PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Kennel Club of Philadelphia's National Dog Show takes place on Saturday and Sunday at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Montgomery County. This year, a new breed will compete for the title of Best in Show.
David Frei, expert analyst for the National Dog Show, introduced the animal on Tuesday.
“The dog we are welcoming this year is the Lancashire heeler,” said Frei. “And I would like to introduce you to Kanji.”
The 5-year-old heeler from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is a conformation champion — meaning he won that title at a show that judges dog breed conformity, said Frei. And Kanji finished in second place in the American Kennel Club’s National Owner/Handler Series this year.
“‘Kanji’ is actually the Chinese characters in the Japanese language. And my father is Japanese. We lived in Japan,” said Kim McIntyre, Kanji’s owner/handler. “This dog is a true character. That is where his name came from.”
The Lancashire heeler, recognized by the AKC just this year, has a small sturdy build and is an alert, energetic worker.
"We see this as a tremendous opportunity to be able to educate anyone who has time to listen about what a wonderful breed it is," McIntyre said.
Nearly 2,000 canines are entered to compete in this year's National Dog Show, and 205 of the 213 AKC-recognized breeds will be represented. Among the most represented: 54 Chesapeake Bay retrievers, 52 golden retrievers and 48 Siberian huskies.
They'll be assigned to one of seven groups: sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting and herding.
Frei says the National Dog Show is the only benched dog show in the country, making it a great place for spectators to learn about the breeds.
"A benched dog show is where the dogs have to be there from start to finish. They get there at 8 in the morning. They can't leave until 5 o'clock at night,” Frei explains. “They have to be in an assigned area. So, all of the beagles are going to be in the same place. You just look up on the signs and say, ‘Hey, here's the beagles,’ or ‘Here's the cavaliers.’”
Spectators are welcome to meet the dogs and find out more about them, says Frei.
“So when you are there with your family, you are able to walk around, see the dogs that you are interested in, maybe see a few that you have never seen or heard of before, and spend the time with the breeders and the owners and the handlers."
The Saturday show is recorded by NBC to be broadcast on Thanksgiving Day.
For ticket information, visit the National Dog Show website.