They鈥檙e at the top of their sport. They run, weave and go airborne. And they鈥檙e going all out to win the championship this weekend.
Sorry 鈥� no, they鈥檙e not the Chiefs or the Eagles. They鈥檙e the agility dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club show, which began Saturday by showcasing various dog sports.
Dog folk often call Westminster the Super Bowl of dog shows, and the comparison might be especially fitting this year. The United States鈥� most prestigious canine competition opened on the same weekend as pro football鈥檚 Super Bowl, which features the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The rare coincidence comes after both competitions鈥� dates shifted in recent years.
鈥淚 always said I wanted people to call the Super Bowl 鈥榯he Westminster of football,鈥� 鈥� quipped dog expert David Frei, who has a foot in both worlds: He used to work in publicity for the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers.
The Westminster of football? Well, Westminster is 90 years older than the Super Bowl, after all.
And there have been some other connections between the gridiron and Westminster鈥檚 green carpet. Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Morgan Fox co-owns a French bulldog who came within a smushy-nose length of winning at Westminster in 2022 and was a finalist the following year. (Many other NFL players also have dogs for fun, if not for show, including Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes.)
However you want to analogize it, being at Westminster is a triumph for Guster the rescue pug. Owner Steve Martin never did the sport before Guster signaled he was interested: He started wagging his tail and tilting his head while they watched the Westminster agility contest on TV several years ago.
鈥淲e never thought we鈥檇 be here. And now we鈥檙e here,鈥� Martin, of Austin, Texas, said as they readied to compete Saturday.
Saturday鈥檚 contest featured about 350 hopefuls that already have reached a championship level in agility, one of dogdom鈥檚 most popular sports. Westminster added it in 2014, marking the first time any part of the event had allowed mixed-breed dogs since the 1800s. Last year saw the first mixed-breed agility winner, a border collie-papillion mix named, appropriately, Nimble, who is competing again this year.
She鈥檚 an intentional blend of two breeds that do well in the sport. But it also draws rescue dogs such as an Australian cattle dog mix named Sawyer, or Soy Sauce for short.
His owner, Dr. Amy Ondeyka, has a complicated work schedule as a New Jersey emergency room doctor and EMS medical director. But she made time for agility after realizing she鈥檇 adopted a super-energetic dog who opens cabinets, unzips things and otherwise causes domestic mayhem when bored.
鈥淗e鈥檚 always exciting 鈥� he does ridiculous things,鈥� she said as he intermittently leaped into her arms during what was ostensibly down time between agility runs Saturday. 鈥淲e have fun, regardless what happens.鈥�
While some dogs do agility to burn off energy, the sport helps others come out of their shell. Tully, a lanky, shaggy, mostly-Labradoodle mix, used to be 鈥渁fraid of the world鈥� but now is excited to go to agility classes and competitions, owner Carla Rash said.
Saturday鈥檚 canine competitors were a spectrum of dogdom, from a great Dane to a seven-pound (0.9-kg) papillion. They navigated an obstacle course of jumps, tunnels, ramps and other features as handlers gave hand and voice signals. The object is to be the fastest, without making mistakes.
The agility winner will emerge from a final round Saturday evening.
Westminster鈥檚 traditional, breed-by-breed judging happens Monday and Tuesday, capped by the coveted best in show prize Tuesday night.
That鈥檚 for purebreds only, but mixed-breed dogs also were eligible for Saturday鈥檚 obedience competition, an event that Westminster added in 2016.
Steve Wesler sported a Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt as he cheered on partner Jennifer Weinik and Cookie, her Belgian Malinois. They came away with a ribbon, which Wesler deemed more exciting than the Super Bowl 鈥� because he was confident the Eagles would prevail.
The dog show also featured Westminster鈥檚 first demonstration of flyball, a canine relay race. Dogs run down a line of jumps, grab a tennis ball and speed back to the starting line, where a teammate then takes off.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of organized chaos,鈥� Hillary Brown said with a chuckle after competing with her Boston terrier, Paxil, and his teammates: a standard poodle, a border collie and a whippet-border collie mix. Their squad, Clean Break, is based in York, Pennsylvania.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a blast. The dogs love it,鈥� Brown said.
