How on earth does one objectively judge these dogs?
Basically, there are breed standards. Each dog is judged on how closely they come to perfection and that determines their rankings against other breeds and groups(toy, working, etc.).
I’m watching. The best in breed Gordon Setter is the half-brother of my parents’ younger dog, in fact. (They say their dog did not care.) The dogs are judged by how closely they come to the standards for their own breed. This is the Westminster Kennel Club show, so I assume that club is in charge of the standards. I don’t know how the standards get adopted or changed or anything like that.
Very cool Marley! You are ‘related to greatness’!
In short- the breed clubs set the standard for the breed. It is very difficuly to get a breed standard changed, and they don’t vary from show to show, although individual judges may ‘interperate’ the standard differently.
The judges have the standard memorized (ideally) and their own mental picture of what the perfect dog of each breed would look like. The dogs are not judged against one another at all, but against the breed standard. Is the Gordon Setter closer to a perfect Gordon Setter, or is the Pointer closer to a perfect Pointer?
I’m at work right now, so I’m not watching, unfortunately. 
Do David Frei and his co-host sound drunk to anyone else?
StG
No. The co-host seems uninformed, though. And the PA system guy makes a lot of mistakes.* Worse last night, though.
- not the least of which is “miss CHEE vee yus”
I love to hate these shows, as a Boston Terrier fanatic.
C’mon. Non sporting lumps the BEST dog ever with poodles.POODLES ALWAYS WIN.
I love to watch this segment and trash talk the damn poodles… But only cause they always win. 
What, did you loose your busy bee?
Someone else likes Best In Show!
I only tuned in to see the St. Bernard. Gorgeous! And HUGE!
Right there with ya. I was: A) proud of the Frenchie for at least taking third, and B) *Really *proud of the Bichon for beating that damned poodle. I hate the poodles for the exact same reason.
:: wanders off singing, “Underage Bichon”::
I watched a little bit the last 2 nights, but mostly I found it boring. I like dogs and we’ve had our share over the years - currently, we’ve got a pug in residence - but I put dog shows right up there with fashion shows and beauty contests. Just not my cup of tea.
Haha!
No, I’m just lactose intolerant now.
Great movie!
But still, damn the poodles and their illuminati syndicate!
Near the end, just before Best In Show was announced, one of the commenters said, “Yeah, well we all know the Best Dog in the Show is the one sitting next to you on the couch.”
I looked down at the enormous pitbull head snoring quietly in my lap and said to her, “Word.”
I too am not a fan of the show poodles. The haircut makes them look creepy. Pet poodles with normal hair trims are cute and sweet.
I was rooting for Banana Joe the affenpinscher and Swagger the Old English Sheepdog, and they took the top two places. I don’t care about standards, I like cuteness and personality. It will be hard to ever top last year’s winner, Malachy the Maltese, for personality.
Does anyone remember which breed of dog was claimed to be Toto’s breed? I always thought Toto was just a scruffy mutt.
I thought Toto was a Cairn terrier. If not, certainly a terrier mutt, IMHO.
I always root for the affen or brussels griffon because those are my favorite breeds. (And my two best friends). I was so happy that Banana Joe won this year however, his cousin Maxwell didn’t seem the least bit impressed.
Malachy is a Pekingese, not a Maltese. The dog who played “Toto” in The Wizard of Oz (MGM, 1939) was a Cairn Terrier.
One question that I always wonder: when the AKC adds more and more breeds every year, how does the dog show maintain its TV schedule of three hours per night? You can be sure they’re not going to get rid of any commercial time in order to cram in more dogs. Do they shorten the setup time in between groups? Do the judges have the dogs walk around the ring in ever-smaller circles?