The Westminster Kennel Club dog show is set to welcome three new breeds next year.
Rat terriers will compete next February in the terrier group, chinooks will join the working group and the Portuguese podengo pequeno will be with the hounds. A breed must be recognized by the American Kennel Club to be eligible for Westminster.
The additions will bring the total at Westminster to 190 breeds and varieties. That’s 20 more than entered the nation’s most prestigious dog show just five years ago.
There were over 2,700 dogs competing at the event last month.
The Portuguese podengo pequeno is relatively new to the United States, arriving in the mid-1990s. The chinook is a sled dog and rat terriers are affectionately called ratters by their owners.