Westminster dog show 2011: The hair makes the dog
The Westminster dog show is nothing if not a reliable source of silly dog photos. It's one of our favorite things about the show, which concludes Tuesday night with Sporting, Working and Terrier group competitions followed by the big finale, Best in Show.
We could happily look at dog pictures -- of puppies, gray-muzzled oldsters, mutts, purebreds, dogs wearing costumes, you name it -- all day long. But throw in the additional heaping helping of silliness that comes along with a big dog show -- the oddly coiffed fur, the strange, bedazzled neckwear that dogs wear to keep their ears from getting messy when they fall in a food bowl or water dish -- and you're bound to get some truly interesting animal photos.
Above, a standard poodle named Sparkle is already yawning -- and judging from her hairdo, she's not even close to being done with her grooming session yet.
Smooth-coated dogs -- your Rottweilers, miniature pinschers, Labradors and the like -- have it relatively easy in the pre-show grooming department. But for the breeds with specific styling needs -- like long-haired Yorkshire terriers, shih-tzus and Maltese, the elaborately clipped poodles and Bedlington terriers and the corded dogs like Komondorok and Pulik, which can take days to fully dry after bathing -- grooming can be a lengthy affair.
After the jump, we've assembled a ton of our favorite photos that document the behind-the-scenes grooming that goes on at Westminster.
Above, a corded Komondor trots (in the dog-show world, it's called "gaiting") in the ring at Westminster on Tuesday. The Komondor's coat naturally forms into cords, and "[f]ailure of the coat to cord by two years of age is a disqualification," according to the breed's standard.
A Chinese crested named Parfait waits backstage at Madison Square Garden before entering the ring on Monday. Chinese cresteds come in two coat styles: Hairless (which isn't really hairless, just mostly hairless -- as you can see, Parfait here has a pretty impressive mop of hair on her head and ears, just not much elsewhere) and powder puff.
A poodle who's clearly used to this relaxes while being groomed backstage on Monday.
A groomer can never be too careful. That's why D.J., an Old English sheepdog, wears hair ties to keep his fur away from his mouth before his class is called on Monday.
Smartee the Maltese has already been bathed and brushed, and it looks like he has a long way to go before he's show-ready.
Tommy, a Bichon frise, sports a festive wrap of brightly colored gauze around his tail prior to entering the ring Monday.
Starlet, a Havanese, must be blow-dried as part of her preparations for Best of Breed competition.
Bear, a Puli, shows off his impressively long cords. Unlike the Komondor, the Puli can be shown with its coat either corded or brushed out.
Many groomers opt to place wraps -- like the festive sequined purple one this basset hound is modeling -- around the ears of their floppy-eared charges in order to keep them clean before competition.
Penny, a lhasa apso, wears bright red elastics to keep her long fur out of her eyes.
A chow chow named Cody is groomed before the competition begins.
A shih-tzu named Austin Powers, right, is shown in a state of partial groom backstage on Monday.
An Afghan hound named Leo shows a different take on the ear wrap trend.
A groomer puts the finishing touches on Parker the standard poodle. The pom-poms on Parker's hips and feet are the hallmark of the Continental clip, the most popular approved grooming style for show poodles in the U.S.
Jordan the Old English sheepdog is seen backstage before his class on Monday.
A groomer works to make sure Jack the Yorkshire terrier's face is perfectly clean before his class.
Smartee the Maltese gives a lick to his owner Anja Mali.
A shih-tzu named Kindle waits to be blow-dried after receiving a bath.
A standard poodle's front legs, featuring their trademark pom-poms, are shown.
A parti-colored cocker spaniel wears gauze around his ears.
A Chinese crested demonstrates the windblown look.
An English springer spaniel named Potter is groomed before his class is called.
Parker, a corded standard poodle, waits backstage after competing in Best of Breed.
A parti-colored cocker spaniel named Jackson stands on a table in the backstage grooming area before his class is called into the ring.
A basset hound named Nicole poses for a photo in the lobby of the Hotel Pennsylvania.
