Missed day 1, but just watch day 2 and was thrilled to see the black American Cocker Spaniel won. 
Beautiful dog but aren’t they all. 
That Leonberger therapy dog is absolutely gorgeous.
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So glad I decided to skip entering and stay home this year! Much more relaxing to not have to deal with the NYC drive/traffic/hotel.
I love the Giant Schnauzer that Katie Bernardin has out that took the Working Group tonight. And Katie won Working LAST year with that same dog!! Her husband won Sporting with an English Setter last year. Pretty AMAZING.
Kaz has a very good shot at BIS tonight though. I think the Mini Poodle is retiring.
The Afghan is also nice.
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A dear friend went BOB and is currently getting ready for the terrier group. We met 12 years ago when she purchased her first show dog and it has been incredible to watch the journey of her program. The quality of animal at Westminster is always breathtaking.
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Every year – I wish the camera shots were better!!! 
Too close, wrong angle, UGH.
Margery’s Sealy has a good shot at the Group. Love her outfit too.
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Glad to see Bill and the other handlers step up to help Gabe when he fell. But not surprised, this is how dog shows work.
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I watched Westminster every year for 30 years, on whichever channel it happened to be on from year to year. Now I can’t see it anymore because w
WKC has gone with Fox FS1 and FS2 and my provider does not carry those channels. So even if I could pay a subscription I could not see the show. I can’t watch it on the WKC website either.
WKC prides itself on being one of the oldest sports events in the country; well it needs to shame itself for taking away the tradition from longtime fans who are evidently not elite enough to be able to watch it.
I HATE the WKC and everything it stands for, including the abusive way it continues to show cropped and docked dogs and smushed nosed dogs in the 21st century.
Crufts is much more humane.
I hope the Giant Schnauzer gets it.
Kaz with the Mini Poodle took BIS, the GSD Reserve.
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The Westminster Kennel Club Shows for the past few years have been televised over and over and over again throughout the year. If you want to see it in full (or just the first night), keep a lookout on the Fox channels.
You can watch the taped show on the Westminster.org site or youtube afterwards. It’s just difficult to watch it LIVE. Sigh. Wish it was still shown on network television!
Kaz has won SEVEN Group Firsts at Westminster. 
Is he going to go on to be a judge, or is he getting out of dog showing altogether? IF anyone here knows…
That’s a bit extreme. WKC is not the only dog show in the country, nor is it the organizing body (AKC) or the parent club(s). There are hundreds of other kennel clubs doing the exact same thing, and the standards are written/owned by the parent clubs.
The Kennel Club does take a different stance on ears and tails, but it’s really not much different as far as “smushed nosed dogs”. I think the biggest difference between Crufts and WKC is the handling, not the dogs.
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A friend of mine on FB is taking his Swissy there, so I’m just going to have to cheer him on 
I love watching all groups at Westminster. One of my favourite times of year!
I’m dog show ignorant - can you elaborate?
I don’t think professional handling is allowed, or at least it is not as common as owner handled exhibitors.
But the attire is much less fancy and the grooming is far less intense as AKC shows.
I can’t seem to find an quick answer about pros. For some reason I thought it wasn’t allowed, but maybe i’m wrong.
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I have watched this show every year-till they moved the date. Now I can’t remember when it is. I missed the first day, but stumbled upon it by accident on Tuesday morning. So I watched it mostly all day. But since I had to go to my niece’s last night for movie night instead of Thiursday this week, I taped it and planned to watch today. I am always interested in Sporting because of the Spaniels. When I was at Kim’s last night and strolled into CoTH on my phone, and saw Westminister and to my dismay, I saw the Cocker had won. No Big Deal, but then the tension was broken. I should have just stayed out. After we watched our movie, we switched to the dog show. My niece loves dogs, but she just doens’t watch the show. It is not important to her. We did watch the end. I picked the German Shepard and she picked the Afghan.
I am so so happy for Kaz! He has had a superb career, and what a wonderful way to end it.
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He’s always a nice guy too. Dunno if he plans to go for his judging license now, but that’s common for retiring pro handlers.
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