BOWWOW! Rat terrier, chinook (above) and Portuguese podengo pequeno have been added to the lineup. (Getty Images)
BOWWOW! Rat terrier (above), chinook (inset) and Portuguese podengo pequeno have been added to the lineup. (
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There are going to be some new pooches battling for top dog at The Westminster Kennel Club dog show next year, with three breeds being added to the list of canines eligible to compete.
Starting in 2014, the rat terrier, chinook and Portuguese podengo pequeno will join the 187 breeds that already vie for the Westminster best-in-show crown.
While the rat terriers will, understandably, compete in the terrier group, chinooks will be under the working group and the Portuguese podengo pequenos will be grouped with the hounds.
Westminster, going on its 138th year, considers new breeds based on the growth of their numbers across the United States.
There are some 400 podengos in the country. They’re known for their pointy ears and hunting skills.
The gentle chinooks are a rare breed sometimes used as sled dogs. The happy-go-lucky rat terriers are white with black coloring.
Twenty breeds have been added in the past five years. New to last month’s show were Russell terriers and treeing walker coonhounds.
The stuffy Westminster club is becoming more democratic. At this year’s show, for the first time, it handed out second-place prizes and accepted “open competition” from dogs without a winning record at other shows.