Caprese! That is so freaking cool! I loves mastiffs! Even though their food costs more than it does to gas up my Suburban and they shit higher than a Mini. I still wants one.
I can’t wait until the show starts tonight!
Wow. I kinda know someone who has a dog in Big Competition…dopers have agents everywhere, man. Poised to take over the world.
Any dog named Sherman gets my vote! and the “Spice” dog next to him really really needs to have her jowls squeezed while saying, “Whowza pretty girl?”
My wife and I are definitely not dog people, but after going to a cat show this past weekend, even we have to admit that there’s something genuinely interesting and dramatic about a dog show that a cat show really can’t touch. (And we couldn’t even pet the kitties! 
) Plus, it seems like the dogs are more of a part of the program and the result, and seemed genuinely engaged in the proceedings. I don’t know if a single cat wanted to actually be there.
Caprese Wow. Sherman looked great! He was totally robbed.
I thought the Akita would win Working. Feh.
I remember that when we first got cable TV, the Westminster show was the first cable program we watched. I love the announcer’s voice, and it seems like he manages to say something different about the same breeds every year.
Our neighbors had a nice fawn-colored Mastiff. He’d play with our Boomer (a small Lab mix) in the yard – they’d chase each other in circles, and whenever the Mastiff would get close, Boomer would run under him. He had plenty of room too.
When they got done running, our yard would be covered in spit. They do like to drool, don’t they?
I have a Sister and BIL in Wimberly, Texas and they have several (3 or 4) Mastiff’s, they are great dogs but they are too drooly for me.
Hijack
I am dog-shopping and I think that I have settled on an “Olde English Bulldogge” (not a regular one, this is a different breed). Do any of the dog folks have comments or suggestions?, I am almost ready to put a deposit down but I would like a reference as far as the breeder www.retro-bulldogges.com.
Unclviny
Gah.
The Toy’s are Up.
It’s the Pekinese that looks like a farking troll grunting down the runway.
Televised dog shows seldom, if ever, show the Portuguese Water Dog (working group). Nope … just as the Portie is about to prance across the arena, there’s an awkward cut, and suddenly the Rottweiler appears.
What do they have against Porties? Are there any other breeds that are always excluded in the televised Best of Group competition?
What is up with the Portie;s funky coat cut? It looks like a barber on coke did the cut.
Gah, the Pekinese won.
I don’t know what is worse, poodles winning the Toy or the Pekes. It’s a conspiracy.
Wooooooo…the Tibetan Terrier wins for Totally Useless NonSporting Dogs.
The Poodles were Shut Down.
Pekes do absolutely nothing for me. To me, they all look alike, and none of them show any sort of personality. I did like the toy poodle - for a toy dog it was very attractive.
Was it me or was Non-sporting just sort of “meh” tonight? I picked the Tibetan Spaniel to be put up first, but few of the dogs made me look twice. It’s a rare day when I see more toy dogs that I like than non-sporting.
I was suprised when the Great Pyranees was put up. I figured after last year’s Newf they’d go for a different look. I know it isn’t supposed to work that way, but sometimes I think it does.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow. My favorite groups.
StG
Yeah, the toys were totally not exciting and I was surprised, yet not, when the pyrennes won. Maybe this is the year that previously shut-out breeds get their due.
Shirley
Thanks for cheering for Sherman! He did his best.
Some of those Toy breeds didn’t even look like dogs, but I liked the Miniature Pinscher.
I agree that it was interesting that the Pyrenees was put up after last year’s Newfie.
And yes, mastiffs are very drooly, esp the jowly males, you have to have a strong stomach to have them in your life (not to mention slobber rags at the ready) but they are such sweet and devoted pets–good guard dogs too.
elmwood
Portugese Water Dogs are the latest trendy dog here in Colorado. Our state tends to focus on outdoorsy dogs and along with Labs and Retrievers, the Porties are seen all over the place. FWIW: a friend of a friend had a Havanese in the competition, and she said that there are many many dogs who do show, but never make it to the actual televised portion of the event. But I know what you mean about the breed not even being represented.
unclviny
I don’t know anything about the particular kind of bulldog you are looking at, but we were just speaking with two bulldog owners on Sunday. The health issues they mentioned were respiratory problems and tail-curling-under problems.
