We were lucky enough to do an email interview with dog expert David Frei recently.
David Frei is known to many casual viewers as a host of the National Dog Show on NBC each Thanksgiving, or the host of the Beverly Hills Dog Show each springtime.
But in the world of dogs, he’s a legend – he’s a member of the Dog Writers Association of America Hall of Fame, author of two books (Angel on a Leash and Angel by My Side), an American Kennel Club-licensed judge of dog shows, and a leading proponent for therapy dogs.
He has also previously worked in public relations for the NFL’s Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers, in addition to stints as a sports writer and working for the Westminster Kennel Club.
He was gracious enough to do an email interview with us several weeks ago, explaining not only about his life, but also how the viewer can be more informed while watching the broadcast.
Dog O’Day: Have you always been a dog person, or was it one of those things that just gradually happens?
David Frei: We never really had a dog in the family as I was growing up. When I moved into my first house in college, my girlfriend said, “Let’s get a dog.” At her suggestion – I had no idea what it was – we got an Afghan Hound. Three weeks later, the girl left and the dog stayed, the best thing that could have happened to all three of us.
Dog O’Day: How did you get involved in the conformation world, and specifically in judging dog shows?
David Frei: Having an Afghan Hound led me to other people with Afghan Hounds, then eventually into the dog show world (leaving out a few things there, “Yada, yada” as Seinfeld‘s Elaine would say). I married into a highly competitive level, and eventually we bred and showed an Afghan Hound “Zoomie” (Ch. Stormhill’s Who’s Zoomin Who) that became the No. 1 Afghan Hound in the country and eventually retired as the top female in the dog show history of the breed. I started judging in there somewhere, I think that I have been licensed to judge for more than 25 years.
Dog O’Day: What is involved in the process of becoming a dog show judge?
David Frei: It’s kind of natural to move into judging your own breed because you are around them so much and get to know all the particulars. As you are showing them, you are exposed to other dogs of the same breed, and you can’t help but learn how to compare the dogs to one another. Then you start watching other breeds that appeal to you, and over the course of time you might add breeds periodically to your judging eligibility (if you pass all the AKC requirements).
Dog O’Day: How did you get involved when the National Dog Show was first started?
David Frei: I started doing the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show from Madison Square Garden on television in 1990 on the USA Network. In 2002, NBC decided to stage the National Dog Show (through the Kennel Club of Philadelphia) on Thanksgiving Day and they asked me to do the commentary with John O’Hurley as my partner. Well, it worked (and I continued to do Westminster as well). John and I have now been together doing this show, counting this year, for 18 years. Mary Carillo joined the team shortly thereafter (and she had been my Westminster co-host for six years) and we have had a wonderful run, being seen by something like 25 million viewers each year, ten times the audience of any other dog show on TV.
USA was eventually bought by NBC and shortly after that Westminster’s contract with USA expired. Westminster decided to move to Fox Sports 1 and decided that they wanted me to come with them, but they did not want me doing both shows. By then, I had done the National Dog Show for 15 years and NBC wanted to keep me. I was put in the position of having to choose between the two. NBC stepped up and 2016 became my last year of doing Westminster (after 27 years). NBC has treated me well and we are doing great things with our show, in what is truly a celebration of the dogs in our lives.
Dog O’Day: What are John O’Hurley and Mary Carillo like to work with?
David Frei: They are great partners. They love the dogs and the dog show, and that is very evident. They are both very bright and very funny, the same people that you see on any of their great shows. In fact, sometimes we are sitting there and John will say something and I will think, “Hey, that wasn’t John, that was J. Peterman! Where are Jerry and Elaine?” And Mary — her enthusiasm, her brilliance, and her love of the dogs is everywhere for everyone to see. It is a wonderful experience, having them in my family.
Dog O’Day: What are some things casual viewers who don’t keep up with dog shows ought to be on the lookout for while watching the broadcast?
David Frei: I like to say, right from the very first broadcast I ever did back in 1990, that I want people to know that these are real dogs and we are real people in a great family sport. The dogs are just like your dogs at home – they sleep on our couches, they live in our kitchens, they steal food off the counters, they shed on our good clothes, and probably even drink out of a toilet once in a while. Just like your dog! We just “dress them up” and take them to dog shows on weekends.
Beyond that, know that these dogs are great specimens of their breeds, with the traits that they need to have to do the jobs that they were originally bred to do. But it goes beyond that. As a great dog show judge once said to me, “It’s a dog show, and ya gotta show!” That means that showmanship, personality, charisma and attitude all come into play to determine the final winner.
Dog O’Day: What are some resources you would recommend for a viewer who wants to learn more about conformation history?
David Frei; I have two books that are my Bibles: Best In Show by Bo Bengtson and The Dog Show by William F. Stifel.
David Frei on his own dogs’ personalities and why therapy dogs are so important.
Dog O’Day: Could you tell us more about why you’re so passionate about therapy dogs?
David Frei: Therapy dogs change people’s lives. They get people to smile when they may not have much to smile about. They get them to talk when they may not have had anyone to talk to. They get them to think about something other than the challenges they may be facing. They may give them a lucid moment when they haven’t had any for a while. The dogs are so good at it – they are spontaneous, they live their life in the moment – as do so many of the people they visit and meet, and they are all about unconditional love, no questions asked.
