Behind the Scenes at the Westminster Dog Show

It still isn’t Madison Square Garden, but at least the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is back in New York City.

Just a 7 train ride away from Midtown, champion dogs invaded the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, this weekend for the 147th edition of the competition, which organizers claim is the second oldest continuously held sporting event in the United States. The very good dogs (they are all very good dogs) competed in agility and obedience championships over the weekend before moving to two days of judging to determine the best in each breed and group and, of course, Best in Show, which will be judged Tuesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Once a staple of the Garden, the show, like the rest of the world, was thoroughly thrown off course by the coronavirus pandemic. The last two competitions, both of which endured delays, were held at Lyndhurst, an estate in Tarrytown, N.Y. While taking away some of the live experience, the shows were still huge spectacles on television and online, with Wasabi the Pekingese being named Best in Show in 2021 and Trumpet the bloodhound taking the top spot in 2022.

This year, fans should be more prevalent with the show getting a bit closer to what people have come to expect. But first, the dogs had to get ready.

In an embarrassing gaffe, all seven of these Dalmatians reported to a day of competition in the same outfit.

You might be a little grumpy as well if you spent so much time being groomed.

Huge crowds come out to the U.S. Open every year to watch humans chase tennis balls. Tossing out a few during Westminster could yield some exciting results.

Spectators would be wise to invest in a set of binoculars when the smaller breeds, like Pomeranians, are strutting their stuff.

Custom dog purses are good signs you are not at the U.S. Open. (No, they didn’t have dogs in them.)

Actually, all of these outfits and accessories would probably play just fine at the Open.

There is something wrong with this mirror.

There is concentration and then there is Peggy Beisel-McIlwaine, in her eighth time judging at Westminster, going over a group of collies.

The calm before the storm.