Winner - "Josh" (Newfoundland Terrier)
Show - Doberman Pinscher, Mastiff, Akita
Judge - Mrs. Anne Clark

Ahh, the working group. For you Iditarod fans, this is where your boys shine. By far the most impressive beast of this group is the Great Dane. I mean, this is no dog, this is a horse. It seems the Dane is rarely even picked as a top 7 finalist within the group...probably an intimidation thing. The winner here was no surprise, as this exact same dog won this group last year. Other notable occurrences included the first misbehaving situation of the night. The Kuvazs was jumping all over the place and even attempted to bite the judge (something I've yet to see happen, but will absolutely rule when it does). Also, within this group's showing (and 28 minutes into this year's event), we had our first "There are no bad dogs, just bad owners" quote from Frei. I used to track how many times he says that in a 6-hour broadcast, but it's really not even worth it. As for my personal fave, it had to be the Standard Schnauzer. This dog just seemed happy, and that's enough for me. In the post-interview, judge Anne Clark said "It's every kid's dream to breed a dog and have it go best in show"...I wish that were true, Anne, but come on.

Winner - "Coco" (Norfolk Terrier)
Show - Bull Terrier (colored), Border Terrier, Lakeland Terrier
Judge - Mr. Elliott B. Weiss

Good ole' terriers. This is the one group that I believe solely exists because there were just too damn many of the same kind of dog, so they made a whole group dedicated to them. There wasn't too much to note here. This was the first of two minority handlers. It was the Straffordshire Terrier (a dog best known as Petey from "Our Gang") who had a black man handling, which I only note because it rarely ever happens. The world of top-end dog showing (and bottom-end, for that matter) is dominated by your typical WASP crowd. It doesn't matter to me; I just like to watch. Worth noting in this section was the handler of the PBGV (Petite Basset Griffon Vendeen). I didn't catch her name, but I'm pretty sure she was hot. This also is a rare thing in the world of dog showing, but it's nice to see when it pops up. The Border Terrier was my personal favorite (not surprisingly, it's one of the smallest in the group) as it was just chock full of energy. However, Coco was the winner, which I could see as justified...I have no problem with that. No embarrassment from Charlsie in the "post game" interview this time.

Winner - "Les" (Pekingese)
Show - Chinese Crested, Chihuahua (long coat), Pomeranian
Judge - Mrs. Dawn Hansen

The Toy group is my favorite by far. The winner was yet again a repeat winner in Les, the Pekingnese (note: Les is handled by minority handler 2 of 2). My personal favorite in this group varies from year to year (although it's never the Toy Poodle). This year, it was the Pomeranian, which wound up placing fourth. This dog is a complete ball of fur, yet when it wiggled down the carpet it had its tongue sticking out, showing its handler and all those watching who was really boss. It was the definition of cute. What's the best part about the toy group, you ask? Well, the fact that all of these dogs are judged on the table, giving the viewer a better close-up shot. That, and the fact that they are small, and you always gotta root for the small guy, right? When I mentioned earlier that Charlsie was talking to the dogs and not the handlers in the post-group interview, this is where it started. God, she's an idiot. Anyway, the Toy group...definitely the highlight every year.

This was also when the "Dogs Helping Us" annual tribute was run. It shows dogs sitting there while kids read, dogs being stroked by old people... It's really quite heart-warming, yet also a distraction to the real reason we're all watching. I wish they'd cut this sappy stuff...moving on...

Winner - "Miki" (Standard Poodle)
Show - Chow Chow, Tibetan Terrier, French Bulldog
Judge - Ms. Betty Leninger

Oh brother...don't get me started. Rounding out the first day of coverage was the continued travesty that is poodles winning groups. I mean, come on people, this is enough. Yet again, a repeat winner (anyone see a pattern here?). I have stated many times how much I hate the poodle in all forms. Don't get me wrong: it is a dog, so I like it in that respect, but that's about it. As the group's name would indicate, the "Non-Sporting" group is quite literally the group where dogs that don't fit into other categories are all "mushed" together. My favorite in this group was the Shipperke, a little Belgian dog (see, little dogs...I'm tellin' ya, there's something about them) that lacks a tail, yet has a ton of heart and energy and is able to hold its own in with the bigger standard in this group. Normally a lack of a tail would get a thumbs-down from me, but you just gotta love this dog regardless.

