The 2024 National Dog Show will be taped Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, and will be broadcast on NBC on Thanksgiving Day. The pampered pooches will strut their stuff beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday in the hopes of making it to the group judging at 1 p.m. and to the ultimate goal, the best of show title. The winner will be chosen after 6 p.m. Saturday. The dogs are judged on how well they conform to the American Kennel Club’s description of the ideal breed standard. The AKC has seven group categories: sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, nonsporting and herding. The winners of those groups go on to the final round, the best-in-show competition. Attendees have an unmatched ability to experience a wide variety of dog breeds, 205 varieties this year, because the National Dog Show is the last benched dog show to still be held in the U.S. “Benched” means the dog owners must stay onsite all day so the public can meet the competitors and learn a little something about the breeds. There will be 1,940 competitors for the Kennel Club of Philadelphia dog shows being held Saturday and Sunday. According to the NDS, the largest numbers of entries this year are the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, with 54, Golden Retrievers, 52, and Siberian Huskies, 48. Last year’s winner, Stache, a Sealyham terrier from Cochranville, Chester County, will not be trying for a repeat. His owner, Margery Good, does have another Sealyham terrier, Lulu, entered, according to the NDS. Anita Pugh of Exeter Township with greyhound James at the 2024 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in May. They will compete Saturday, Nov. 16, in the National Dog Show at Oaks in Montgomery County. (Photo by John Ashby, courtesy of Anita Pugh) Exeter greyhounds Among the competitors will be Anita Pugh of Exeter Township and her son, Gavin, 22, showing two of their greyhounds. They are both breeders/owners/handlers. Gavin will be showing Storm, a 7-year-old whose registered name is GCHB Sky Hi Hunt the Night King. “He was semiretired but we have brought him back out to compete for points towards his Silver Grand Championship,” Anita said. “Storm was the BOB (best of breed) winner at the KC of Philadelphia show in 2020, representing the greyhound in group.” Gavin Pugh of Exeter Township with Storm the greyhound at the 2024 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in May. They will compete Saturday in the National Dog Show at Oaks in Montgomery County. (Photo by John Ashby, courtesy of Anita Pugh) The dog’s nephew, James, a 3-year-old registered as GCH Sky Hi Hunt Fire & Desire, will be shown by Anita. “He has been sitting at home waiting to mature, but we bring him out every so often so he doesn’t forget what to do,” Anita said. “He finished his championship and grand championship very quickly.” Why greyhounds? “My original breed was the Afghan hound, which I had dreamt about owning since I was 9 years old,” Pugh said. “I purchased my first Afghan hound in 1987. “When I met my husband, Dwayne, he was not in love with the Afghan hounds, but they were part of the package. When we were getting married, Dwayne said, ‘I want a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of dog.’ “The greyhound was a natural choice. In 1995 he picked out Sydney, a feisty little blue Greyhound girl that would become the foundation of our breeding program. Although the greyhound was not my first love, they are now my true love. I am a greyhound lady for life.” Kempton toller Nala, a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever owned by Randy and Naz Eisensmith of Albany Township, is shown with handler Kimberly Calvacca at a 2023 dog show. (Photo by Tom Nutting, courtesy of Naz Eisensmith) Randy and Naz Eisensmith of Kempton have their 2-year-old Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever Nala entered Saturday. She will be shown by handler Kimberly Calvacca. Randy Eisensmith said he had flat-coated retrievers for most of his adult life, but as retirement loomed he got tired of being pulled around by an 85-pound dog in the field when hunting. “Shotguns do take a toll on your shoulders, too,” he said. “I loved everything about retrievers, but wanted a smaller package,” Eisensmith said, noting their “stickiness” and ease of training. Tollers, as they are also known, range from 35 to 50 pounds, according to AKC standards. He did note the breed is more energetic than other retrievers. They keep their eight dogs busy by participating in hunt, field, obedience and rally competitions. Gilbertsville St. Bernard Handler Carrie Ertle with Candy, a 5-year-old Saint Bernard competing in the 2024 National Dog Show Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks in Montgomery County. Candy is owned by Beverly Oliver of Gilbertsville, Douglass Township, Montgomery County. (Courtesy of Beverly Oliver) Beverly Oliver of Gilbertsville, Douglass Township, Montgomery County, says she has always had a love for working breeds. First it was a passion for breeding dogue de Bordeaux, or French mastiff, but that soured when a movie came out and increased the breed’s popularity. “When ‘Turner & Hooch’ came out (in 1989) they exploited the breed,” Oliver said. “They were doing things with them breeding-wise just to fill orders and I couldn’t continue to breed the type of dog I wanted to.” She switched to another large working breed — the Saint Bernard — and now has nine adults and two puppies. Her 5-year-old Candy will be competing at the NDS, handled by veteran Carrie Ertle. “Females have it rough in the ring, competing against the larger male dogs, but she has been holding her own,” Oliver said. If you go What: National Dog Show When: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, 8 a.m. to at least 6 p.m. Where: Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks, 100 Station Ave., in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County. Tickets: $20 for ages 12 and older, $10 for children ages 4 to 11 and free for children ages 3 and younger. No strollers are allowed in the dog show and personal dogs may not be brought into the show. Parking: Free.