BUSTING THE GENETICS MYTHS: DR JEROLD BELL

Last week we talked with Dr. Marty Greer about health testing 101. This week we’re taking the graduate course in genetics with Dr. Jerold Bell from Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

Bell has some serious myth busting going on in this discussion that I think our listeners are going to enjoy.

MIXED BREEDS ARE NOT HEALTHIER

First of all, mixed breeds are not healthier than purebred dogs.

“The most frequent genetic disorders that we see in practice are seen equally between purebreds and mixed breeds,” Bell said.

Second, there is a heritability factor in many diseases we had not previously considered. Bell talks specifically about studiesindicating even something as seemingly obviously traumatic as cruciate ligament tears have a genetic component.

Third, all breeders should be health testing their dogs. The increasing number of DNA tests available enables breeds with simple recessive gene pairs creating disease to quickly and easily apply positive pressure to the pedigree. Breeding a quality carrier status animal to a clear, then breeding the resulting quality clear offspring, Bell said, will rapidly eliminate diseases such as a specific form of Progressive Retinal Atrophy.

“And that’s really the take home message for today,” Bell said. “Is that anyone that’s doing breeding must be doing breed specific genetic testing of the parents and if they’re not doing that then they should not be breeding. Then they are not an ethical breeder and not a health conscious breeder and there’s no place today for breeders that are not going to do that.”

Fourth, for complex inherited diseases, in which a combination of genes is causing a disease process to be expressed, the OFA/CHIC database offers the opportunity to research a “vertical pedigree” to study the incidence of disease in the entire family of the dogs being considered for breeding.

OFA IS FACEBOOK FOR DOGS

“So when you look up at dog’s web page on the OFA Website,” Bell said, “and this is Facebook for dogs, this is the dog’s own individual website. They can have their picture on there, it has all their information. It has all the information of the tests results from the parents from the siblings from the half siblings. … even in a normal individual that you’re looking at for breeding, if the parents or the parents’ siblings (indicate) more disease present, it tells you that you’re going to have a greater genetic load of liability genes for that particular disorder.”

Finally, using health testing *appropriately* is mission critical. Bell noted that breeders’ selection processes should emphasize only those diseases which are of concern within their respective breeds. He presented an outstanding webinar for the AKC Canine Health Foundation available here which goes in to even greater detail on this topic.

“…people might say that because (our dogs) purebred they have limited diversity and therefore they’re unhealthy,” Bell said. “And that is not true.’

We hope you enjoy this very rich conversation with Dr. Bell and are able to apply this knowledge in your own breeding programs.

CANNABIS FOR DOGS? ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES AND CANNABINOIDS

Cannabinoid compounds as alternative therapy for dogs is a growing area of interest. Kari Taylor talks with us today about exactly what medical marijuana and cannabinoids are, how they can help our dogs and answers the legal and safety questions many pet owners have.

The increasing use of medical marijuana and CBD compounds in human health has led naturally to potential uses in our pets. While anxiety and inflammation issues appear to be the primary uses to date, Taylor contends the therapy has many potential applications.

It is important to understand that CBD is derived from industrial hemp and therefore is legal in all states in the US. Medical marijuana, which may contain THC, the psychoactive component of the recreational drug, is legal in more than half the US.

Equally important to note, particularly in states where recreational marijuana use is legal, is that THC and the drug which makes a person “high” is dangerous, although generally not lethal, if ingested by dogs.

DOGS NATURALLY MAGAZINE ON CANNABIS

From Dogs Naturally Magazine’s article on the topic, “This article’s not about marijuana, but this is important information. With the legalization of marijuana in many places, poison control centers are hearing more and more about pets getting into their owners’ marijuana stash.

It may be hard to tell if your dog has the munchies (isn’t it a permanent condition in dogs?), but other side effects from marijuana can be quite severe, including lethargy, dilated pupils, drooling, being off balance, muscle twitching, vomiting, involuntary urination and even unconsciousness.

If this happens to your dog, take him to the vet immediately. He’ll need palliative support until the effects wear off.”

