I was watching the Westminster Kennel Club’s dog show on TV the other night when they revealed a surprising statistic–out of the preceding 95 years or so, Best in Show has gone to a dog in the terrier group 43 times. Indeed, shortly thereafter they gave this year’s award to the bull terrier.
Sporting and Toy dogs made up a big chunk of the rest; there were two groups (Herding and Hound, I think) that had one win between them.
What gives?
Shows like this are supposed to award the dog that most approximates the breed standard. Given this, there are two possible legit explanations: terrier standards are just easier to achieve, or terrier breeders have just bred remarkably better dogs than everyone else in the last century. Or is there something else at work? I mean, God loves a terrier and all, but sheesh.
I’ve wondered the same thing. There are only a few terrier breeds that I think are attractive or that would fit my idea of a good pet for me. I realize they’re bred mostly for a specific task, and all that, but that doesn’t explain all the terrier love to me. And I, too, wonder if the breed standards might not be as “idealized” for terriers as for some other breeds, or what?
Dog show person here. And I haven’t got a freakin’ clue.
If I had to wager a guess, I would have to say that maybe because they are just so popular, there are more really good examples of them than the less populous breeds. And Terriers are more likely to be SHOW DOGS than pets, due to personality and grooming needs. They are flashy dogs, with a look-at-me attitude, which can’t hurt.
Actually, there are some breeds that are just more likely to do well in group and Best in Show competition. In the Sporting group, the English Springer Spaniel and American Cocker Spaniels tend to win more. My chosen breed, Gordon Setters, have reason to rejoice if we get a group placement and a BiS is truly a reason to celebrate. In Non-Sporting, I would wager a guess that Standard Poodles, Bichon Frises and Dalmatians do the lion’s share of group & BiS winning.
I love seeing the more unusual breeds win. The year the Clumber Spaniel took Westminster, I was ecstatic. And in 1998, I had a double treat- the Toy group (and ultimately BiS) was won by the magnificent Papillon CH Lotiki’s Supernatural Being , and Sporting was won by the Gordon Setter CH Bit O’ Gold’s Titan Treasure (Ironically both call names were Kirby!)… Boy was I torn over who to cheer for !
Danged if I know. Another dog show person, only I do working events, not conformation. “My” breed is Rottweilers. And the occasional stray mutt.
Popularity might be one reason, as a group - mind you, toy and sporting (Goldens, Labs) groups are way popular and I think have more AKLC registrations. As a group, terriers tend to make more challenging family pets - this is a way broad generalization, mind you! Only because (as a group) they are a bit hard to train and often require more grooming, as PapSett pointed out.
Although popularity as a group doesn’t account for the fact that when there’s only one representative of each group up for BIS, why terriers tend to win more when each dog there is pretty much at the pinnacle of perfection, standard-wise.
It’s also not completely objective - judges have their own biases! And from what I understand from my conformation-show friends, it can get quite political out there.
If you’re talking about Group wins, not specifically tallying by breed, you have to remember that for a long time dogs were judged in only 2 groups - Sporting and Non-Sporting. That was expanded with Terriers, Hounds, Toys and Working added, because the groups were too big. Just within the last 10-15 years, Working was further separated with Herding being broken out. So a Rough Collie, for example, has been judged in Non-Sporting, Working and Herding. Also, the Terriers are largest group, giving them a higher probability of having a winner than many of the other groups.
Just my guess.
Personally, I think dachshunds should be judged as terriers - after all, they’re go-to-ground dogs that hunt vermin.
I second the idea that there are more good breeding lines of terriers. Not only are they very popular, but they have been for much longer than most other breeds.
CH stands for Champion; a dog must earn 15 points under at least 3 different judges with 2 wins of at least 3 points or more to become a champion. The number of points won are determined by the number of dogs entered in that breed that day.
Yes, Gordon Setter and Papillon are the breed names.
