From our seats up above, we watched four rings of action/Photo by Rhonda Lane
Hey – what’s this dog show post doing on our horse blog???
Because people who love horses often love other animals, too? Don’t worry. I won’t interrupt our cherished equi-centric programming for long. Or for very often. 
Anyway, if you’ve watched the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on TV, you’ve probably wondered what attending would be like.
And, if you’re like I was, you’d probably be amazed to find out that, during the day, you can get as close to the action as this:
Shih Tzu's pose in the Westminster show ring with their handlers/Photo by Rhonda Lane
Let alone roam through the benching area, sort of like the dog show’s “backside.”
Last year my travel buddy Sheryl, who went with me to Virginia and Saratoga, took me to the dogs.
Nice to have reserved seats
Shih Tzus on deck, awaiting their gate call/Photo by Rhonda Lane
Although we spent little time sitting in them, we bought reserved seats. Had our schedules permitted, we could have stayed all day for the evening competitions, too.
For breeds in which we were particularly interested, we went down to the floor to stand at ringside.
Because my only exposure to dog shows until then had been action-oriented events, like obedience competitions and lure coursing, I had only seen conformation shows on TV.
So I had never known that spectators could stand next to the ring to watch. After all, my favorite spot to watch horse shows or races is along the rail.
But my second favorite place is back in the barns. Or, in dog show parlance, the benching area.
In the benching area
Backstage at the big dog show is as crowded as the Churchill Downs rose garden and paddock area on Kentucky Derby day. At least, at Westminster, you can get up close to the competitors.
See the crowd milling behind the chihuahuas? I was in a thick group just like it in front of them./Photo by Rhonda Lane
Not only are you close, but you’re shoulder-to-shoulder, almost worthy of Soylent Green, 1973 movie about overpopulation. Just like Charlton Heston’s character in the movie, you feel carried along by the crowd as you walk among the dog crates and benches.
The lady petting the chihuahuas to the left seemed to know the lady sitting by their booth, so that’s why she enjoys the privilege of petting the dogs.
Keeping one’s hands to oneself is probably the best policy for spectators passing through, especially considering the dogs don’t know you, might be under stress — even though they seemed less stressed than I did — and that the dog show happens in the height (depth?) of cold and flu season.
A yellow Labrador retriever waits inside his crate until his class is called.
If you can’t stand it and must greet a friendly dog, please be sure to ask its human for permission to do so.
Also, when you’re dressing to attend the dog show and plan to spend some time exploring the benching area, keep in mind that you’ll be wearing your winter coat. With all the human and canine bodies in the low-ceilinged benching area, the temperature can feel a bit stiff.
Some dogs have fans attached to their crates so they can be comfortable. If you want your own fan to carry, you know what to do. Take your own.
The noise is chaotic. If I were a dog, I’d be freaked. But they seem remarkably ho-hum about it. When you’re a dog competing at Westminster, I suppose guess you’re used to attention and commotion around you.
Guys from the then yet-to-air National Geographic channel series "Rescue Ink" were there. His tee shirt says "Abusers Are Losers."/Photo by Rhonda Lane
Among the crowd rumble, you’ll hear shouts like, “Dog coming through,” as a handler leads a dog through the main corridors.
Representatives of a New York-based rescue about to be shown in a National Geographic channel series looked ominous amongh the benches. The guys from Rescue Ink escorted a big dog that I tried to photograph, except the crowd was just too thick around them. (For more information about Rescue Ink, check their website.)
What I’ll do if I go again?
Go across Seventh Avenue from Madison Square Garden to the Hotel Pennsylvania to walk around the lobby. While Sheryl and I were walking up to the Garden from Grand Central, we saw competitors transporting their dogs across the street to the arena.
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is held in February. In 2010, the show will be held on Feb. 15 and 16.
Tags: dog shows, Hotel Pennsylvania, Madison Square Garden, New York, Rescue Ink, Westminster Dog Show
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