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Subscribe to RSSApproximately 2,500 dogs are arriving in NYC for the 135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Hotels around the city are making accommodations for their furry guests' comfort, and on the city streets, there are more four-footed pedestrians than usual.
Jim Seida / msnbc.com
Ed Casey from Boston walks his Pug, Cody on Sunday. Casey and Cody are sharing their hotel room with two other people and nine other dogs.
Jim Seida / msnbc.com
Ilsa, a Bermese Mountain Dog from Kent, Connecticut, christens the crosswalk at West 37th St. and 7th Ave. just outside Madison Square Garden where tomorrow's Westminster Dog Show will take place.
Jim Seida / msnbc.com
Trump, an 18-month-old Havanese from Southwick, Mass. checks out the potty-break area in the lower lobby of the Hotel Pennsylvania. "He is the goofiest, happiest dog," says his owner, Karen Duprat, "He makes me laugh all day with the stuff he does."
Jim Seida / msnbc.com
Dougherty, a 10-year-old Chinese Crested from Raleigh, North Carolina, is a two-time veteran of Westminster.
Jim Seida / msnbc.com
Chitawee's Jest in Case, also known as Casey, a French Bulldog from Southwest City, Missouri, chills out on the lap of his owner, Kathy Clayton, in the lobby of the Hotel Pennsylvania on Sunday, Feb. 13, the day before the start of the Westminster Dog Show. "He's not even two years old," Clayton says, "You can have a great show dog, but he can be a butt. This guy just loves everybody."
Jim Seida / msnbc.com
Professional dog handler Polly Lamarine shares her room at another dog-friendly hotel with her Pug, Silvertown Dyn-O-Mite and nine other dogs. Lamarine has handled dogs in every Westminster Dog Show since 1965.
Check back Monday and Tuesday for our exclusive, behind-the-scenes coverage of the show.
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That is so sad. Those poor little pugs in those little cages. That is so sad
Most dogs enjoy their cages--it's their own private space. My dog retreats to his crate during thunderstorms, or just to take a nap. Show dogs are pampered to the extreme. Crates and cages are most often used for the safety and security of animals.
What's sad is dogs that are uncared for, kept locked up outside and used only for breeding purposes. Or for dog fighting.
Pugs rule, I have five!
I currently have 2 pugs that are my constant companions (no crates); however, other members of my family have pugs that love their crates. When I do have to crate mine (like in a hotel room when we are out), mine fuss. There are times when I wish I had gotten them used to their crates.
Oh, and both my pugs are rescues!
These dogs get more interaction with people and other dogs than the average dog. They feel secure in those little cages. It is their safe haven. It is not sad at all.
KayEllen is accurate. I've been to Westminster & spent most of my time in the staging area, since I much prefer to be close to the dogs than up in the audience. Each of these dogs is an ambassador of their breed & is amiable, happy, friendly & accessible until he doesn't want to be. When they get tired (as those of us who have dogs as family members know all too well), they either flop on the floor & go to sleep or retreat to their carrier for a little shut-eye. If a dog doesn't want to interact (I have yet to see one who didn't, unless they were tired), he goes back to his den. Nobody's forced to do anything. Dogs are, first & foremost, pack animals and they need to be with their pack, whether it's canine or human. To quote someone on another thread, "...it's what they do." Who you need to watch out for is a grouchy handler! I've never seen a more happy bunch of dogs than in the staging area at Westminster, & that includes my Rotties after Thanksgiving dinner!
Crate training is now the rule rather than the exception. Dogs den. It's what they do.
Hope Tamron Hall (News Nation) will co host the show.
Go Dogs, Go... Looking forward to the show!
These people have a mental illness and eat there own feces like their animal lovers.
Seems like a group of people so concerned with blood lines might turn an objective eye to their own
breeding. To me, this is just selfish narcissism at the upper end of the leash.
We have five dogs, all rescues. The purebred Chow will NOT go into a crate... period. Our attack Pom doesn't have one anymore, but has no problems with them. The other three love them. Its all about their early experiences in crates.
BK
Doggies, if trained early, love their crates. Mine always brought their treasures there, to keep them safe. My grqndson, when he was about three, shared the crate with my Great Dane, who though it was pretty neat (after he figured out the grandbaby wasn't going to occupy it permanently.
Sick. That looks like a picture of a hoarder. And it is.
Is that a picture of a hoarder? No. It's a handler? Dogs stacked up in a cramped space barely able to turn around in their cages. What's the difference? This is sick hobby. At this very moment dogs all over the country and the world are being euthanized because they're unwanted and this focus is on bringing more designer dogs into a world that will dispose of them when they are not the brand of the day. The AKC makes money from every abused puppy mill dog and every "pure bred." They fight every piece of legislation that will make dog's lives more bearable. I'ts a dispicable hobby. Parents that force their toddlers to participate in "beauty" pageants also claim that the children love it. Dogs don't like these activities. They want to please their owners. Dogs will do anything to please their owners, even fight to the death.
So many misinformed people. For those of us who love our dogs and love to show it is a team effort. These dogs love to go; they know when they step in the ring it is show time. They will race you to the van to get in and go to the shows. You can try to bring the best out in your dog but only they can make themselves the star. We have rescue groups and have done much to improve the health of all dogs
I am sure many of you could not grasp the time, care and money we put into the dogs. We do not over breed and you can adopt a kid easier than buying a dog from most of us. If any body thinks there is money in breeding dogs properly ; there is not. This is not a hobby or game it is part of our lives and the dogs are part of the family.
The dogs are being exploited. Period. Only they can make themselves a star? Be serious. Dogs will do anything to please their owners. It's less exploitative to put children on display as objects. At least they can say no. How do you explain the picture of the dogs piled in cages, on atop the other? If you treated children like that you'd go to jail.
A number of us commenters HAVE explained it. You probably need to read the comments prior to making one of your own. It just makes more sense. And your last sentence is more than a little disingenuous. Come on! You've actually gone on record, as I understand your statement above, that atrocities like, for instance, those Little-Miss-Something pageants are LESS "exploitative" than Westminster? You can't be serious! I really hope your statement was due to ignorance of Westminster than just ignorance, period. Wow.
The show is fun to watch. Hope the dachshunds make a good showing this year. Dogs are good people, that's for sure!!
Have 4 pugs myself!! 2 of them rescues. Mine would go bonkers in a kennel. When 2 of them were puppies we used a playpen to stay in if we were gone. They rule our house!!! Love my puggies!!!