National Dog Show

National Dog Show
Also known asThe National Dog Show Presented by Purina
GenreDog show
Created byKennel Club of Philadelphia (KCP)
Presented by
JudgesFrank DePaulo
(Show Chairman & Judge)
Country of originUnited States
Production
Production locationGreater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks in Oaks, Pennsylvania
Running time2 hours
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseNovember 2002 (2002-11)

The National Dog Show is an American all-breed benched conformation show sanctioned by the American Kennel Club and the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, which takes place on Thanksgiving each year and has been televised on NBC since 2002.

History

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Show began in 1879, following a format established by a one-time dog show held at the United States centennial in 1876. The show ran annually through 1927; it resumed in 1933 and has been held every year since.[1] The show is held by The Kennel Club of Philadelphia, a founding club of AKC. It traditionally takes place on the third from last weekend in November over two days. In 2002, NBC Sports began televising the show on Thanksgiving Day and rebranded it as The National Dog Show.[2]

The National Dog Show is one of the three major dog shows in the United States, along with the AKC National Championship and the Westminster Dog Show. Winners may be invited to compete at Crufts. As with all AKC conformation shows, mixed-breed dogs are not eligible to participate.

The NDS is one of the last six remaining benched dog shows in the United States.[3][4] The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused the show to be held behind closed doors for the first time.[5]

The first dog to win two consecutive Best in Show awards in the show's history was GCH Foxcliffe Claire Randall Fraser, a Scottish deerhound who won Best in Show in 2020 and 2021.[6]

Television history

The highly edited show is nationally televised (on tape delay) in the United States on NBC every Thanksgiving; the show airs after the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and airs at noon in all time zones except for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands which airs at 1 PM AST (due to NBC affiliates in these territories using the Eastern Time Zone feed), it also reairs every year either on the Friday or Saturday after thanksgiving in primetime or on the Sunday Afternoon after Thanksgiving. Actor John O'Hurley and American Kennel Club judge David Frei host, and the show's presenting sponsor is Nestlé Purina PetCare.[7]

The introduction of the television showings was drawn out of inspiration from the 2000 film Best in Show. NBC had attempted to fill the slot vacated by NBC's loss of Thanksgiving football rights four years prior; it had been airing the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life in the time slot but found that the film was not doing well enough in the ratings to justify continuing to air it there. NBC Sports's Jon Miller noted that the family atmosphere of Thanksgiving made the dog show a perfect fit for the slot after the parade, since pets are often considered an extension of the family unit, and surmised that viewers often had a rooting interest for the breeds of dogs they owned (which Miller dubbed an "alma mater effect").[2]

Best in Show winners

Year Breed Name Call Name Handler Refs.
2001 Labrador Retriever Gustavus Brady Gus [8]
2002 Standard Poodle Ale Kai Mikimoto on Fifth Miki Karen LeFrak [9]
2003 Doberman Blue Chip Purple Reign Raisin [9]
2004 Smooth Fox Terrier Aimhi Avalon Renaissance Gracie [10]
2005 Colored Bull Terrier Rocky Top's Sundance Kid Rufus Barbara Bishop [11]
2006 Toy Poodle Smash JP Win a Victory Vikki Kaz Hosaka [10]
2007 Australian Shepherd Buff Cap Creslane Arctic Mist Swizzle Nancy Gagnon [12]
2008 Pointer Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry Holly Sean & Tammy McCarthy [13]
2009 Scottish Terrier Ch. Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot Sadie Amelia Musser [10]
2010 Irish Setter Windntide Mr. Sandman Clooney Peter Kubacz [14]
2011 Wire Fox Terrier GCH Steele Your Heart Eira Gabriel Rangel [9]
2012 Wire Fox Terrier Afterall Painting the Sky Sky Gabriel Rangel [15]
2013 American Foxhound Gch. Kiarry's Pandora's Box Jewel Lisa Miller [16]
2014 Bloodhound Flessner's International S’cess Nathan Heather Helmer [17]
2015 Skye Terrier GCH CH Cragsmoor Good Time Charlie Charlie Larry Cornelius [18]
2016 Greyhound GCHS CH Grandcru Giaconda CGC Gia Melanie Steele [19]
2017 Brussels Griffon GCH Somerset Wynzall Hashtag Newton Keith Jacobson [20]
2018 Whippet GCHG Pinnacle Tennessee Whiskey Whiskey Justin Smithey [21]
2019 Bulldog GCHG Diamond Gold Majesu Pisko Bulls Thor Eduardo Paris [22][23]
2020 Scottish Deerhound GCH Foxcliffe Claire Randall Fraser Claire Angela Lloyd [24]
2021 Scottish Deerhound GCH Foxcliffe Claire Randall Fraser Claire Angela Lloyd [25]
2022 French Bulldog GCHP Fox Canyon's I Won The War at Goldshield Winston Perry Payson [26]
2023 Sealyham Terrier GCHP Goodspice Efbe Money Stache Stache Margery Good [27]
2024 Pug GCHG Andi In Cahoots Vito Michael Scott [28]