KARI TAYLOR EXPLAINS WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Taylor shares with our listeners excellent explanations and provides an understanding of how the cannabinoids work with the body to produce the reported results. She also reminds listeners to seek products that are sourced from plants grown without pesticides and to educate themselves as to the actual amount of active ingredient in the product they are purchasing.

“I have visited some of the top pet CBD sites and, in many cases, you can’t determine how many grams of CBD are in a treat or in the oil itself,” Taylor says. “In many cases they list the number of milligrams of hemp oil versus the number of milligrams of cannabinoids. Now, those are two different things. CBD is the actual compound that will trigger the receptors. Hemp oil is the synergistic blend of all constituents derived from the concentration of a hemp plant. So, when you’re using, say, hemp oil, you are getting a lot more of the original constituents that were with that plant, which is oftentimes very supportive in the absorption of the cannabinoids or the CBD itself. … All of our products are labeled by the number of cannabinoids that are present is what people are looking for. If you’re wanting to buy CBD oil, don’t you want to know how much CBD is in it?”

ENJOY LISTENING ON PURE DOG TALK!

This is a cutting edge area of the pet health industry about which many of our listeners have expressed interest. Taylor’s useful information, case study examples and real world experience provide excellent applicable knowledge for all pet owners. We hope you enjoy today’s podcast!

List of links:

https://farmacydispensary.com/cannabis-education/

VETERINARY VOICE: HEALTH TESTING 101 – DR. MARTY GREER

 

Dr. Marty Greer, DVM, JD returns to our Veterinary Voice series to talk about health testing for our breeding programs.

Using testing to improve our dogs’ overall health involves looking at both “phenotype” — diseases we can test for with xrays, blood or other physical exam — and “genotype” — those diseases identified by DNA testing.

Dr. Greer also provides some great input on the various DNA tests cropping up all around us. These tests, all spinning off from the identification of the canine genome, provide breeders, exhibitors and pet owners with a plethora of options for naming everything from the mixture of breeds in a shelter dog to the specific heritable genes for deadly diseases.

One of Greer’s primary points, which we’ll touch on again next week in our podcast with Dr. Jerold Bell, is that these health testing options provide breeders with the ability to *expand* their gene pools. Scientifically identifying a dog as a carrier and another as a non-carrier of a specific disease gene, for example, enables breeders to breed those two individuals with the assurance that none of the resulting progeny will be affected by the disease in question.

Many of our dogs are impacted by polygenic diseases, in other words something like hip dysplasia, for which there is no DNA test because it is predicated on more than one simple gene pair. Nonetheless, the future of breeding healthy dogs is made profoundly more “user friendly” with the available testing protocols for those who use them wisely.

“So, the tricky part, and I think the really hard part for people that as breeders are running these tests are for them to try and decide how to use that information in their breeding program,” Greer said. “… I see a lot of breeders who are so distraught about finding a genetic defect in their dog or in their line of dogs that they will throw out a whole line of dogs genetically. They will just stop breeding that whole line and it is narrowing and bottlenecking our gene pools even further than a lot of the breeds already are. So, we have to be really careful how we interpret and use those results.”

BREEDING DECISIONS

Greer goes on to discuss various health concerns and how those should apply to making breeding decisions.

“So, I tend to rank, personally, genetic diseases on a ranking of one, two and three, because you can’t treat them all the same,” Greer said. “So, things like an umbilical hernia, or an extra eyelash, you fix it once surgically, it is corrected.  …the reality of it is those are not life-threatening diseases … Ranked two are things like allergies and thyroid disease, which require chronic medications. They always have to be on medication for those diseases if they have them. … And then ranked three are the things that are life-threatening, life-altering, life-changing diseases, and those are arthritic changes like hip dysplasia, seizures that are life-threatening, and, frankly, bad temperament in my opinion has the same categorization because some of those dogs have such bad temperaments that they bite people and that’s life-changing, life-altering and life-threatening. … I want to kind of frame it so people understand that not all not genetic diseases are the same, not all should be treated equally, and we have to really be thoughtful about how we use this information in breeding programs.”

