Month: November 2011

All this week I’ll be posting behind the scenes images from The National Dog Show in Philadelphia on November 19th.  The show was taped and will be shown at noon on NBC immediately following the Macy’s parade on Thanksgiving Day, 11/24.  Seeing the show in person is a blast!  I especially love to watch how the show evolves and what goes into making the TV production.  In this image you see Ernesto Laura and his Tibetan Spaniel being filmed by the “Steady Cam”.  When you watch the show on Thanksgiving, you’ll see close-ups of each dog as they begin Group competition.  Some of the dogs really ham it up in front of the Steady Cam and others are afraid of the camera.  The audience in the arena has fun watching the TV monitors to see the dogs’ faces up close and personal as they are being filmed!  When the dogs react to the camera, the audience reacts as well!  Be sure and watch for your favorite breed’s close up on Thanksgiving Day!

Yesterday at The National Dog Show I was observing people and technology.  So many were taking images of the dogs with their cell phones and others checking their e-mail and Facebook pages as they walked the show.  This image was taken during the Group competition in the arena.  The technical guys who were producing and filming the show were checking phone messages during a couple minutes of downtime.  Just think how quickly the winning dogs are announced to the world with just a few keystrokes!  I will be posting National Dog Show images beginning tomorrow, so check back all week to see some beautiful dogs competing for Best in Show!

Here’s another of the six breeds newly recognized by The American Kennel Club that will make their TV debut this weekend at The National Dog Show in Philadelphia.  This is the Xoloitzcuintli – pronounced show-low-eats-queen-tlee or “Xolo”.  This is a dog from Mexico that comes in a hairless and coated variety plus 3 sizes, toy, miniature and standard.  With a reputation as a healer, the breed and its warm skin is often put to use in remote Mexican and Central American villages to ward off and cure ailments like rheumatism, asthma, toothache and insomnia. Xolos were also believed to safeguard the home from evil spirits and intruders.  Come on out to The National Dog Show this weekend to meet the Xolo and many other breeds that you may never have seen in person before. 

The Norwegian Lundehund is one of six breeds newly recognized by the AKC that will make their TV debut this weekend at The National Dog Show in Philadelphia, Pa.  The Norwegian Lundehund, also known as Puffin Dog, spent centuries hunting and retrieving puffin birds in Norway.  This breed has at least 6 toes on each foot to give them stability on the near vertical environs where puffins live.  Puffins are now a protected species and so the Norwegian Lundehund has become a companion pet.  I met this breed for the first time at the Chester Valley Kennel Club Show earlier this year. 

This image looks as if it were taken in a studio, but I assure you that it was taken ‘on location’ at a dog show.  The English Toy Spaniel comes in 4 color varieties – Blenheim (rich mahogany red and white); ruby (rich mahogany red); Prince Charles (white with black and tan markings); and King Charles (black and tan).  This is a Prince Charles English Toy Spaniel who struck a rather elegant pose!  This was another one of those times when I wanted to scoop up this little dog and bring him home with me!  Such a cutie-pie!