Westminster adds 7 breeds to competition
NEW YORK — A bumper crop of seven new dog breeds will get a shot at being best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club competition next month, while a new obedience contest makes more room for mixed-breed dogs at the nation’s premier canine competition.
This year’s newcomer breeds are the most added in any one year since at least 2000, organizers say.
“To be in the first (Westminster) show that they’re able to compete in — it’s quite an honor,” Eileen Weatherbee said of her dog Oblio, set to be one of the first Boerboels to compete.
Breeds join the pack as fanciers seek and then earn recognition from the American Kennel Club; criteria include having several hundred dogs of the breed nationwide.
Bred to guard farms in South Africa, the Boerboel is powerful and imposing.
Three Italian breeds also are making their debut. The Bergamasco is an outgoing Alpine sheepdog with a distinctive coat of long, matted “flocks.” The lagotto Romagnolo is a truffle hunter and affectionate family dog; and the Cirneco dell’Etna, a sleek, keen rabbit-hunting hound believed to have been brought from Egypt to Sicily over 2,500 years ago.
The berger Picard hails from France, but Americans might recognize the shaggy, highly active breed from the 2005 movie “Because of WinnDixie.”
The miniature American shepherd, developed in California in the 1960s, resembles an Australian shepherd and is known for versatility. The eager-to-please Spanish water dog also has played multiple roles, herding livestock and helping fishermen.