Today is the official opening of the 2016 AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin. No, I’m not there yet, but there are preliminary events going on today through Friday. Starting on Saturday, the conformation show will include 209 total breeds plus a Junior Showmanship competition.
Over 4,710 dogs are entered into the competition, with the top ten breeds being:
1. Golden Retrievers, 141 dogs
2. Labrador Retrievers, 117 dogs
3. Australian Shepherds, 94 dogs
4. French Bulldogs, 81 dogs
5. Rhodesian Ridgebacks, 68 dogs
6. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, 59 dogs
7. Rottweilers, 56 dogs
8. Chinese Cresteds, 55 dogs
9. Miniature Schnauzers, 53 dogs
10. Whippets, 52 dogs
None of these breeds is particularly rare, but I was a little surprised that the top ten entries didn’t more closely mirror the top ten registry list. Of the list above, only the Lab, Golden, Frenchie, and Rott appear in the top ten list of popular breeds released in early 2016. (Lab, Golden, German Shepherd, Bulldog, Beagle, Frenchie, Yorkie, Poodle, Rott, Boxer).
In case you’re wondering, the breeds with the smallest showing scheduled for Nationals are as follows:
1. Portuguese Podengo Pequeno, no entries
2. Bergamasco, 1 entry
3. Puli, 1 entry
4. English Foxhound, 1 entry
5. Harrier, 1 entry
6. Portuguese Podengo, 2 entries (these are the medio & grande sized dogs, as contrasted to the small (pequeno) size)
7. Norwegian Lundehund, 2 entries
8. Chinook, 2 entries
9. Komondor, 2 entries
Tied for number 10, with 3 entries each: American Water Spaniel and Bull Terrier (White)
Looking forward to live blogging the event, starting late in the day on Friday!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!