dog of that breed, she either snaps at me or loves me, I think that those toy breeds have suffered the same as the working dogs, in that they are being bred for show or sale, not the field. I like working breeds, i.e., those that did something as opposed to get to NY
 
Lynchmeister

Lynchmeister

A friend of mine breeds and shows dogs and I've asked her several times about all the quirks I point out to her about the "show world." To put it bluntly, many of the winning dogs win not on their own merit, but based on the politics and relationships between the handlers and judges.

Please don't shoot the messenger, this is just what I've been told by someone in the "biz."
 
Hammertime1

Hammertime1

I usally ony watch the working and sporting dogs when they show em and missed it this year. So rare that those dogs make it to the top. Caught the highlight clips of the finalist this year and before they said he was winner, I thought ugly, football dog, damn is that an ugly cat?, can't stand the looks at all, yup he guna be da winner.
I did catch the whole show the year the German Short hair won and was like about frigin time! That was an absoulute beautiful specimen of GSP's too. But that's why I stopped watching its just seemed like the working class and sporting dogs weren't getting the attention they deserved. Damn there have been some absolute beautiful specimens of various working and sporting breeds that were absoultely stunning and got no love from the judges. I know they year the short hair won some of the comments made about the last time dogs like this placed and showed etc kinda seemed to validate my beliefs.
I am GSP guy through an through, i love the breed, but I also know when there's a better looking dog so don't get me wrong thinking I'm just talking about the GSP breed not getting love, it's like lots of classes just don't get the attention they deserve.
I love when someone comes up to me and tries telling me about the breed that I have been around my whole life and they are so off base it's hysterical. I have a solid liver GSP, I had a women who said she shows gsp's told me me solid liver gsp's were for show only and not capaable of being a hunting dog as it wasn't in their nature. Had no clue of history or about breed. I'm not going to walk up to some person who has dog x an tell him anything about their breed I am clueless about except comment if It as a sweet looking animal to tell them that. But in seems these shows are getting tto much about the impractical which I think isn't healthy for any breed.

Side note I have seen a dog destroy a cat. The smart ones nail em from behind and it's once crunch. I have also seen where one dog acts as a decoy and the other nails cat/whatever from behind. Not saying I endorse the attacking of an animal in such a manner. I don't support animal cruelty. Just stating what I have observed. Also seen more then One dog get tore up by a cat.
 
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xraygun

xraygun

Dog shows are as political as Congress.

Hey, at least last year it was "Hickory", a Scottish Deerhound that really was one of the most beautiful dogs I've ever seen.
 
C

commanderkeen

I generally don't like the over-domesticated look of some of the breeds in these dog shows. Even that German Shepard is way over-bred to have that low hind, maybe some people get their kicks from seeing that but it has no utility when it comes to the effectiveness of the dog to herd, actually it makes the dog slower and makes it harder for the dog to work in certain types of terrain. Look up the working-strain of the GSD and you will see what that breed is supposed to look like. This rant is not limited to GSD but it is probably the most obvious breed to use to point out the distasteful breeding of show dogs.

Hunting dogs are my favorites, they are pretty close to what they should be, and I'm particularly partial to German Short-haired Pointers.
 
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