The judicious and thoughtful use of health testing results and criteria in breeding healthy dogs presents almost a continuum of application in Greer’s experience. Potentially unhealthy dogs with no testing on one end and dogs with extensive testing but a potentially limited gene pool which may entrench diseases at the other end of the spectrum.

“…the Dandie Dinmonts, the Otterhounds, these people with small gene pools can serve as models for other breeds,” Greer said,

PEGGY BEISEL-MCILWAINE – JUDGING DOGS AS BREEDING STOCK

Peggy Beisel-McIlwaine was recently nominated for the third time as judge of the year by the ShowDog of the Year Committee.  A judge of four groups, Beisel-McIlwaine is well respected within the fancy for her over-arching mission to judge dogs as breeding stock. She’s judged the Garden, Montgomery and Great Western, as well as internationally. Her gentle hands on the dogs, discerning eye for a “good one” and her pleasant demeanor with exhibitors have made her a favorite.

Her first love, an Old English Sheepdog acquired after high school, eventually led Beisel-McIlwaine to work dog shows on weekends for Connie Gerstner (Miller). “I went to UWGreenBay. Eventually, I was going to classes less and less and dog shows more and more,” Beisel-McIlwaine said.

In the spring of 1977, at a local Wisconsin show, she encountered legendary dog man and Terrier handler George Ward. He was looking for full time help and Beisel-McIlwaine wanted to learn. “I never intending to be a professional handler, but I wanted to learn more about dogs and breedings. I fully intended to breed Old English Sheepdogs,” Beisel-McIlwaine said. She was impressed by the cleanliness and quality of his kennel and fell in love with Wire Fox Terriers. And, she says, she’s never looked back.

“It was great,” Beisel-McIlwaine said. “(Ward) had a special bond with the dogs. He said I was a great student because I didn’t have any bad habits to unlearn.

“I stayed until May 1980. George was not an easy person to work for. But I’m glad I learned terriers from him because I didn’t learn any short cuts. I don’t like to see terriers run in the ring. They’re not bred to be raced around the ring. To see proper movement, you need to see them at the right speed. I’m old school.

WHAT GEORGE WARD TAUGHT PEGGY:

“George taught me three things when I first started working for him:

* never keep your hands in your pocket, it makes you look like you’re not serious

* never chew gum in the ring

* talk to the dogs in the ring, don’t let them think they’re in there alone…. I like to see kids in Juniors talking to dogs in the ring

DOGS COME FIRST

“The kennels were clean. The dogs came first. We’d go to a show and if it was too hot, we went home. His clients understood that. Grooming and care of the dogs were number one.

He and Dick Cooper were good friends, so we were always set up together. I’d just sit there and soak up all the stories.

“I remember going to shows, playing cards and it was so much fun. I think we’re a little too stiff some times these days. You’ve gotta have a little fun. Maybe because of the PC attitude, we’ve taken some of the fun out of it.”

Peggy and Sandy Beisel-McIlwaine

CAIRN TERRIERS AND SANDY MCILWAINE – FOXAIR KENNELS

When Beisel-McIlwaine left Ward’s employ, she married Cairn Terrier fancier Sandy McIlwaine. Together their Foxairn dogs have “finished a multitude of Cairns” and 15 homebred Wires. Foxairn has twice produced the number-one Cairn in the country, one of whom was a two-time national-specialty winner. Peggy was handling professionally and Sandy managed the kennel and the kids. “He was the original Mr. Mom,” she noted.

As her children grew up, Beisel-McIlwaine wanted to spend more time with them and less time on the road. So, she quit handling and started judging. “Family comes first. We had a couple slim years. But I was fortunate and I got the whole terrier group.”

 

For our listeners who heard Dana Cline’s interview, Beisel-McIlwaine’s comments on what makes a great dog will begin to sound familiar.