RELATED DOG SHOW PHOTOS:
• Westminster dog show 2011: The contestants prepare
• Westminster dog show 2010: Day 1 in photos
-- Lindsay Barnett
Photos, from top: Poodle: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Komondor: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Chinese crested: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press. Poodle: Jeff Christensen / Associated Press. Old English sheepdog: Shannon Stapleton / Reuters. Maltese: Justin Lane / European Pressphoto Agency. Bichon frise: Shannon Stapleton / Reuters. Havanese: Spencer Platt / Getty Images. Puli: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press. Basset hound: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Lhasa apso: Jeff Christensen / Associated Press. Chow chow: Seth Wenig / Associated Press. Shih-tzu: Shannon Stapleton / Reuters. Afghan hound: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Poodle: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Old English sheepdog: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Yorkshire terrier: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Maltese: Justin Lane / European Pressphoto Agency. Shih-tzu: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Poodle: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Cocker spaniel: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Chinese crested: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. English springer spaniel: Jeff Christensen / Associated Press. Poodle: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press. Cocker Spaniel: Mike Segar / Reuters. Basset hound: Tina Fineberg / Associated Press.
Oh! Those poor puppies!!!
Posted by: Susan Jones | February 15, 2011 at 09:08 PM
Right, those "poor puppies." Give me a break. These dogs are cared for, fed, trained, exercised, fussed over and loved every day of the year from the day they are born until the day they leave this earth, in the arms of someone who made them an essential part of their lives.
Plenty of women (and some men) would look equally ridiculous in the course of their morning ablutions.
This article is one-sided and not useful. I wonder if your photographers got signed releases for these photographs and if so, if they told the subjects that these pictures would be used as an attempt to ridicule.
Mean-spirited and ignorant. Why don't you at least TRY to act like a world class newspaper?
Posted by: Larkin Vonalt | February 15, 2011 at 10:28 PM
dog abuse
Posted by: Shelley | February 15, 2011 at 10:45 PM
looks like animal abuse to me you sick weirdos doing this. get a life you sick sick disturbed people. you all should be locked up.
Posted by: fran berman | February 15, 2011 at 10:52 PM
I thought the tone of the article was playful and lighthearted. What fun to see the preparations for the big moment in the ring. Thanks for sharing the photos.
Posted by: Linda Loftin | February 15, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Honestly, I don't see anything in these pictures that looks like abuse; the dogs don't look particularly unhappy and they're likely way more used to all this than most regular house pets who don't get groomed as often. Frankly, a lot of them look very happy with the human interaction.
That being said, I think the commenter who insists the dogs are "loved every day of the year from the day they are born until the day they leave this earth, in the arms of someone who made them an essential part of their lives" is probably being pretty naive. I watch these shows because I like to know as much about dogs as I can, but I find it pretty chilling when announcers blithely talk about how the "owners" rarely see the dogs because they actually live with their handlers. But what happens when the dog gets too old to show? Surely the busy handlers, the humans the dogs have bonded with, don't keep them. If they're used (yes, used) to breed, where are they living? What happens to them when they're too old to breed? Who looks after them? Also, often several unrelated people are listed as the owners of the dog. In a case like that the dog is clearly not a pet or companion, s/he is simply an investment. But who cares for the dog for the rest of his/her life?
The other issues of abuse relative to dog shows include the fact that they encourage breeding when thousands of unwanted, unloved dogs are killed every year, either in "shelters" or on the streets. Also, what happens to the puppies of a show breeder if they are born without show traits? At the shelter where I volunteer we had a very sweet dachshund who was born with a crooked tail. The breeder didn't want him and was going to ging to have him killed for this "defect." (Let's face it, even if it's done with a needle, it's not euthanasia when the dog is not sick -- it's just killing).
Another issue is that breeders of show dogs frequently breed for currently-fashionable appearance rather than health. "Show quality" German Shepherds are bred with unhealthily sloping backs that cause the dogs back and hip problems. Shar Pei and Neapolitan Mastiffs are bred for excessive skin, to create folds that are fashionable but not healthy. In a 2008 BBC documentary "Pedigree Dogs Exposed," there is a terrifying expose of how breeders of Cavalier King Charles spaniels knowingly and repeatedly breed dogs whose skulls are too small for their brains, a condition called syringomyelia, that causes unimaginable and untreatable suffering for the dogs who have it. Yet because the dogs have a winning appearance they are bred to create puppies, many of whom will grow up to have this fatal condition. I believe such a breeder should go to jail like any other serial abuser of animals.
