National Dog Show

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Alt Name	The National Dog Show Presented by Purina
Genre	Dog show
Creator	Kennel Club of Philadelphia (KCP)
Presenter	John O'Hurley David Frei
Judges	Frank DePaulo (Show Chairman & Judge)
Country	United States
Location	Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks in Oaks, Pennsylvania
Runtime	2 hours
Channel	NBC
First Aired	2002-11

History

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Show began in 1879, following a format established by a one-time dog show held at the United States centennial in 1876. The show ran annually through 1927; it resumed in 1933 and has been held every year since. The show is held by The Kennel Club of Philadelphia, a founding club of AKC. It traditionally takes place on the third from last weekend in November over two days. In 2002, NBC Sports began televising the show on Thanksgiving Day and rebranded it as The National Dog Show.

The National Dog Show is one of the three major dog shows in the United States, along with the AKC National Championship and the Westminster Dog Show. Winners may be invited to compete at Crufts. As with all AKC conformation shows, mixed-breed dogs are not eligible to participate.

The NDS is one of the last six remaining benched dog shows in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused the show to be held behind closed doors for the first time.

The first dog to win two consecutive Best in Show awards in the show's history was GCH Foxcliffe Claire Randall Fraser, a Scottish deerhound who won Best in Show in 2020 and 2021.

Television history

A two-hour edit of the show is televised in the United States on NBC every Thanksgiving; the show airs after the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and airs at noon in all time zones except for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands which airs at 1 PM AST (due to NBC affiliates in these territories using the Eastern Time Zone feed), it also reairs every year either on the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving in primetime or on the Sunday Afternoon after Thanksgiving. Actor John O'Hurley and American Kennel Club judge David Frei host, and the show's presenting sponsor is Nestlé Purina PetCare.

The introduction of the television showings was drawn out of inspiration from the 2000 film Best in Show. NBC had attempted to fill the slot vacated by NBC's loss of Thanksgiving football rights four years prior; it had been airing the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life in the time slot but found that the film was not doing well enough in the ratings to justify continuing to air it there. NBC Sports's Jon Miller noted that the family atmosphere of Thanksgiving made the dog show a perfect fit for the slot after the parade, since pets are often considered an extension of the family unit, and surmised that viewers often had a rooting interest for the breeds of dogs they owned (which Miller dubbed an "alma mater effect"). The show ranks among the most-watched television specials of the year across all networks, with 12,000,000 viewers watching the 2024 telecast, fifth among all network television specials.

Best in Show winners

References

• A Rich History, The National Dog Show, 27 November 2014
• Caduhada, Melanie, The National Dog Show becomes a Thanksgiving TV favorite, New York Post, 23 November 2013, News Corp, 23 January 2017
• Engaging Positively With the Public at Dog Shows, Allan, Reznik, American Kennel Club, March 6, 2019
• Judging, The National Dog Show
• Rill, Jake, National Dog Show 2020: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Top Breeds and More, 2024-11-28, Bleacher Report, en
• Scottish deerhound wins first back-to-back National Dog Shows, 25 November 2021
• Sponsors, The National Dog Show Presented by Purina, 27 November 2014
• Littleton, Cynthia, 2024-12-27, The 25 Most-Watched Specials of 2024: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,’ Academy Awards and Billy Joel, 2024-12-30, Variety, en-US
• 2021-11-24, National Dog Show winners: A 20th anniversary look back, 2024-11-28, Dog o' Day, en-US
• Best in Show! 20 Years of National Dog Show Winners, 2024-11-28, People.com, en
• Manning, Sue, For Rufus, winningest bull terrier in breed history, life as a retired show dog is still busy, 27 November 2014, Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, 8 October 2010
• Best in Show, National Dog Show of Philadelphia, 27 November 2014
• Soma, Ann Marie, Swizzle's Got Sizzle, 15 April 2022, Hartford Courant, 3 December 2007
• NSBIS, MBIS & MBISS Ch. Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry, Seasyde Pointers, 27 November 2014
• Martelli, Rose, And the Winner of the National Dog Show is.... Clooney, the Irish Setter, National Dog Show, 1 December 2010
• Schwartz, Alison, National Dog Show Crowns Wire Fox Terrier Best in Show – Again, April 14, 2022, People, November 22, 2012
• Jamieson, Amy, American Foxhound Jewel Wins National Dog Show, People, April 15, 2022, 28 November 2013
• Bender, Kelli, Meet the 2014 National Dog Show Champion: Nathan the Bloodhound, People, April 15, 2022, 27 November 2014
• Bowerman, Mary, Charlie the Skye terrier wins National Dog Show, USA TODAY, April 15, 2022, November 27, 2015
• AKC Event Information, akc.org
• GCH SOMERSET WYNZALL HASHTAG wins the Toy Group!
• Whippet wins Best in Show at the 2018 National Dog Show, Mia, Zanzucchi, 22 November 2018
• National Dog Show 2020: Claire, Scottish deerhound, wins best in show, Amy, Kuperinsky, 26 November 2020, NJ.com
• Northam, Jackie, 2022-11-24, Winston the French bulldog has won the National Dog Show, en, NPR, 2022-11-24
• Northam, Jackie, November 23, 2023, Stache the Sealyham terrier wins the National Dog Show, NPR
• McCay, Bill, November 28, 2024, 'Vito' the pug wins best in show at annual National Dog Show competition, NBC News
• Ryan, Nate, 2025-11-27, Soleil shines on as Belgian Sheepdog takes Best in Show at 2025 National Dog Show, 2025-11-27, NBC Sports, en-US

External links

• NBCSports page