At this point, with day one at a close, we had several repeat winners...this better not continue, or I'm gonna be pissed. On to day two...

Winner - "Stump" (Sussex Spaniel)
Show - Pointer (German Wirehaired), Spaniel (Cocker) Parti-Color, Spaniel (English Springer)
Judge - Mrs. Judith Goodin

Day two kicks off with the Sporting group, and the winner was one of two picked by me as personal faves. My other personal favorite in this group...? The German Wirehaired Pointer. That's right, I was in favor of the top two...a rare occurrence, I'm afraid to admit. The Sussex was a lumbering little pooch that most might not associate with a "Sporting" breed, but it won the hearts of the fans and clearly the judge as well. I'm just proud that I called this one. There was a definite moment worth noting in this group. The Clumber Spaniel (which hails from England) was brought out, and David Frei proclaimed, "This dog is very talented and intelligent...he's even bilingual. He barks in Spanish and English." Just when I thought Charlsie was the only airhead in this crew...oh, brother. You can't buy good help. For the record, the Sporting group is home of both the Golden and Labrador Retrievers, the two most popular dogs (by registration) in America. I think their popularity hurts them in these competitions, though, as they never seem to show.

In between Sporting and Hound, they ran a whole piece on this $2,000 pair of scissors. Look, we know that "dog people" spend a lot of money on this. We don't need the details...on with the show, for crying out loud...

Winner - "Bunny" (Ibizan Hound)
Show - Rhodesian Ridgeback, Beagle (13 inch), Irish Wolfhound
Judge - Dr. John Reeve-Newsom

...must make joke about a guy having two last names... I must admit, a bit of an upset in this group. Granted, for the fourth time, we have the same dog winning that won last year, but I just don't see the appeal. It looks like a greyhound with anorexia...seriously. In any event, Judge John Reeve-Newsom (sidenote: What's up with the two last names for a guy? He's putting back the men's movement 100 years by doing that. What a pansy...anyway) decided that "Bunny", so named for the bunny-like symbol on its back (yay, Playboy!!), was the best dog on his list. Of course, a dog named "Playmate of the Year" has to have some redeeming qualities. These dogs were used by the Pharoahs back in the day...in case you were curious. Anyway, I was (as usual) rooting for the 13" Beagle, which showed, as well as the Wirehaired Daschund. I honestly think that daschunds (AKA "wiener dogs") get no respect. They're awesome little dogs, full of energy, yet they are never picked in these major competitions. What's up with that!?!? In any event, those were my faves, but the repeat winner rule was clearly in effect. The post-interview scene for this group was where Charlsie mispronounced Westminster. It wasn't even like she was stumbling on her words or anything, she just came right out with "Westminister". Hopefully that'll be enough for USA to fire her before next year's event.

Winner - "Kevin" (Pembroke Welsh Corgi)
Show - Border Collie, German Shepherd, Briard
Judge - Mr. Lester Mapes

Lester Mapes picked a good one here. "Kevin" had a good show last year but came away empty-handed in the face of a stellar German Shepherd. This year's Shepherd was not nearly as dominant, even though it did wind up third. One of the two I was rooting for was the Border Collie, which wound up second. I was cheering for this pooch mainly because the thing was straight up chillin'. The judge was feeling all over the dog and doing the infamous yelping to try to distract the dog, yet it never moved an inch. I don't think that most judges give enough emphasis to that kind of obedience. I was also in the corner of the Belgian Tervuren. This dog looks a bit unkempt, and by golly...that's right up my alley. It's worth mentioning that these dogs arguably the hardest working of the whole bunch. These boys run all day long and never get tired...just like me!

Winner - "Josh" (Newfoundland Terrier)
Judge - Mr. Burton Yamata

I'm not gonna say much here, except...FIX!!! This year's Best In Show judge was Burt Yamata, who just happened to judge the Working group last year. Well, wouldn't ya know it...guess who won the Working group last year? It was Josh, the Newfoundland. Well, guess who won the Working group this year? Josh the Newfoundland. So guess who pretty much automatically takes Best in Show?!?!...exactly! Grrr. I thought only boxing was fixed. I was clearly wrong. I was rooting for either the Norfolk Terrier or the Welsh Corgi, but no such luck. Maybe next year...