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As you might expect, the Best in Show judge chosen for the 150th edition of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has always loved dogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the middle child of seven children, and my parents wouldn\u2019t let me have a dog, but I was desperate for dogs,\u201d David Fitzpatrick says. \u201cThen when I finally got my own dog, that dog just brought me so much companionship and comfort and really helped me get through my teenage years. I don\u2019t know how to describe the bond that I had with that dog, and she had with me. I mean, we were just like one. That\u2019s the most important job that dogs have: to be a companion and be man\u2019s best friend, and the rest is really all extra.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been working with purebred dogs since 1970, when he started as an assistant handler\u2014and Pekingese are a clear favorite. Fitzpatrick won Best in Show at Westminster in 2012 with a Pekingese named Malachy and in 2021 with another named Wasabi, and in 2023, he earned reserve Best in Show with Rummie, yet another of the breed.<\/p>\n\n\nFitzpatrick holds Malachy after winning Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on February 14, 2012.<\/span> Michael Nagle – Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAhead of his big night, Fitzpatrick spoke with Town & Country <\/em>about all things Best in Show\u2014including how he plans to judge the evening.<\/p>\nTell me about your journey to Best in Show Judge.<\/h4>\n Well, I guess the journey started back in 1970 when I first started working with show dogs and going to dog shows. My first Westminster I attended was in 1972, and I\u2019ve been to everyone since except for one\u2014and that was due to illness. And Westminster\u2019s just always held a special place and my heart because of the excitement and the history of the show and the striving for excellence amongst all the dog breeders, judges, and everyone. It\u2019s the epitome of dog show world and pure bred dogs and high quality everything.<\/p>\n
What was your first impression when you went to Westminster in 1972?<\/h4>\n\n\nA view of dogs and their handlers on the floor at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1975.<\/span> Lane Stewart – Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nI was very nervous because I was just still a teenager and I was assisting a professional handler that was taking dogs up there to show for other people, and I had no idea that this was such a congested, crowded, yet exciting dog show. The grooming and benching area was always very, very tight in those days with crates stacked up four or five high and people elbow to elbow trying to do their doggy chores before they got their dogs into the ring area. And I actually had to take a dog into the ring that year because the lady I was working for was showing Pekinese, but she also had a Shih Tzu entered that was being judged at exactly the same time. And I had to go and show the Shih Tzu, and I had never shown a dog before.<\/p>\n
It was a disaster. This was my first time in the ring, and Shih Tzu had big entries back in those days, and I was in the open dog class with this little dog called Pudee Fu and, I mean, I was his playmate. I wasn\u2019t the one that was making him behave or showing him ever. He just was taking total advantage of me. And I was just about ready to have a panic attack because everybody\u2019s giving me the side eye and telling me to get my dog under control, and I had no idea what I was doing. So this nice older gentleman handler just said, \u201cNow just relax. Do a little this, a little that, and don\u2019t worry about these other people. Just everything will be fine.\u201d And oh my God, I couldn\u2019t wait to get out of that ring. But those are really my first memories from that show. And also the judge of the Pekingese was this very famous lady from Oklahoma called Clara Alford, and she had won Best in Show in 1960 with a Pekingese, and she was a legendary figure in the sport in those days, and I remember that. But mostly I just remember being very excited and anxious and nervous.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to this year, how does it feel to be the Best in Show judge for the 150th?<\/h4>\n Well, it feels like an absolute privilege to be asked to award Best in Show, and I feel very honored, and I know what it feels like to win Best in Show, to be the handler, and what a life-changing moment that is for the handler and the breeder and all involved. It\u2019s very exciting. And I\u2019m looking forward to the challenge of judging those seven dogs. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m nervous, but my adrenaline, whenever I talk about it starts getting going and going. I think I\u2019ll be nervous closer to it.<\/p>\n