“You have to have the type,” Beisel-McIlwaine said. “Annie Clark said from the best type you pick the best movement. What makes a dog great is the showmanship. Now,

DR. KAREN OVERALL: TEMPERAMENT VS. GENETICS

Dr. Karen Overall, Senior Research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania

Temperament in purebred dogs plays a vital part in how the dogs fit into their families and society. Along with that comes the inevitable nature vs nurture argument. In other words, does separation anxiety, for example, have a genetic basis or is it caused by well-intentioned but misguided owners.

According to Dr. Karen Overall, it’s some of each.

“It was a lot more complex than what we thought’”

Research in purpose bred working dogs indicates that genetics are responsible for 30 percent of a dog’s behavior, with environment, at some level, responsible for the rest.

“When you look at a pedigree, if 50 percent of dogs in that family line have a variant of a certain condition, the chances are that there’s a genetic contribution to that,” Overall said, “especially if that condition has been identified in another species, if that model exists, chances are that pedigree is representative of an increased risk that’s genetic.”

OVERALL AND THE “SPINNING DOG”

Overall’s work is the baseline for many in the field of behavioral medicine. Her books and protocols are used in clinics around the country. But she describes her work here as sort of an “accidental tourist.” She planned to work in strictly research until a residency in behavioral medicine introduced her to a dog who couldn’t quite spinning… for two and a half hours.

“That dog said to me, whoa, this is interesting, this looks like human OCD,” Overall said. “There’s a good chance it has a genetic basis. There are a number of clear cut behavioral concerns that look to have genetic predispositions.”

Overall has dedicated her career to researching and teaching owners of pets with behavior issues. “Education may not work, may not take,” Overall said. “But that doesn’t give you the option to not do it. Without it, guaranteed, what you have is ignorance.”

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION PROTOCOLS

This dedication to behavior medicine has paid off for Overall. She has developed and promotes protocols which help clients address and overcome with behavior modification. And she has identified seven “risk genes” that approach significance in the field.

In all the instances Overall discusses, the genetic basis is polygenic and influenced by the environment. And she notes that frequently the phenotypical disease is not actually expressed due to the dog not experiencing a triggering environment.

“I think they’ll put it on my tombstone, ‘It was a lot more complex than what we thought”.

She added that many of what we as breeders and owners identify as behavioral issues are linked with performance and the jobs the dogs were designed to do.

“In those cases, there has been selection for the job, selection against the extremes of pathology, but not that midrange,” Overall noted. “There has been no ‘cost’ to enhancing the behavior.”

RELAXATION TOOL

Amongst the tools Overall has provided to owners and breeders is this type of protocol for creating a “relaxed” dog in various situations. Please investigate the various links for more information on her amazing work. Enjoy today’s conversation, with valuable insight from one of the country’s foremost practitioners in behavioral medicine and research.

https://www.boulderhumane.org/sites/default/files/ProtocolforRelaxation.pdf

DANA CLINE – 2018 JUDGE OF THE YEAR

AKC judge and Great Dane breeder, Dana Cline, was voted by the purebred dog fancy as Judge of the Year in the Dog News/Purina awards announced Feb. 10, 2018.

CLINE’S PASSION AS A CHILD

Cline fell in love with his breed as a child “when the Great Dane was taller than I was.”

As a young boy, gardening and fishing were his past times and he wasn’t sure dogs were something he wanted in his life. Then his step dad took him to see a litter of Great Danes.

“These two incredible creatures came trotting out of this back yard,” Cline said. “My life changed in that moment.

“We brought home a puppy. It wasn’t necessarily a show dog but I pretended like he was. I did 4-H with him. We practiced and I got better dogs. I was probably 11 or 12 years old. I’ve loved them ever since.

“4-H was so important as a young boy. (It) gave me the confidence to think I could go out and do something with this dog.”

Cline credits Ray Cataldi of Rojon Great Danes with having the most influence on him as a boy. Edd Bivin, Michelle Billings and Frank Sabella form the powerful trifecta that encouraged, mentored and supported Cline’s dreams of “having fabulous Great Danes.”

