Westminster Dog Show 2024 live updates: Best of Show judging and group winners

About 2500 Top rated dogs They are in New York City to compete this year Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Breed judging, the marquee event, will begin Monday, while several hundred other dogs are already competing in events that test agility, obedience and the ability to dive the furthest from the dock.

Getting into the gallery requires years of training and effort. Getting to the show requires extensive organization by owners and handlers, who plan road or plane trips lasting hours or days, and pack thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment — grooming tables, industrial-strength hair dryers, leashes, collars, toys, and small items. More – I pray that no delays or cancellations will disrupt their itineraries.

Rewards are non-negotiable.

“I try to stock up on healthy, single-ingredient foods like freeze-dried duck or freeze-dried liver,” said Shell Lewis, 71, who came to New York with a Russell terrier and a Cairn terrier. However, on show days, her dogs receive “something special and highly valuable.”

“It takes going through McDonald’s to buy two hot dog biscuits — I eat the biscuits, they get the hot dogs,” she said.

In the United States, accumulating titles in local, regional, and national dog competitions requires constant driving, with long drives being the norm. Their trainers say most of the dogs are accustomed to the road.

Ms. Lewis drove 14 hours from Geneva, Illinois, to Spangle, her 2-year-old Russell Terrier, to compete in an agility event (sadly, Spangle was eliminated in the qualifiers.) Ms. Lewis also brought Nora, her 7-year-old Cairn terrier Years.

“They haven’t learned to drive yet, but they are excellent travellers,” Ms. Lewis said.