As a previous Best in Show winner, what advice do you have for those competing?<\/h4>\n\n\nWasabi, one of his winners, in 2021.<\/span> TIMOTHY A. CLARY – Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMy advice is to have your dogs looking as good and in best condition as you can on the day, and really to try to relax. Because when the handlers get nervous, the dogs get nervous. And if a handler can really have self-discipline and put themselves into a relaxed place, they\u2019re going to do better. The dog\u2019s going to do better, and you\u2019re going to enjoy the moment, win or lose. And there\u2019s nothing worse than the handlers getting so hyped up and then the dog gets hyped up and loses their cool. So my advice is to relax, enjoy the moment. Every dog in there and every handler is already a winner. To win a group at Westminster and to be invited in for Best in Show is really the highlight of most people\u2019s careers and lives, so enjoy that moment.<\/p>\n
What are you looking for to award Best in Show?<\/h4>\n I\u2019m going to try to look for a dog that is going to be a great example of its breed. A dog that\u2019s in top condition, showing really well on the day, a dog that exudes the proper temperament for its breed, whether it be wagging, its tail all the time, or being a bit aloof and aristocratic. But I\u2019m looking for a dog that, in my mind\u2019s eye, comes closest to perfection for that particular breed and looks great on that night. Dogs are like humans. We all have some days where we\u2019re standing tall and we\u2019re walking around where we\u2019re very happy. And then some days, oh gee, another cloudy day. So hopefully the dog that I think is the best dog is having that best night of his life.<\/p>\n\n\nFitzpatrick and his winner Wasabi in 2021.<\/span> TIMOTHY A. CLARY – Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHow do you put aside your bias towards Pekingese dogs?<\/h4>\n I\u2019m not really thinking about that because you don\u2019t really know what breeds. I\u2019m not going to be judging Pekingese unless the Pekingese wins the toy group, and I\u2019m not expecting that. But one never knows\u2026 there\u2019s going to be seven dogs in there. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to get, really. But no Pekingese has won the group there since my dogs have won last in 2023.<\/p>\n
Online, there\u2019s a lot of discourse every year around the Golden Retriever never winning. Is it finally their time?<\/h4>\n\n\nGolden retrievers prepare to compete during the 149th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.<\/span> Andres Kudacki – Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWell, there\u2019s always a discourse for that and also for laboratory retriever. There are certain breeds that the public is really rah rah cheering for and these popular breeds, and it\u2019s initially not up to me. One of those breeds has to win the group\u2014and then get into Best in Show. But I\u2019m game for any breed myself, even though my specialties are small dogs and Pekingese and toy and some non-sporting breeds. I appreciate a high quality dog in any breed. I\u2019ve given German Shepherds \u201cBest in Show,\u201d Fox hounds, miniature poodles. The Best in Show judge is, in some ways, at the mercy of the group judges, because you might have a favorite dog that doesn\u2019t win the breed or win the group.<\/p>\n
What makes a dog a pet versus a show dog? How do you know of your dogs are right for showing?<\/h4>\n Well, they actually can be both. A lot of the dogs that are raised here that are show dogs are still kept for pets. And with the pekingese, what makes a good show dog in a pekingese? Being attentive and wanting to walk and standing well on the table and liking people. There\u2019s still things that you would like in a pet, too\u2014not being afraid of strangers and things like that\u2014but it\u2019s usually a fine point that might check a dog off the show dog list and into the pet list. Some dogs are not public creatures, just like people, some dogs like to be out in the crowd and other dogs, they just want to be home with their person. So to be a good show dog, you have to be out there amongst people and be able to roll with whatever happens at the dog show, airplanes going off overhead or fire engines. They have to be sort of bombproof, really, to be a great show dog.<\/p>\n
When a lot of people think of Best in Show, they think of the 2000 comedy. Do you find the film to be accurate to your experiences at Westminster?<\/h4>\n\n\nThe key cast poses with dogs.<\/span> getty images – Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn many respects, yes. I know people that are very much like the characters showing the dogs and Best in Show<\/em> the movie. And I think there\u2019s been times when I\u2019ve even displayed some of those qualities myself. I\u2019ve lost my dog\u2019s favorite toy and I can\u2019t find it. That\u2019s the only thing I can use to get his attention in the ring. It\u2019s a great movie. When I first saw it, I was highly insulted. I thought, \u201cOh my God, they\u2019re making fun of us.\u201d And then when I saw the second, third, and fourth and fifth time, I just laughed hysterically and I thought, yeah, that\u2019s us.<\/p>\nYou Might Also Like<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
As you might expect, the Best in Show judge chosen for the 150th edition of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has always loved dogs. \u201cI was the middle child of seven children, and my parents wouldn\u2019t let me have a dog, but I was desperate for dogs,\u201d David Fitzpatrick says. \u201cThen when I finally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}