The Deadbolt Interview - Trotting the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club with Host David Frei

Trotting the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club with Host David Frei
by Troy Rogers

We all know fans are wild about their favorite TV shows, movies, sporting events, and various well known worldwide entertainment spectacles, but there's an annual competition that's one of the longest running, most watched, and most popular in the United States that draws huge yearly crowds second only to the Kentucky Derby. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show features the best-of-the-best of the canine world, as owners and breeders compete to show off a variety of the world's most unique pure-bred dogs. Much like the horse racing industry, breeding is a science and a big business that has its own annual event on the same level of the Super Bowl. For those unfamiliar with The Westminster Kennel Club telecast, it's the Super Bowl of dog shows.

Although Terriers have dominated the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show since 1877 (that's right, over a century), the 2008 Best in Show award went to a cute crowd favorite Beagle named Uno. Now as USA Network gets set to air the 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on February 9 from Madison Square Garden, with former tennis great Mary Carillo joining longtime host David Frei, this year's field is wide open with a new breed of dog included known as the Dogue de Bordeaux.

With the pure-bred buzz building for the nation's most prestigious dog show, we caught up with former NFL marketing executive turned breeder turned Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show host, David Frei, on a conference call to learn more about this year's competition, the possible effects that Best in Show winners have on the various breeds, why Terriers have dominated over the years, and the winning qualities a dog needs to trot away with the top prize.

THE DEADBOLT: When looking at past Best in Show winners, like Uno and Rufus, are there any winning qualities that you can relate to past Super Bowl champions? Like The Steelers would remind you of...

DAVID FREI: [laughs] Well, The Steelers are just a dominating, hard-nosed football team. That needs to be a trait for our Best in Show dog. But I think the idea that they stand up in the ring and own the ground they stand over and feel like everybody there cheering is for them, I think is a positive thing for these dogs. It sounds silly to say but they have to have personality and charisma and a belief in what they're doing in that they don't get distracted by noise and applause but rather they get turned on by it. And I think that's been a great thing, especially some of our recent dogs like Uno, James, Rufus, Carly, Josh ... those are all dogs that the crowd lit them up.

THE DEADBOLT: In the breeding world, what's the fine line between making sure that some breeds don't lose their quality after winning Best in Show?

FREI: I don't know that it does. I think, first of all, there's a written standard that describes how these dogs are supposed to look and there's always room for some individual interpretation of what goes on. If the standard says "great length of neck," well, what's great length of neck? It might mean one thing to somebody and it might mean something to someone else.

What happens - and I'll tell you that happened in my breed, in my original breed, Afghan Hounds that I was involved with for thirty years - suddenly, if it says "great length of neck," well, that's the longer the better and that's not true. The longer those necks get, it throws the whole dog out of whack. You lose balance and proportion in the sense of the artistic part of it. So those things are what keep us under control.

THE DEADBOLT: What can you tell me about this new breed coming in this year?

FREI: The Dogue de Bordeaux, it's got a head like a bowling ball. They've got a huge head. If you've ever seen Turner and Hooch, that was Hooch. It's a French Mastiff and it takes care of the house, takes care of the livestock. It does just about anything you can imagine a guard dog can do.

THE DEADBOLT: In your opinion, why do Terriers do so well at Westminster?

FREI: I think it's because of what they were bred to do. They were bred to be on their toes and on the lookout for trouble. You know, vermin, rats, whatever, and they were bred to do this with a minimum of direction from humans. But consequently they don't pay too much attention to the person on the other end of the lead. Any Terrier person would tell you that. They just sort of point them in a certain direction and hope that they go that direction.

If they show they [did], they're supposed to show because they're always fired up and ready to go. But I think that gives them a little edge, too, when it comes to the look and being fully into themselves and up on their toes and ready to go with anything. We haven't had a Terrier win here since Rufus, of course, but over the years we had 43 I think in the 101 years we've given the award. So, yes, they do dominate and I think a lot of it is because of that.

-- Troy Rogers