His passion for the beauty of his breed and the purebred dog world drove him early on to success handling Great Danes and eventually all-breeds for about 20 years.

Ch. Rojon’s Mystify Me

 

TYPE IS ESSENTIAL

Cline feels that one of the most important lessons from his mentors is that “type is essential.”

“(In Great Danes) a dog has to be beautiful. It has to stimulate your senses. Otherwise I don’t find value in them,” Cline opined. “I feel that the artistic expression and technical merit is where you begin to judge. A Great Dane, without a proper head, will never achieve greatness.

Movement is only a tie breaker. I absolutely want them to be beautiful in motion, but it doesn’t define them. The Great Dane must fill your senses and must stimulate you in its beauty. Its purpose is absolutely in its beauty. That’s just what I’m committed to.”

He also acknowledges that this same standard applies differently in different breeds.

“(For example) the Brittany is different. The standard describes a medium sized dog and fancy is not encouraged. Each breed needs to be judged on its standard,” Cline said.

JUDGING “HALLMARKS OF THE BREED”

Judging dogs, for Cline, extends this understanding of looking for the “hallmarks of the breed.”

Ch. Rojon’s Rumor Has It

“A judge has to open themselves to accept the limitations and expectations of the breed specific things,” Cline said. “(I use examples of) the Doberman and Great Dane. (Some) judges have expectations of a Great Dane that aren’t realistic. They don’t always stop square and perfect. A Doberman is watchful and aware of its surroundings. You should expect that from them. (You have to be) willing to accept that performances are not all the same based upon the nature of the breed. I can’t expect a Tibetan Mastiff to stand there and use his ears for a piece of liver. It’s not what the breed does. You cannot add showmanship as bonus (to a dog in the ring) unless they have the other elements to go with it.

“I tolerate misbehavior. They’re dogs. If the dog gives an adequate performance for you to judge it, for me, it still can be the winner. One of the lesson Mrs. Billings always taught me was to ‘make the best dog win, within reason.’”

DANA CLINE ON OWNER HANDLERS

On the question of level playing fields and the OH vs PH debate, Cline is very emphatic.

“There’s a clear path for (owner handlers) to be successful,” Cline said. “You have to want it enough. Hang in there. Keep the bar high.

SIOUX FORSYTH, PART 2 – JUDGING AND ANNE ROGERS CLARK

Sioux Forsyth, daughter of dog show royalty, handled dogs professionally herself and is now judging, following in the footsteps of her parents, Robert and Jane Forsyth. This is part two of our conversation with her.

 

“I started with six breeds,” Sioux said. “It’s not cheap to become a judge. My mother loved judging, she lived for it. Father said ‘you gotta be kidding me.’

“I wanted a little experience in different groups. To see if I like it. Turns out, I love judging. The people in my ring, they come in the ring, and we laugh at ourselves and each other. A lot of people take this or themselves entirely too seriously. It’s just a dog show. There’ll be another one tomorrow. If it’s not enjoyable and you’re not having fun, what’s the point? Take the dog seriously. Work your hardest, present the dogs at their best. But it’s not the end of the day if you lose. You’ll get somebody else’s opinion.”

While it took Sioux two and a half years to get a group, her memory is that her parents both acquired their all-breed status within about 10 years of their retirement. But it wasn’t without a small battle.

“We had a tiff with the AKC when (my parents) retired,” Sioux laughed. “(They) refused to move away from the kennel. The only dogs boarded there were pets, but AKC refused to give them a license for a year. Eventually, they each got a group. Mom got sporting, dad got working. Each got separate groups until they couldn’t anymore, then they started doubling up.”

ADVICE FROM SIOUX FORSYTH

Sioux’s best advice for folks who are just starting out in purebred dogs is to “talk to as many people in the breed you’re interested in as possible.”

“Do your homework,” Sioux noted. “Find out who’s been successful. Follow them. Talk to them, ask them questions. If you don’t understand something, ask it again. A lot of people that are in this for a year are suddenly experts. It really doesn’t work that way. To me, I always say, find somebody you admire that you want to resemble, to present yourself like, and watch them.

