Three New Breeds

So we are about a month away from the King of all dog shows: Westminster Kennel Club Dog show in New York City, slated for February 14 and 15. Just in time, the American Kennel Club recently announced the addition of three new breeds, to be judged this year for the first time.

Below is the Entlebucher Mountain Dog, a relative of the Bernese Mountain Dog and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, who like them, hails from Switzerland. This breed is a little smaller, more compact and very muscular. Historically they were used by farmers to move cows from pasture to pasture, so they are herding dogs and they love having jobs. In other words, they are pretty energetic and need a lot of exercise, but I must admit, they look absolutely adorable to me. Bernese Mountain Dogs are so prone to cancer that this might be a good alternative for those considering that breed.



This is a Norwegian Lundehund, a Spitz like breed that hails from remote islands off Norway and was originally used to wrestle and retrieve live Puffin birds from the cliffs. The Puffin bird became an endangered species in the 1800s so the breed died out and was saved from extinction by two concerned Norwegians. They are medium sized, smart and apparently easy to live with, although they can be wary of strangers.



And this one has the most interesting back story. It is called the Xoloitzcuintli (pronounced show-low-eats-queen-tlee) or "Xolo" and is one of the world's oldest and rarest breeds. It's name is derived from the Aztec word for dog and it has a reputation as a healer. Apparently its warm skin is often used in remote Mexico and Central America to help heal rheumatism, asthma, toothaches and insomnia. Send him over!!



Now you have to watch Westminster to see how the standards of these breeds compare to your well known favorites!