They also said that a bulldog’s life expectency is even shorter than a mastiff’s: 6 to 8 years (mastiff is 8 to 10, our last guy did make it to 10 and a half.)
Edith and Frodo were both upset that the Pug didn’t win the Toy category. He was obviously the best dog. We were voting for the Shiba in the non-working, but Shibas never win anything.
We liked that Akita, too. What wonderful black and white markings!
Edith and Frodo.
I have a mental picture of Edith Bunker sitting with some hobbit. 
And that pug did look good. All muscular and so ready to play. I think because of your Pugs and Max Torque’s pug, I am starting to really think about them in my EverQuest Dog Shopping. I don’t know if Mr. Ujest would consider a pug a manly dog or a testicle shrinking canine. I’ll probably end up getting another wonderbread lab.
That Peke looked like a big hairy centipede waddling across the floor (oh, excuse me, “rolling gait.”) Barf. I figured the Poodle for first, the Peke for second, since they are past winners. And I do believe a few years ago the owners/handlers of the Peke (whose name is Jeffrey–HA!), were accused of having plastic surgery done on the dog.
Tonight is the best–Sporting, Hounds and Herding. I want the Irish Setter to win Sporting and the OES to win Herding (with the PBGV second).
Our family’s hopes ride on the success of the Scottish Terrier and the Basset Hound. 0-1 so far, but here’s with our fingers crossed!
Ugh - bull terrier second in the terriers? Ick. I really, really dislike bull terriers - I don’t care for their looks at all.
Tuned out at the toys 'cuz I just didn’t care, really.
Thought the Siberian deserved it in the working group, but no dice. Those are just beautiful dogs.
Forgive my ignorance, I’m sure it comes through - I’m a cat owner, but like watching the dog shows (ever since I saw Best in Show).
Jeffrey. Isn’t that just a perfect name for such a useless troll dog with a sinus infection? Jeffrey, Jeffrey. Jeffrey. Snotty and useless.
In Sporting I would like The Lab to win. And to go on to BIS. labs are the favoritist dogs here - 15 years running - and have never won The Big One. That.is.just.wrong. And my dog is outraged.
Predictions without seeing the dogs first:
Sporting: Sussex Spaniel, Spinone, German Shorthair pointer.. I really am starting to dig the Spinone and I like the Clumber’s clumbering gait and old man look about him. Mr. Ujest would probably be Ok with the Spinone, but it is Italian afterall, and would probably switch loyalties all the time and be a snappier dresser than zee germans. Can’t have that.
Herding: Border Collie, Old English Sheepdog, Belgian Malinois. Though, I’d like the German Shepard to win.
Hounds: Weener Dogs all the way. Cause they are soooo cute and neurotic looking. If it is a beagle, I’ll cry foul. I hate beagles. I mean, we are talking about a fierce loathing. Darkhorse Win/Place/Show Basenji, PVGV , Elkhound. In any order.
I really like the Bull Terriers look. The egg shaped head. The muscular lineman Squatty build. The way it looks like it could rip your head off. All very appealing to me. It is the fact that they are described as Three year olds in dog suits until they reach maturity. that is a bit off putting.
Even though I put the show on, I find the Westminster show a bit…well, boring. I can’t help it, dog shows just aren’t my thing. So why do I turn them on?
Because…
My dog likes to watch dogs on TV.
I am not kidding.
Zim is an easy-going, friendly two-year-old pit bull. He’s not a bit dog-agressive; very well-socialized, he romps happily with any dog of any size who’ll play with him. And whenever another dog appears on the Magic Window, he sits up and gives the TV his full attention. I find this so amusing that I turn on Westminster just to watch his reaction.
I’m surprised to see PWDs on the list now.
One of my PWDs, Bailey, came from a breeder in Weld County. When I lived in northwest Denver, Labs were the default dog; not just plain Labs, but “field Labs” and “show Labs”, whatever the difference is, with Goldens in the #2 slot. However, I met quite a few people who had PWDs; they weren’t common, but they were around. There were quite a few organized and unorganized “splashes” (gatherings of PWDs and their owners), too. Bailey really didn’t attract much attention, though, so PWDs were apparently common enough to be seen as not so rare.
I moved out of Denver in the fall of 2000. Excepting Guinness, my rescue Portie from Florida, I have not seen another PWD in the “wild” – a dog park, walking with their owner, or anywhere else – since then.