“I love to help new people. To mentor people. I was judging last year at a Boxer specialty and I asked a young lady to come talk to me because I wanted to know who was helping her, who had been guiding her. The young lady said no one. Two years this young lady had been showing her dog and no one tried to help her. I got ahold of a couple people and told them ‘I’m assigning you this young lady. She’s very interested and nobody is helping her.’ It is amazing she was still plugging away.”

THE NEXT JANE AND ANNIE?

Reflecting on the rising interest in performance events, Sioux noted that her mother, Jane, got started in dogs when she was 16 years old and took her Airedale to an obedience class. It was there Jane met her lifetime best friend, Anne Rogers Clark.

And who are the next Janey and Annie? Sioux observed that purebred dogs have some very talented women rising through the ranks.

“Katie Shepherd Bernardin, Angie Lloyd, Laura King, Laurie Jordan…. I don’t think it’s all about winning,” Sioux said. “It has a lot to do with the person you are. The way you help and teach and share your knowledge. If we don’t share our knowledge it’s going to be lost. I don’t understand not wanting to share knowledge. It helps everybody. It helps you to give it away. It helps others that look up to you.”

“One thing my father always taught me,” Sioux reminisced, “is that you’re no better than anyone else, you’re just you. You may be different, but you’re not any better.”

SIOUX FORSYTH: ON ROBERT AND JANE FORSYTH – WESTMINSTER LEGENDS

Sioux Forsyth is the modern day “keeper of the flame” in the memory of her parents, the late, great, Robert and Jane Forsyth. The only husband and wife team to this day to both win Best in Show at Westminster Kennel Club, the Forsyth’s were formidable handlers in the Golden Era of large kennels owned and operated by wealthy benefactors. In the 1980s, they both retired and turned to judging, eventually each acquiring the coveted “all-breed” status.

“I was lucky,” Sioux said. “The things I learned on a daily basis that I took for granted, I probably shouldn’t have. Because not everyone had those opportunities. I saw amazingly good dogs that people today never got to see. And I saw them on a daily basis.”

SIOUX FORSYTH’S “LEONARD” THE WHIPPET

Her favorite, though, of all of those famous and fabulous dogs was a Whippet her father imported from England, Charmoll Clansman. A dog who hated the show ring, but sired the famous Ch. Sporting Field Clansman, who was a two-time group winner at the Garden.

“Leonard hated everyone in the kennel including my mother,” Sioux said. “He hated to show. He was one of the few who lived in the house. They gave him to me because I was the only one he liked. Mom forgot him in the house twice. It was that unusual to have a dog live in the house. They were kennel dogs. When they retired, they went home to be a pet. Until then they needed to know their job, and their job was to be show dog.”

12 BEST IN SHOWS IN THE TRUCK

Sioux related a story about her parents, who were assisted by George Alston at that time, and George Ward, the famous terrier man, taking a dog show trip to Texas “uninvited,” as they say. “They had 12 Best in Show dogs on the truck. They left after 10 shows with one group win,” Sioux marveled. “They laughed about it. But, really, today, how many handlers have 12 best in show dogs on the truck? Most of us are lucky to have one or even a group winner.”

“It was very different for me than for my parents (as a handler),” Sioux noted. “Part of that was personality. Part of that was also the era. When you hired my parents, you hired them because they were professionals and the best at what they did. When I started showing dogs, I would have people hire me and tell me where I needed to go show their dog. Trust me, no one ever told mother where to show their dog. Very few people told my mother anything, never mind how to do her job. To me it’s a lack of respect. That when you hire a professional that’s exactly what you’re doing. Just like hiring your personal doctor or the person who cleans your house. You hire a person, it’s because they’re good at what they do. When you hire a handler you should be hiring them because you respect them and you believe they will do the best job for you and your dog. And that seems to be lost.”