Ultimately I think any endeavor where humans use animals in competition is bound to end badly for the animals. The suffering and abuse of racing greyhounds, racehorses, animals in rodeos, and fighting and dogsledding dogs is extensively documented, though insufficiently reported and confronted. It's quite clear that humans as a species are not capable of separating our own feelings, desires and greed from what is best for the animal. We want to win and it's been proven time and again that we will do anything to win, even in something as absurd as a contest to see which poodle looks like the most "perfect" poodle. It would be harmless silliness except that these things are really never harmless to the animals.
Posted by: L.A. Voter | February 16, 2011 at 01:21 AM
Abused? Ugly? Mean-spirited? Good grief, some people will complain about anything.
The article says the photos are silly. I have watched my Yorkie girl be groomed, there's nothing here that she or one of our friend's dogs haven't gone through. Do you not groom your dog or get him/her professionally groomed? Do you regularly go out into public without your hair brushed, makeup on (if you wear it), and so forth, or do you go right from bed to a date, to work or to go shopping?
Abuse? I don't see any of these dogs being beaten, burned, electrocuted, frozen, starved, isolated from people and others, intentionally left to die in the hot sun. I don't see any of them being used as puppy mill breeders, or forced to live in their own waste, or used as fighting animals or trainers, or blinded or paralyzed for 'fun' or any of a multitude of other things that are abuse.
These are very lucky dogs.
Research "dog abuse," "animal abuse, " and "puppy mills". Look at the pictures, read the stories, get involved as best as you can to fight real animal abuse.
Then come back here and post on how this goofy stuff is such 'horrible abuse'.
Posted by: Theresa | February 16, 2011 at 08:44 AM
“Who thinks you’re as fantastic as your dog” Audrey Hepburn. In this case, it is the dogs who are fantastic.
Posted by: Sharon | February 16, 2011 at 08:57 AM
Dee
Stop breeding “pedigree dogs,” do you know the thousands of dogs that are forced to live and breed in puppy mills right in Lancaster Pa? Mother dogs live their entire lives in a cage big enough to stand and sit in!, they get no light, no heat or a/c, no human contact. Also, they are given C-Sections w/o anesthesia by Amish Farmers who run these mills. Dogs are debarked, by shoving a pipe downtheir throat, so these "breeders" can keep more dogs and it seems like less!! Dogs poop on top of each other from cage to cage, it is a living hell. Do not buy from petshops that support selling puppies. Go to petfinder.com or your local shelter. Spread the word about puppy millis, it’s a dirty little secret, now it’s out. Some mills have been closed, and we want to see them all closed. Please do your part and contact the Humane Society and other orgs that support closing and or regulating puppy mills. Please.
Posted by: Dee | February 16, 2011 at 09:56 AM
Yes how dare these people, care for, clean, brush, travel with and love those dogs, yep all kinds of dog abuse going on up in there.
Gotta love how close minded some people are.
Posted by: Tina | February 16, 2011 at 10:06 AM
@LA Voter, I've been involved with purebred dogs and dog shows for more than 40 years, I can assure you I am not naive. Dogs don't care whose name is on their registration papers, they believe they belong to their handlers, and their dog show family IS their family. Of course, many dogs are owner-handled, even at this level, the oft-called "superbowl of dog shows."
As for pet overpopulation, that is a myth. Google it if you don't believe me. Consumers don't choose certain dogs in shelters and those dogs are euthanized. Don't blame breeders for that. Of course, we could have "no kill" shelters and then we wouldn't have a problem with shelters euthanizing the unwanted either. Read, and learn.
