Since Westminster first crowned a Best in Show, in 1907, 46 winners have been terriers. Westminster’s dog show is the second-longest-continuously-running sporting event (if you’ll permit it the label) in the country, after the Kentucky Derby (ditto). To maintain the coat coloring that is valued in the breeds, and to keep it properly harsh, a show terrier’s hair must be pulled, plucked and stripped, by hand. Terriers may have a temperament made for a dog show, but their coats are the stuff of nightmares. “When a terrier group comes into the ring, they’ll all look confident and seem to enjoy doing what they’re doing,” Geir Flyckt-Pedersen, this year’s Westminster terrier group judge, told me. This temperament is highly valued in the present-day show terrier. Housman, the English scholar and poet, wrote, “I can no more define poetry than a terrier can define a rat.” Hunting - like poetry to a poet - is just what terriers do. And it is this hunter’s instinct, this fearlessness, that has come to define the temperament of the breed today. The dogs were originally bred to kill vermin - there’s still a breed known as the rat terrier. The word “terrier” comes from the Middle French chien terrier - literally, dog of the earth. But then the arc of history turned against them. For decades, terriers reigned supreme over Westminster. The award: A polished pewter bowl and the coveted title Best in Show.įor a long time at the Westminster show - the club has put on dog shows since 1877 - the winner of this title came from the same group of dogs over and over and over again, resulting in a record that is unrivaled even by the most storied of sports dynasties. After careful deliberation, the judge will deem one of these dogs the highest expression of what a dog can be. When the applause finally dies down, a tuxedoed judge will carefully assess each dog for its appearance, gait, coat, ears, eyes, teeth and temperament - its form against its original function.
Each dog will be linked to a human handler by a show collar and lead, the two participants expertly guided and guiding. On Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, seven dogs will bound onto Westminster’s iconic green carpet in the event’s final round. Officially, they belong to 199 dog breeds and varieties, their names affirming the global success of dog breeding, one of the most awesome biological experiments in history: affenpinscher, Beauceron, boerboel, keeshond, löwchen, Plott, Samoyed, schipperke, vizsla, xoloitzcuintli. Nearly 3,000 dogs are entered this year in the Westminster Kennel Club’s annual dog show. “God loves a terrier.” - Gerry and Cookie Fleck, “ Best in Show”
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