References

  1. ^ "A Rich History". The National Dog Show. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b Caduhada, Melanie (23 November 2013). "The National Dog Show becomes a Thanksgiving TV favorite". New York Post. News Corp. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  3. ^ Reznik, Allan (March 6, 2019). "Engaging Positively With the Public at Dog Shows". American Kennel Club.
  4. ^ "Judging". The National Dog Show.
  5. ^ Rill, Jake. "National Dog Show 2020: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Top Breeds and More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  6. ^ "Scottish deerhound wins first back-to-back National Dog Shows". 25 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Sponsors". The National Dog Show Presented by Purina. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  8. ^ "National Dog Show winners: A 20th anniversary look back". Dog o' Day. 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  9. ^ a b c "Best in Show! 20 Years of National Dog Show Winners". People.com. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  10. ^ a b c "Best in Show". National Dog Show of Philadelphia. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  11. ^ Manning, Sue (8 October 2010). "For Rufus, winningest bull terrier in breed history, life as a retired show dog is still busy". Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  12. ^ Soma, Ann Marie (3 December 2007). "Swizzle's Got Sizzle". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  13. ^ "NSBIS, MBIS & MBISS Ch. Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry". Seasyde Pointers. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  14. ^ Martelli, Rose. "And the Winner of the National Dog Show is.... Clooney, the Irish Setter". National Dog Show. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  15. ^ Schwartz, Alison (November 22, 2012). "National Dog Show Crowns Wire Fox Terrier Best in Show – Again". People. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  16. ^ Jamieson, Amy (28 November 2013). "American Foxhound Jewel Wins National Dog Show". People. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  17. ^ Bender, Kelli (27 November 2014). "Meet the 2014 National Dog Show Champion: Nathan the Bloodhound". People. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  18. ^ Bowerman, Mary (November 27, 2015). "Charlie the Skye terrier wins National Dog Show". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  19. ^ "AKC Event Information". akc.org.
  20. ^ "GCH SOMERSET WYNZALL HASHTAG wins the Toy Group!".
  21. ^ Zanzucchi, Mia (22 November 2018). "Whippet wins Best in Show at the 2018 National Dog Show".
  22. ^ Roxanne Roberts, A beefy bulldog named Thor hammers the competition to win National Dog Show, Washington Post (November 28, 2019).
  23. ^ Mia Zanzucchi, Bulldog wins Best in Show at the 2019 National Dog Show, NBC Sports (November 28, 2019).
  24. ^ Kuperinsky, Amy (26 November 2020). "National Dog Show 2020: Claire, Scottish deerhound, wins best in show". NJ.com.
  25. ^ Northam, Jackie (2021-11-25). Claire, a Scottish deerhound, has won the National Dog Show for the 2nd time. NPR, 25 November 2021. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2021/11/25/1059251575/national-dog-show-winner-claire-2021.
  26. ^ Northam, Jackie (2022-11-24). "Winston the French bulldog has won the National Dog Show". NPR. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  27. ^ Northam, Jackie (November 23, 2023). "Stache the Sealyham terrier wins the National Dog Show". NPR.
  28. ^ McCay, Bill (November 28, 2024). "'Vito' the pug wins best in show at annual National Dog Show competition". NBC News.