The possessive in the dog’s actual name is the name of the kennel they are from. It is sort of a way of free advertising for the breeder; if you are sitting there at ringside, with your show catalog in hand, and you are considering buying , say, a Gordon Setter, you see a lovely young dog out in the ring that catches your eye. He is number 23, so you open your handy-dandy catalog, and look up Gordon Setter #23. It lists his name as ValleyView’s Shining Honor. You can find out information on ValleyView kennel , and see if they are planning another similar breeding, put in a reservation on a puppy, and eventually own a ValleyView dog of your own.
No matter what the registered name is, the dog always has a call name, used around the house. ValleyView’s Shining Honor might be known as Max or Sam. It doesn’t have to have a blessed thing to do with the registered name, tho I usually like to tie them in together with my dogs. (Stonemist Nick of Time is Nick, Schujan’s Must Be Kharma is Kharma, Strathmore Fantasia CD CGC TDI was Fancy)
There are many abbreviations used with show dog names. A few of the more popular are:
CD- companion dog
CDX- companion dog excellent
UD-Utility dog
TD-tracking dog
JH- junior hunter
SH- senior hunter
MH- master hunter
CGC-canine good citizen
I can’t even begin to keep all the agility titles straight…
Wrong! There are several sight hound breeds that have been around since way before there was a Britain (home of nearly all terriers)! Several terrier breeds have only been around for a few hundred years, or less, as opposed to a few thousand for the basenji, Ibizan hound, greyhound and its close relatives (saluki, whippet, Italian greyhound, etc.), and also several of the mastiff-type dogs. In fact, using & selectively breeding dogs for vermin control came way after using them for hunting, herding, and protection purposes.
LOL… Actually the CGC is a very basic obedience title, just showing that your dog knows the basics of how to behave, and is well cared for. The evaluator brushes the dog briefly and handles all 4 feet , to show that the dog will accept this handling. The dog has to come when called, accept a stranger petting it, walk thru a crowd without jumping on people or cowering in fear, meet a friendly dog without showng aggression, and several other tests.
And not to mention AKC isn’t the only reputable registry out there (not counting the crappy ones set up for $$ to register puppymill dogs and such.) UKC is only two years newer than AKC, though it’s a bit more of a “working” registry; giving titles for events like agility, weightpull, obedience etc. They do have conformation titles too, and register some breeds not recognized by AKC, like English Shepherd. Also, they don’t allow professional handlers; more laid back. Weird One, CGC just shows your dog has good manners around other dogs and people and knows the basic commands. It’s not really an actual title, but a nice thing to have. Some apartments will require it for renting with a dog, and it’s required by some of the therapy dog organizations.
But none of this addresses the OP…when you have just one representative of each group, why terriers would be preferred is still a mystery.
Oh, and to judges…all I know is heresay when it comes to conformation. Stuff like, so-and-so is good friends with one of the breeders showing, or so-and-so ignores poor structure in favor of a good head, like that.
I’m starting to get to know some of various agility judges’ preferences and styles, and I know one I will avoid from now on!
What PapSett said. We just posted at the same time.
By “not really a title” I meant, it’s a pass-fail thing with an evaluator, rather than something you have to trial in front of a judge, for points for.
I keep tripping over ‘Papillon’ and thinking it’s Papillion, and then I end up thinking about butterflies. Is the name Papillon related to the French papillion?
So the breeders in this case are Stonemist, Schujan, and Strathmore?
And what’s TDI? To me that means ‘turbodiesel injected’.
What’s a Utility Dog? I have an image of a medium-size brown dog of humble origins getting the paper, getting the mail, fixing things in the garage, bustling around the yard on a fourwheeler hauling bales of hay, etc…
So terriers were bred to go down holes after things? Makes sense; terre = earth in French. YaWanna, you mention that terriers were bred relatively recently. Presumably people used cats for this duty earlier? Did the terrier breed’s creation have anything to do with middle-age prejudice against cats?
And… Westminster Kennel Club? As in Buckingham Palace, the Queen, etc?
We just posted at the same time.