WESTMINSTER WARMUPS

Meadowlands Exposition Center

Football fans are just beginning to recover from last weekend’s Super Bowl and the four month long NFL season that lead to it.  In the Dog World the season runs from February to February, culminating in the canine version of the Super Bowl, the Westminster Kennel Club show, the US second longest continually running sporting event.  Only the Kentucky Derby is older.

Held at New York’s Madison Square Garden it is the only live broadcast of a dog show we see all year and we will be glued to our big screen, high definition TV Monday and Tuesday nights to take in all the group and BIS judging.  Once again we will host the Dog Show Poop Garden Party where we open our chat room to everyone to participate.  The fun will begin here Monday, February 14th at 6:45 PM CST.   Check your local listings for the broadcast.  Monday’s Groups will be broadcast on USA beginning at 7:00 PM CST for the first hour and then shift to CNBC for the second hour beginning at 8:00 PM CST.  Tuesday’s broadcast will stay with USA for the full two hours beginning at 7:00 PM CST.

While the general public and much of the dog world are focused on Monday and Tuesday at the Garden, fanciers with more focused interests should not miss the preliminary events in the greater New York area.  First there is life after football at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus NJ.  The fun will start on Thursday with the Big Apple Sporting Society for all you gun dog enthusiasts and continue with two more limited breed shows hosted by the Central New Jersey Hound Association and the Garden State All Terrier Club on Friday and Sunday.  Along the way there will be 25 breed specialty shows at the Meadowlands Facility.

The place to stay if you’re showing at Westminster is the New York's Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue across the street from Madison Square Garden.  Not only will the Hotel Pennsylvania boast the most interesting lobby in New York for a week, many of the preliminary events will take place there.  Friday’s all toy dog Progressive Dog Club will be one of the most anticipated warm ups of the week.  There will also be 17 breed specialties at the hotel.  In addition, Yorkshire Terriers lovers can check out two days of specialties at the New Yorker Hotel on Eight Avenue.

Two of AKC’s most popular breeds will seek out their own venues.  You can catch up with the Golden Retriever folks on Friday & Saturday in Bay Shore NY where the Long Island Golden Retriever Club will set up shop at the Doggie "U" K-9 Academy, 41 Saxon Ave. All America loves a Bulldog and you can see bunches of the sour mugs in Edison NY on Saturday & Sunday at the Sheraton Edison Raritan Center, 125 Raritan Center Parkway.

So, do check out America’s most prestigious event, the Westminster Kennel Club show, and see what life is like at the top of our wonderful sport, but also visit one of the special venues and see what life is like when you get 100 Golden Retrievers or 100 Bulldogs in one room.  You’ll feel like a kid in candy store.