More than any other species in the animal kingdom, dogs vary in size, shape and appearance. Think about cats: they all pretty much look alike, from a house cat to a tiger. But now think about the difference between Chihuahua and a Mastiff - officially, the smallest and largest dogs in the species. A Chihuahua can weigh as little as a premature baby, while a mastiff can weigh as much as a professional football lineman! It's amazing that they're part of the same family.
Meet the Breeds
At the Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Shows, the dogs are sitting on benches arranged just like at a grocery store. There are aisles with signs telling you which dogs are where. You'll see big dogs, little dogs, bald dogs (Chinese Cresteds) and dogs so hairy it looks like they can't see (Pulis)! You'll see spotted dogs (Dalmatians), dogs that can't bark (Basenjis), dogs with long droopy ears (Basset Hounds), and dogs with hair ribbons (Papillons).
You'll see dogs with short, squashed looking faces (Pugs) and dogs with long snouts (Fox Terriers). Dogs with tiny little legs (Pembroke Welsh Corgis) and dogs with such long legs they look like small horses (Irish Wolfhounds)
You'll see dogs that are so well behaved they could go visit the President and dogs who are so hyper they're doing flips in the air and catching Frisbees in their teeth.
You'll also see the exciting canine athletes and dog demonstrations of the Pro Plan Performance Team, in town from Nevada just for our show.
Dogs with jobs
Dogs are super smart. For centuries, they have been trained to help people. Certain types of dogs are especially good at certain types of jobs.
In the past, most people in the Arctic got around with dogsleds. Dogs which can handle the cold are great at pulling dogsleds: from the Alaskan Malamute to the fast Siberian Husky. Another cold-loving dog, the Samoyed, used to work herding reindeer.
In western Europe, huge Mastiffs pulled carts and also worked as guard dogs. In the 1700s and 1800s, people used to race their dog-powered carts against horse-drawn carriages - and sometimes the dogs won!
Dogs used to help Native Americans haul their possessions from one camp to another. The dogs would be hitched up to a pair of sticks that trailed them, with the load tied onto the poles.
Some dogs are great at herding farm animals around. Collies are excellent at herding sheep. The Border Collie is the champ of shepherding and uses its staring eyes to almost hypnotize sheep into obeying. Border Collies also have a ton of energy and love to run around.
Because of their excellent sense of sight, smell and hearing, dogs are wonderful at helping to guard families and buildings. Some are also highly trained to help the blind (seeing-eye dogs), the deaf ("hearing" dogs), and the disabled.
Mountain rescue dogs sniff out lost hikers and avalanche victims. Some K-9 dogs help the police by sniffing out bombs and drugs. Dogs have even gone to war! Many saved countless lives in wartime by alerting their handlers to danger or the presence of an enemy.
For a dog-gone good time, come see all these amazing canines in one place!