Posted by: Larkin Vonalt | February 16, 2011 at 04:08 PM
Larkin: While I have no doubt that show dogs in their prime are happy in their belief that they belong to their handlers, you conveniently evade the issue of what happens AFTER a dog's show days are over. Since handlers show many different dogs and are on the road constantly I doubt they're adopting every dog they ever showed. Who is looking after and loving these dogs after they cease to be in the limelight? Who is looking after them when they're old and ill? Your answer, while heavy on scorn, is light on info.
While, apparently unlike you, I do not believe everything I Google, you and I will have to agree to disagree about what constitutes pet overpopulation (which, let's be clear, is a red herring phrase you imply I used, but I didn't). I said: "thousands of unwanted, unloved dogs are killed every year, either in 'shelters' or on the streets," which is a matter of indisputable fact. You accuse me of talking about "pet overpopulation" because you want it to be a simple math problem, i.e. there aren't mathematically too many animals for the number of homes in America but, in your very telling phrase "Consumers don't choose certain dogs in shelters and those dogs are euthanized."
But your choice of words tells us more about you than the issue of unwanted pets. I've actually never heard someone, in public, refer to potential dog owners as "consumers." But I suppose if you consider a dog to be a product, the word consumer would leap to mind. What kind of person would consider a potential dog owner to be a "consumer"? I'm guessing a breeder would, isn't that right, Larkin? Would you care to reveal your personal financial stake in the continued breeding of dogs?
When you say "Consumers don't choose certain dogs in shelters and those dogs are euthanized" you make it clear that in your estimation the dogs who don't make the cut as consumer products are disposable. Is it because they're old, or mixed breed, or a breed you don't like -- is that what makes them defective? Is a purebred dachshund with a congenital crooked tail defective? If the thousands of dogs (among other animals) who are killed every year are all defective in your estimation does that mean all those deaths aren't a tragedy?
I don't have to "read and learn" so I will see the world the way you do (thank God). I am able to see that all dogs have equal value, no matter their pedigree or how much an opportunistic human can make selling them.
It's clear you're here to defend the breeding and showing of dogs, which is your right. But it doesn't change the fact that many people believe it is wrong, that it does many disservices to ALL dogs (only one or two of which you choose to defend, probably wisely). Your desire to defend a system that has many adverse consequences for all dogs does not make you an authority on humane issues, quite the opposite. So perhaps you could re-think scorn as a defense. It makes you sound a little like an antebellum plantation owner defending himself against an abolitionist by saying, "But you know nothing about harvesting cotton -- read, and learn."
Posted by: L.A. Voter | February 16, 2011 at 06:24 PM
L.A. Voter, you are spot on. I couldn't have said what you said better myself.
And keeping a dog in cords is abuse in my opinion. Cords are just controlled matts, shaped into so called cords. Matts pull at the skin and are painful. Not just are they painful but corded coats take around two days to dry! Or so they say but who knows how long water is trapped under the matts, flush right up against the skin. Dirt gets trapped under matts as well and since you can't separate the strands of hair, you can't free all the dirt. This leaves the skin susceptible to skin infections. How is that NOT abuse?
Posted by: Me | March 18, 2011 at 09:04 PM
Wow...These photos remind me why I don't support Dog shows. I've been grooming professionaly for almost 7 years now and even I don't agree with this...
....Human hair shows don't repeat the same hairstyles every year so why should we do this with dogs? A haircut shouldnt hurt, and as groomers we should be making these long haired breeds comfortable with shorter cuts... Not strapping them to a table for a 3 hour brush out. Oh and lets not forget to Tie tons of pony tails on them so they don't knot up their own fur when trying to act like a "normal" dog. And im sorry but the Puli is a matted dog...I just shaved one the other day.
Now it would be a real competition to take these same breeds and update their Hairstyles....Show off the real Haircuts that these breeds get in grooming salons around the country. No poofs and Poms... Keep their looks trendy and fresh...
But lets be honest...Take a look at who is running the dog shows (Yikes)...and Grooming the dogs .... I'm sorry but you need to have style to create style...So It looks like this annoying outdated cycle of poodle cuts, floor length fur and "beautiful" Matts.. will continue to torture purebreds and people like me....
Posted by: Melissa Benham | March 26, 2011 at 02:36 PM