An annual tradition by now, the 2019 National Dog Show is coming to NBC this Thanksgiving.
The 2019 National Dog Show presented by Purina will be coming to NBC on Thanksgiving Day, as has become the annual tradition, but if you’re in the Philadelphia area you have a chance to see the show live.
The show will be held on Saturday, November 16, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, which is located at 100 Station Avenue.
(Don’t know much about dog shows? See our guide to the basics here.)
Hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, the KCP will run another show on Sunday, November 17 as well. There will be trick dogs from the Purina Pro Plan Performance Team demonstrating agility and disc dog in attendance as well.
The National Dog Show is one of only three benched shows left in the country, along with the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City and the Golden Gate Kennel Club in San Francisco.
This means that the dogs and their handlers are available backstage for the public to ask questions of, or to simply admire the dogs.
Over 2,000 canines from over 190 American Kennel Club-recognized breeds will compete for the best of the seven classes – the Herding, Hound, Non-Sporting, Sporting, Terrier, Toy, and Working Groups – and then the ultimate title of Best in Show.
It will also likely be a preview of the 2019 AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin, which will be held in Orlando in December and likely shown on Animal Planet in early January.
Tickets for the event are $7 for children four to 12, kids under three are free, and adult tickets (13 and up) are $16.
The National Dog Show presented by Purina began in 2001 after being inspired by the Christopher Guest film Best in Show, and has been hosted by AKC judge and dog expert David Frei and actor/TV personality John O’Hurley (Seinfeld, Family Feud) ever since, with Mary Carillo providing commentary as well.
As Frei told Dog O’Day last year, “It’s my job to tell you about the dog, tell you what it was bred to do, tell you things about its conditioning needs and its temperament, size and coat.
“If thinking about getting a dog for their family or themselves and they hear the things we are telling them about certain breeds, they may consider adding that breed to their family.”
The KCP has been running dog shows since 1879 and on an annual basis since 1933, ,according to KCP President Wayne Ferguson.
“Our objective every year is to make our show experience entertaining and educational for all,” Ferguson told us in 2018. “Our tradition-rich shows are a regional treasure, as well as a national phenomenon, and a win at Philadelphia is considered one of Dogdom’s greatest achievements.”
The currently reigning NDS champion is a Whippet called Whiskey; his sister Bourbon has been tearing up the circuit this season.
While the NDS is the main event, there are a variety of other events happening around it, including the first-ever NDS Therapy Dog Symposium on Tuesday, Novenber 19, at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Frei will be one of the featured speakers at that event.
Also, The Perfect Dog, a children’s musical adapted from O’Hurley’s children’s book of the same name, is premiering at the Footlighters Theater.
Viewers at home can use the hashtag #DogThanking in their social media posts for a chance to be featured.
The 2019 National Dog Show presented by Purina will air at noon on Thanksgiving Day, which is Thursday, November 28 this year.