How the National Dog Show became Thanksgiving favorite
OAKS, PA. >> It’s the most wonderful time of the year ... for dog lovers. We speak, of course, of a sacred Thanksgiving tradition for millions of Americans: Before the turkey and football, they curl up on the couch to watch the National Dog Show.
The contest airs on NBC after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, allowing Mom, Dad, kids, Grandma — and yes, even the family pet — to see the four-legged competitors, root for their favorite breeds, and guess who will win best in show.
The 20 million fans glued to the television this year already know the answer: GCHP Pinnacle Tennessee Whiskey, a fawn-colored whippet from Sugar Valley, Georgia. Whiskey, with his elegant lines and big brown eyes, beat the crowd favorites — a Doberman pinscher and a Cavalier King Charles spaniel — and the frontrunner, a wire fox terrier that had tons of buzz and a glittering string of best-inshow victories from around the globe.
Aside from being wildly popular, the two-hour broadcast has a secret, rare in this day of breaking news and social media: The show was actually held last weekend, but the results remained closely guarded for six days.
“I have a great friend from the Irish bar we used to hang The 2018National Dog Show’s best in show champion, Whiskey, is a 3-year-old whippet.
out at who’s a big-time sports gambler,” says David Frei, who has been a co-host of the NBC’s National Dog Show since it first aired in 2002. “He would always ask who won. I said, ‘You’re not trying to turn this into some sort of a bet, are you?’ He’s said, ‘No, no. I’m going to dinner with my family and I just want them to think I’m pretty smart about dogs.’ ”
And that, my friends, is the simple genius behind this show. People love dogs. They love to own them: There are 90 million pet dogs in the United States. They love to shop for them: Owners will spend $59 billion this year on food, vet care, toys, outfits and more, including dog birthdays. And they love to watch them on Thanksgiving: The National Dog Show is the highest-rated canine contest in
the country, trouncing both Puppy Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in February.
The contest will be rebroadcast at 8 tonight on NBC.
Frei’s co-host, actor John O’Hurley, calls it the “happiest day of the year. I’ve always said I’m a better person with a dog in my lap. They just have an infectious influence on our lives. You see it in this room: Everyone was happy today.”
The show is the brainchild of Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports, who thought a dog show could work on television if the time slot was right — say, a family holiday.
“You know what?” Jeff Zucker, who was then his top boss, told him. “It can’t do worse. Let’s give it a shot.”