No matter whether you are a dog owner or not, if you are a dog lover, there are three national dog shows you must watch in the United States.
These shows are holding every year, participating in hundreds of dogs each. Three main dog shows come into mind when we are thinking of dog shows in the USA. They are AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, Westminster Kennel Club Annual Dog Show, and The National Dog Show.
The dog shows are well known as conformation shows that are used to confirm the breed standards. In dog shows, dogs are not compared from one dog to another. These shows judge breed standards of dogs according to their ideal breed type.
Breed standards are calculated according to their appearance, mental ability, and movement according to the functions of their original breed.
They assume these standards show the ability of the dogs to produce new puppies. Because of that, dog shows only allowed non-neutered purebred dogs to compete in the shows.
AKC/Eukanuba National Championship
The American Kennel Club/ Eukanuba National Championship is one of the main dog shows in the USA. The show started in 2001, and it is the newest dog show with a bigger audience.
Now the show is presented on ABC, and Royal Canin USA is sponsoring the program. The club was founded in 1884, and now it contains 5000 licensed members with purebred dogs. It has held more than 22000 competitions for its registered dogs.
According to their official statements, they evaluate dogs by their obedience, conformation, tracking, agility, lure coursing, and herding. They use hunt tests, field and earth tests, and coonhound events for testing. But this is not a benched dog show.
It is normally organized in mid-December in Orlando, Florida, annually, and dogs qualified from AKC sanctioned shows are selecting for the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship.
They are choosing the top 25 dogs in each breed for finals every year.
Westminster Kennel Club Annual Dog Show
The Westminster Kennel Club Annual Dog Show is one of the oldest benched dog shows. The first show took place in late back in 1877 and was held in mid-February each year at Madison Square Garden in New York.
This show was originated for gun dogs among a group of hunters who regularly visits Westminster Hotel at Irving Place.
The dog must have already won their breed championship or 3–5-point major awards in a championship to enter this competition. The best five dogs in each breed from AKC conformations show.
Best breed winners from each breed’s national specialty shows were sent printed invitations. The Westminster show winners can enter the show. After those winners entered the show, other dogs with major awards can enter the show. The show is holding for three days, and the number of dogs enters limited to 2500.
The National Dog Show
This is also a benched show which was started in late back in 1879. The show is organized by the American Kennel Club accompanied by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia. It takes place in mid-November, with around 2000 entrants each year.
The show began as The Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Show and was renamed The National Dog Show in 2002. Only pure breed dogs are allowed, and mixed breed dogs are not eligible for the show.