Dog O’Day: You’ve written two books (Angel on a Leash and Angel by My Side) – what do you hope readers take away from them?
David Frei: I want to share the stories of dogs who are making things better for people in need. I want my readers to see what they might be able to do with their own dogs, and get out there with their dog and change people’s lives. Along the way, they will be changing their own lives, too.
Dog O’Day: Do you have a favorite breed?
David Frei: Well, I’m the dog guy, so I am not supposed to have any favorites, I love them all. But of course, after 30 years with Afghan Hounds, 20 years with Brittanys and 15 years of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in my own world, I can admit to being a little biased for them.
Dog O’Day: What are your current dogs’ personalities like?
David Frei: Our Cavalier, Angel, is 12+ and Grace, the Brittany, is 10. They are probably pretty much like any Cavalier and Brittany. They have had interesting lives. They grew up in a high rise in Manhattan, and traveled around in Sherpa bags on NYC subways and buses.
I always tell everyone that my bird dog, Grace, defines a pigeon as a game bird, and she was always pointing them on the sidewalks. They both grew up as totally committed and involved and visiting the Ronald McDonald House in New York and a lot of other health care facilities.
Life is a little different now that we are living on the beach on the Left Coast (Cannon Beach, Oregon). Angel, 12 years old and 14 pounds, deaf and a bit arthritic, is still a pistol and runs the home, of course.
Dog O’Day: Aside from dogs, what are some of the interests or hobbies that help make David Frei who he is?
David Frei: I grew up in a football coach’s family, and I always thought that my career path was lined with Astroturf. I was a sportswriter at a young age, and then worked for the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers. But then the dogs came along and it turns out that my career path ended up being lined with wee-wee pads.
As part of our interview with David Frei, he shares some of his favorite writers and predicts some of the popular dog breeds of the future.
Dog O’Day: Do you keep up with other canine-related TV like dog sports or National Geographic/Animal Planet shows?
David Frei: Sure, I watch as many shows as I can. There are a lot of very smart people in my world, it is fun to see them doing their thing. It’s fun also to hear someone drop in a quote that I have used forever; I smile and take it as a compliment.
Dog O’Day: As a member of the Dog Writers Association of America’s Hall of Fame, who are some of your favorite authors when it comes to writing about dogs?
David Frei: OMG. There are so many talented and knowledgeable writers, and I like to think that they are all my friends from all of my time in this dog world, even though I may not have met them all in person. But no matter what I come up with here, I am going to probably leave someone out, everyone please forgive me as I try.
“VETERANS”, people who have been around a while and write (or wrote) often, stuff that I never miss: Ranny Green, Steve Dale, Marty Becker, Brian Kilcommons, Kim Thornton, the late Mordecai Siegel.
“CURRENTLY VERY ACTIVE” and I try to read everything they do: Alexandra Horowitz, Patricia McConnell, Bruce Cameron, Maria Goodavage, Laura Coffey, Elaine Gewirtz, Mara Bovsun, Sassafrass Lowery, Joanne Anderson, Carol Bryant.
“OTHERS”, not necessarily dog writers but great writers and media talent whose topics and philosophy and tone often apply to my world: Terry Frei (my brother), Mitch Albom, John O’Hurley, Ben Walker, Rich Sandomir, Cooper Lawrence.
MAGAZINES: Bark Magazine, the AKC Gazette.
ONLINE: @TheDogist, @TheNewBarker, @DogingtonPost, @Dogster, @PureDogTalk, @ModernDogMag. This list is endless.
BY TOPIC: Anything that has do with therapy dogs, service dogs, working dogs, and wounded warriors.
The list goes on and on. I can’t keep up with all of them, but I try.
Dog O’Day: Who do you think might be the frontrunners to become the 2019 National Dog Show Champion?
David Frei: Lots of great dogs out there in the dog show world right now. As I like to say, it’s not always the dog that you come to see, it’s the dog you’re talking about when you leave. That’s the great thing about the sport, every day is a new day and as the old saying goes, “every dog has its day.” I am excited to see which dog will have its moment of divine inspiration in front of the judges at the National Dog Show this year.
Dog O’Day: Since some breeds’ popularity rises and fades over time, which breeds do you think could become more popular over the next decade?
David Frei: Some of them are already popular and the popularity will continue to grow; some of these breeds are my personal favorites and may not have statistics to back up my positive feelings about them, but here you go: Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers, Havanese, Miniature American Shepherds, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, German Shepherds, Shiba Inu, Poodles, Papillons, Boston Terriers, Pembroke Welsh Corgis, and Bernese Mountain Dogs.
Dog O’Day: Any other general background information you think readers should know?
David Frei: I want our viewers to think about the National Dog Show as a celebration of the dogs in our lives. Enjoy the entertainment of seeing 196 different breeds and varieties, enjoy the competition, root for your favorites. It can be what I call “the alma mater factor”: if you have a Brittany, root for the Brittany. Watch the dog show with your dog at your feet or on the couch next to you. And when it is all over, no matter who wins on TV, hug your dog because your dog is the real Best In Show dog. And thank them for letting you be the person on the other end of their leash.
The National Dog Show presented by Purina will air on NBC at noon across all time zones on Thursday, November 28. Whiskey the Whippet is the defending winner.