Observations from a day at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

I didn’t even have my first dog until after I turned 30. Until then, I was strictly Team Cat. Now, however, I have one of each, so rest assured I am hearing both sides of the pet debate. Sorry if you have a turtle or a ferret or a snake or a bird or something, and I am committing pet erasure. Mainstream pets only. Anyway, whereas I used to be somewhat indifferent to dogs, I am now an embarrassing dog dad who talks to his dog in a voice.

As for the show, I had absolutely no special access. I didn’t get to pet any of the good dogs, though I recommend doing that if you get the chance. It looked like Katie Nolan had fun backstage. I simply sat in my seat and watched, much as you did, except in person.

So what can be gleaned from attending live as opposed to watching on TV? Here are my critical observations:

People don’t seem to realize you can attend this thing

The telecast makes frequent mention that the event is held in Madison Square Garden, yet for millennials, it might as well be in an undisclosed location burrowed deep within the earth. I’m basing this on reaction to my attending on social media, but also the crowd on hand.  If I had to guess, the median guess for people who attend the WKC Dog Show is in the upper 40s. It’s like young people don’t realize you can just buy a ticket to this thing. I realize a dog show may also not scream excitement to some, but I observed many people who were incredulous that people not actually involved in the show dog community could attend. We need to work to make this thing rowdy. Get a bunch of young people there in the future. I’m sure the Westminster Kennel Club would love that. Also, there’s a distinct lack of WKC merch. I was ready to consider buying a shirt to look like a dork in, but they wouldn’t even give me a chance. Capitalism has failed us again.

New York is a bad dog town

To clarify, I mean “bad dog town” like you would say a place is a “bad sports town.” All dogs are good, and go to heaven, as Don Bluth hath foretold. My gripe is that, with one of the four groups left to be judged on Monday, many attendees poured out of MSG. Sure, it was past 10 p.m. on a weeknight and the crowd was full of geezers. That’s no reason to disrespect the herding group. If anything, disrespect the toy group. Those little yappy dogs don’t do anything. I realize this particular matter is more a function of scheduling, so in the future the WKC should have the toys go last on the first night.

Your dog’s breed winning its group counts the same as any division title

This isn’t specific to the live experience, but I tip my hat to those people who are able to divorce their rooting interest in the dog show away from whatever dog it is they own. Not me; I’m a total homer. And because my dog is a boxer/plott hound mix, I got to rally behind both breeds. The plott hound was summarily dismissed, which, in my opinion, was an outrage. The boxer, however, won the working group and a great wrong had been righted. I celebrated this more than I have some my favorite professional teams winning postseason games, so suffice it to say dogs are now the best sport.

There were boos!

You’d expect that specific breeders and trainers would have friends and extended family on hand to cheer for them. That certainly seemed to be the case, as small pockets of the arena would erupt for individual dogs. It was kind of cute. Rumor got a huge pop, which makes some sense, as he had won his group the year before and was a favorite going in. What was shocking to me is that two dogs got a smattering of boos. The beagle and the pekinese got booed by a few attendees. I have zero idea as to why this happened, and I would like to know more. Please explain why you’re booing one or two show dogs. How did they hurt you?

No, you actually can’t get away from politics

A common complaint aired within the last year is that there has been too much politics in sports. Sorry, there’s always been politics in sports and the reason you might think otherwise is because your personal politics just happen to align with that of the professional sports organization you’re watching. What has happened this year is that there have been more instances of politics in sports that you disagree with.

The atmosphere at the WKC show is about as apolitical as any sporting event gets. Aside from scattered pre-show murmurs from those sitting beside me about the Trump scandal of the day, the experience was an adorable escape from the tumultuous state of the world. Unfortunately, afterwards I read about how connected Donald Trump is to the WKC show and how he typically takes a photo with the best in show, a tradition that may or may not continue now that he’s president. And then there’s that whole theme of breeding purity that pervades any dog show.

I could easily argue that a German Shepherd winning the year Trump took office is appropriate now that we’re on the brink of turning into a police state. I didn't dare do it in the arena. It's only right to spare the good dogs of our takes.