131th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Show   

I'd like to adopt or purchase a new dog. Where do I start?

Start by watching the 131th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show . The entire show is available for sale on DVD from the Westminster Kennel Club web site at WestminsterKennelClub.org.

The show presents competitors from every dog breed for the "Best in Show" title. You'll learn a great deal by just watching the show and listening to the descriptions of each dog breed as they are systematically presented to the judges.

There are seven groups of dogs (Sporting, Non-sporting, Working, Herding, Terrier, Hound, and the Toy) being shown at the Westminister Kennel Club show today, with various entrants within each group. All breeds compete for the "best of breeds" titles and then the "best of breeds" winners compete to become the "best of groups" winners. Finally, the "best of groups"winners compete to win the "Best in Show" title.

It's important to note that the judges do not compare one breed with another to make their decisions for the "Best in Group" and "Best in Show" titles. Instead, the judges look for the dogs that best represent their individual AKC standards. The dog that best represents the standard for its breed wins the "Best in Show" title.

You can check out TV Coverage HERE

The following is a list of all the dog groups and the breeds within each dog group:

SPORTING BREEDS

Brittany, Pointer Pointer (German Shorthaired), Pointer (German Wirehaired), Retriever (Chesapeake Bay), Retriever (Curly-Coated), Retriever (Flat-Coated), Retriever (Golden), Retriever (Labrador), Retriever (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling), Setter (English), Setter (Gordon), Setter (Irish), Spaniel (American Water), Spaniel (Clumber), Spaniel (Cocker) A.S.C.O.B., Spaniel (Cocker) Black, Spaniel (Cocker) Parti-Color, Spaniel (English Cocker), Spaniel (English Springer), Spaniel (Field), Spaniel (Irish Water), Spaniel (Sussex), Spaniel (Welsh Springer), Spinone Italiano, Vizsla, Weimaraner, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

NON-SPORTING BREEDS

American Eskimo Dog, Bichons Frises, Boston Terrier, Bulldog, Chinese Shar-Pei, Chow Chow, Dalmatian, Finnish Spitz, French Bulldog, Keeshond, Lhasa Apso, Lowchen, Poodle (Miniature), Poodle (Standard), Schipperke, Shiba Inu, Tibetan Spaniel, Tibetan Terrier

WORKING BREEDS

Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Bernese Mountain Dog, Black Russian Terrier, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Doberman Pinscher, German Pinscher, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Komondor, Kuvasz, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Newfoundland, Portuguese Water Dog, Rottweiler, Samoyed, Siberian Husky, St Bernard, Standard Schnauzer

HERDING BREEDS

Australian Cattle Dog, Australian Shepherd, Bearded Collie, Belgian Malinois, Belgian Sheepdog, Belgian Tervuren, Border Collie, Bouviers des Flandres, Briard, Canaan Dog, Collie (Rough), Collie (Smooth), German Shepherd Dog, Old English Sheepdog, Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Puli, Shetland Sheepdog, Welsh Corgi (Cardigan), Welsh Corgi (Pembroke)

TERRIER BREEDS

Airedale Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Australian Terrier, Bedlington Terrier, Border Terrier, Bull Terrier (Colored), Bull Terrier (White), Cairn Terrier, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Fox Terrier (Smooth), Fox Terrier (Wire), Glen of Imaal Terrier, Irish Terrier, Kerry Blue Terrier, Lakeland Terrier, Manchester Terrier (Standard), Miniature Bull Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Norfolk Terrier, Norwich Terrier, Parson Russell Terrier, Scottish Terrier, Sealyham Terrier, Skye Terrier, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Welsh Terrier, West Highland White Terrier

HOUND BREEDS

Afghan Hound, Basenji, Basset Hound, Beagle, 13 In., Beagle, 15 In., Black and Tan Coonhound, Bloodhound, Borzoi, Dachshund (Longhaired), Dachshund (Smooth), Dachshund (Wirehaired), Foxhound (American), Foxhound (English), Harrier, Ibizan Hound, Irish Wolfhound, Norwegian Elkhound, Otterhound, Petits Bassets Griffons Vendeen, Pharaoh Hound, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Saluki, Scottish Deerhound, Whippet

TOY BREEDS

Affenpinscher, Brussels Griffon, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Chihuahua (Long Coat), Chihuahua (Smooth Coat), Chinese Crested, English Toy Spaniel (B&PC), English Toy Spaniel (KC&R) Havanese, Italian Greyhound, Japanese Chin, Maltese, Manchester Terrier (Toy), Miniature Pinscher, Papillon, Pekingese, Pomeranian, Poodle (Toy), Pug, Shih Tzu, Silky Terrier, Toy Fox Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier

About the Author

Armen T. Ghazarians offers advice, information, and articles regarding many aspects of professional dog training for all those who are not professional dog trainers themselves. For more articles like this one, visit his website at http://www.newdogtrainingsecrets.com .