JANE FORSYTH “SUFFERED NO FOOLS”

Those of us who didn’t encounter Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth until later in their careers were under a misconception that “Janey’s” unwillingness to suffer fools came with an advanced age, Sioux laughed outright.

“Don’t ask unless you want the truth,” Sioux said. “My mother was brutally honest. An amazing dog person. Someone that, she’d judge a class and I’d ask her why did you put that one up. She’d say something like ‘did you see those feet? Those were the best feet in the class. You can’t build a great big house on a faulty foundation.’ That was one thing, she always looked at some things that we may pass over. I cannot tell you how many people come to me with hilarious stories of my mother…. how many of them have to do with toenails… I have got to tell you the best Janey story… my mother was judging standard poodles in the midwest. She called out to this handler by name, ‘you know you probably have the best one here, but I can’t stand those dead baby hands’…. What are dead baby hands?

WHO TO WATCH? INSIDER’S TALK ON WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB

Recorded TODAY in NYC: Laura Reeves and Allison Foley Talk Who to Watch to Win Westminster Kennel Club the night before the show.

Allison Foley, Professional Handler and Pure Dog Talk’s Tips of the Week host, gives the Canadian perspective and rumors from the hotels and piers.

Laura Reeves, PHA handler, and host of Pure Dog Talk tosses some good ones in too.

Let us know who you think will win!!!

HELMING THE GARDEN – WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB

Westminster Kennel Club’s newest show chair, David Helming, has certainly experienced this prestigious events from all ends of the spectrum. Helming took over as show chair for Tom Bradley last year. But he has judged his breed, Newfoundlands, there and, he and his wife, Peggy, bred and owned Josh, the 2004 BIS winner, shown by Michelle (Ostermiller) Scott.

The Helmings whelped their first litter of Newfoundlands 50 years ago. Their Pouchcove dogs are iconic in the breed, earning AKC Breeder of the Year accolades in 2005.

“I’m very excited for this year,” Helming said. “I got an email from Tom Bradley the year we moved to the piers asking if I’d be the grounds chair.” From that point, Helming transitioned to several years as assistant show chair to Bradley before taking the wheel last year.

“This is a show of many people,” Helming noted. “We have tremendous staff working on it. It’s a true production.”

ENTRIES AT WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB

Helming noted that this year’s 3200 total entry include 201 of the 202 possible breeds and varieties, 95 junior handlers and a conformation entry that reached its limits for the first time in several years.

“This is the second year televising with Fox,” Helming added. “This is a great group to work with. These are experienced sports people. This year we’ll have new coverages, better camera shots and interviews.”

Westminster Week will air on three parts of the network: Agility Finals, recorded Saturday night, will air on the main Fox channel Sunday afternoon. NatGeoWild will offer *live* coverage of breed judging at the Piers from 1 to 4 p.m. Eastern. And FS1 will return with live showing of the groups and best in show at Madison Square Garden on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

LIVE AT THE PIERS

“We’ve expanded this quite a bit over last year,” Helming said. “It’s exciting for exhibitors and adds a twist that at some point exhibitors and judges at the Piers might be on live television. It’s great coverage for our sport and the event.”

DOG SHOW 101

Another program Helming touts is Dog Show 101, designed to educate the public and spectators about what they are seeing in the ring. The program, debuted last year to rave reviews. It features judges such as Jim Reynolds, Bradley, Dottie Collier and David Haddock talking to groups of spectators to explain ring procedures, judging criteria and more. Exhibitors receive educational materials along with their personal guidance from some of the sports luminaries.

Helming added that the junior showmanship participants are going to be put to work helping with the Dog Show 101 programs and even the live filming at MSG.

“Cliff Steele (best junior showmanship judge) is going to have a lot of fun and very tough choices,” Helming said.

Listen to Helming talk about the memories of the Garden, the mystique, the essence of what it means to “get out there on that green carpet, get your dog set up and start looking around. The excitement is incredible.”

“It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t have a story”

TODAY ON PURE DOG TALK – WESTMINSTER

Join David and Laura as they talk about the intense, exclusive experience that is “The Garden.”