17 wacky breeds to watch at the Westminster Dog Show
For more than three centuries, the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has crowned a Best in Show winner that represents the best of the best of purebred dogs. The show, which takes place in New York City's Madison Square Garden, features more than 3,000 dogs representing more than 200 breeds. You might be familiar with popular breeds like Labrador retrievers and standard poodles, but what about the dozens of striking rare breeds?
The process of becoming an official breed with the American Kennel Club takes years and requires set standards and a population of hundreds of that breed spread around the country. Here are some recently introduced breeds as well as obscure long-standing ones. Their unique jobs or appearances will make them stand out among the competition.
Bergamasco
Like the dreadlocked Puli, the Bergamasco is most famous for its distinct hair. In fact, this dog has three different hair textures. The hair on its body and legs naturally forms loose mats, or "flocks," of flat woven hair, which protect these Alpine mountain dogs from the cold and from harm. Because of this, Bergamascos don't shed, don't need to be brushed and only need to be bathed two or three times a year, according to the AKC.
Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen
The Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen, or the GBGV for short, is a new hound breed for 2019 that is still quite rare, with fewer than 400 dogs in the U.S. Its name roughly means "large, low, shaggy dog of the Vendee," according to the AKC. This short and stout hound was developed in France to hunt rabbits and hares.
Coton de Tulear
While this dog might resemble other fluffy, white companion dogs from around the world, it has unique origins. It's name in French means "cotton of Tulear," a city in the African island nation of Madagascar. Nicknamed “the Royal Dog of Madagascar,” these dogs were beloved as sweet, charming and human-like in their personalities by local nobles until they were exported to the wider world in the 1960s by French visitors. The Coton de Tulear is a recently recognized breed, competing for the first time in 2015.
Kooikerhondje
While its name might be daunting, the kooikerhondje (koi-ker-hond-yuh), meaning "small decoy dog," is an energetic Dutch duck hunting dog with large, black-tipped ears. Many paintings of nobility by Dutch masters feature this breed, and it's famous for saving the life of William of Orange in 1572, when his kooikerhondje alerted him to a Spanish attack. The "kooiker" for short is one of two new breeds to compete at the 2019 Westminster Dog Show.
Lagotto Romagnolo
The curly-haired Lagotto Romagnolo debuted at Westminster in 2016. Its name means "lake dog of Romagna," and it is famously bred for a very specific task: truffle hunting. With high endurance, a keen sense of smell and strong retrieving instinct, this whiskery, expressive teddy bear of a dog can earn its owners big bucks rooting out the expensive fungus. According to the AKC, it's the only dog breed specifically made for truffle hunting.
Dandie Dinmont terrier
Named after a fictional character in a Walter Scott novel, Dandie Dinmont terriers have big hair and big personalities, making them true dandies of the dog world. Originally bred as exterminators for farms, they have deep barks that don't match their appearance and have whimsical color categories for their coats: pepper and mustard. Their fancy features and expressive eyes endeared them to people like French king Louis Philippe, who owned two. It's been a recognized breed since 1877. It has never won Best in Show but has won the terrier group twice.
Skye terrier
While they have similar builds and coats to their cousin the Scottish terrier, Skye terriers have distinctive, feathery ears and facial hair that makes it look like they're peeking through a curtain. Originally bred as fox and badger exterminators on the Scottish Isle of Skye, they became adored by British nobility, including Queen Victoria. A Skye terrier won Best in Show in 1969.
Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever
As its name would suggest, the red-and-white Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever was bred in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia to toll, or lure in waterfowl by prancing along the shoreline until curious ducks moved close enough to be within shooting range. Hunters picked up on this behavior from foxes, and thus bred their dogs to have fox-like red coats and to mimic this trick. The breed has been shown at Westminster since 2004.
Rhodesian ridgeback
It shouldn't be surprising that a dog originally bred to hunt lions is among the most athletic in the world. Named for the stripe of backward-growing hair on its back, the Rhodesian Ridgeback was created in South Africa as a mix between local wild dogs and European breeds, including Greyhounds and terriers, according to the AKC. With the decline in the popularity of big game hunting, they proved to be devoted pets. The Rhodesian ridgeback has won Best in Group in the hound category but never won Best in Show.
American hairless terrier
First allowed to compete in 2017, the American hairless terrier actually comes in both coated and hairless varieties, though the coated still carry the hairless gene. This energetic and allergy-friendly terrier was developed in the South in the 1970s from the rat terrier to hunt vermin.
Beauceron
This large French sheepdog looks somewhat like a Doberman pinscher, and that's because the Beauceron was one of the breeds used to create its more common German counterpart. With the mind of a herder and the build of a bodyguard, Beaucerons were used to protect flocks and herds from wolves and evolved to do a variety of jobs for the police and military, such as landmine detection and trench warfare in World War I. The Beauceron first competed in 2008 and placed third in the herding group in 2013.
Otterhound
Like its name suggests, the Otterhound was bred in England specifically for hunting otters. Now a rare breed after the banning of otter hunting, these pups have dense, waterproof hair and big, webbed feet for maximum swimming efficiency. They also have an especially keen sense of smell to be able to follow an animal's trail underwater. Otterhounds first made their way to the U.S. in 1903 but are still a rare breed, with only a few hundred living in the United States and fewer than 1,000 worldwide.
Norwegian Lundehund
These springy dogs were bred specifically for puffin hunting on the Norwegian island of Vaeroy, where the bird meat was one of the only food sources to sustain locals through the winter. This breed is fantastically flexible; it's able to fold its ears closed, both forward and backward; can crane its head back all the way until it touches its spine; and can extend its legs to the side fully perpendicular to its body. While the typical dog has four or five toes, the Norwegian Lundehund has six. The breed competed in Westminster for the first time in 2012.
Anatolian shepherd dog
Anatolian shepherds have been an American Kennel Club-recognized breed in the United States since 1996. Anatolians were bred in Turkey as flock guardian dogs capable of fending off bears and wolves. They made their way to the U.S. in the 1970s after Navy Lieutenant Robert Ballard brought back a pair after being stationed in Turkey. The Anatolian competes in the working group.
Canaan dog
The national dog of Israel, the Canaan dog was only domesticated in the 1930s and still retains the keen senses it required for survival in the desert. Their strong sense of hearing and smell make them great watchdogs and useful for police and military work like sentry duty and mine detection. An ancient breed, they're thought to be depicted in Egyptian tomb drawings and used as herding dogs in Biblical times. The first Canaan dog competed in Westminster in 1998. The breed has since notched one herding group ranking in 2013.
Sloughi
Described as the "Arabian Greyhound," the sloughi (pronounced SLOO-ghee) was developed in North Africa to chase both small and large game, such as jackals and wild pigs, across rough desert terrain. According to the AKC, these elegant hounds were the companions of Egyptian nobles and Berber kings. The Sloughi was made a new eligible breed for Westminster in 2017.
Their odds of winning
More than 100 dogs have won Best In Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Annual Dog Show -- and yet some breeds have never taken home the crown. Not only that, but some breeds win far more than others. Terrier breeds have won Westminster more than 40 percent of the time, with the wire fox terrier winning a whopping 14 times. Popular American breeds the standard poodle, boxer, american cocker spaniel and Doberman pinscher have won four times, while breeds like the French bulldog, dachshund and golden retriever have never won.
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