captivate the show at noon ( in all clip zones ) on NBC this Thanksgiving .
A lot of thing have been canceled in 2020 , but at least we can all still watch the National Dog Show .
The Thanksgiving custom , which will air after the Macy ’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC , will , of line , be different this class because of the still - raging COVID-19 pandemic . But at least it ’s not canceled . Instead , theNational Dog Show — which come about this Saturday and Sunday and is then broadcast on Thanksgiving Day — will be a smaller , more isolated version of itself . With no spectators or vendors allowed at the case , the attending list is so restricted that even the show ’s longtime NBC announcer , David Frei and John O’Hurley , wo n’t be there . They ’ll be announcing from nursing home .
Photo: NBC / Getty
The show ’s host , The Kennel Club of Philadelphia , also announcedlast month that the two - day show wo n’t be benched . Meaning that the dogs wo n’t be displayed on " judiciary " for onlookers to see during the contest . ( Not that there will be any in - person onlooker , anyhow . )
The show will also be more single . Instead of the 2,000 or so dogs who usually participate , the National Dog Show this yr will feature only 600 dog-iron , all of whom are already considered champion of their breed , meaningthey’ve already fared well in detent shows and have the point in time to prove it .
" They ’ve already proven themselves as a quality show dog by winning a championship in other show , " Frei articulate .
While there are some thing thatwon’thappen at the show this twelvemonth , itwillinclude three new breeds . TheBarbetwill vie in the Sporting Group . TheBelgian Laekenoisjoins the Herding Group . And the Working Group adds theDogo Argentinoto its lineup .
Ahead of the show this calendar week , Daily Paws speak with Frei and O’Hurley about foretell the one - in - a - life ( hopefully ) revised show , what new watcher should expect , and which dogs they ’ve desire to see win .
( This interview has been edited for clarity , length . )
Daily Paws : Is the want of crowd going to be the bountiful adjustment for you two ?
John O’Hurley : No , the biggest adjustment will be that David and I will be host the show from the comfort of our nursing home . So for the first time in 19 years , we ’re actually enjoy turkey dinner party with our house . But , we ’ll be watch the show on the lounge with our dogs just as America will — and hosting at the same time . So it ’s decease to be , certainly , a dissimilar modification this year . We ’ll miss our NBC family that we see every year on premiss , but alas these are circumstances beyond anybody ’s ascendance , and we ’re cook the best of it we maybe can .
You will see the pandemic protocols of societal distancing and masquerade worn by the handlers and the justice alike , but that apart you will still see the same quality show that we play you .
displaced person : John , you ’ve telephone the National Dog Show " the happiest day of the year . " Do you experience we need that happiness even more this year ?
JO : Well , it does have exceptional import by the fact that we have been able to maintain the show . There was always some dubiousness even with the Macy ’s Thanksgiving Day Parade , whether they were going to be able to put together a presentation of any sorting . And that of course spilled over into our show as to how we were belong to be able to do it , give the bit of hoi polloi we are limited by , the regulating of the local municipal governments , all of these restrictions .
I ’m grateful to NBC and our production squad for being able-bodied to entrust to the fact that we ’re move to make for this show as part of this 19 - year tradition for the holiday . I would ’ve been very worried , I think , had we had to put it aside for a year . I think everybody would be , too . I cerebrate hoi polloi really look forward to this every year . Whether you ’re 4 or 94 , there ’s something in it for you . And I suppose this year , it ’s go to be a nice Hallmark second , if I can coin a phrasal idiom right there , that offers a much - demand common sense of easiness .
John O’Hurley
" I think people really look forward to this every year . Whether you ’re 4 or 94 , there ’s something in it for you . "
DP : What ’s the one thing click show newcomers should love before they flip on the TV on Thanksgiving ?
JO : As David always says , you ca n’t aid but be draw to the precious element of the show . But the blackguard are not really contend in their cuteness , they are vie against the written criterion for their breed . The judges , they ’ve got to put their hands on the dog to in reality see that the dog is corresponding to what the written spec of what the perfect exemplar of what that breed should symbolize — rather than " Oh , I like that one , that ’s cute " or " Is n’t that a beautiful colouring material ? " These things are the nice addendums to what we ’re doing in the show but are not really the gist of what we ’re making judgement on .
David Frei : I always require hoi polloi to see and realize that these are tangible dogs . They ’re menage dogs . Monday through Friday they ’re at plate doing the same things as your weenie does at home . We dress them up a little bit , so to verbalise , and bring them to a dog show on the weekend , and they ’re still dog .
John and I walk around laughing and smile and say , " seem at that one . " We do the same thing as everybody else . " Is n’t that cute ? " It ’s a precious factor . And that always helps . They ’ve got to be show hound , they ’ve got to show and they ’ve get to be great specimens of their breed , so those are all thing John and I will essay to guide out to people and sing about amongst ourselves . We seek to find the click that excites us most for the day .
DP : Do you two ever pick favourite and do they even win Best in Show ?
JO : Every now and then(chuckles ) . David has a much near eye than I do for sealed breeds . I would say there ’s been a couple situations , over the 19 twelvemonth , where I have been capable to see something that I would say was typic and follow it through all the way to the well - in - Show rival and , lo and behold , that domestic dog is selected as Best in Show . But that has fall out more often on David ’s side than mine .
DF : John ’s being a little modest . He ’s modernise a somewhat skilful eye over the years of seeing the dog in the ring . I intend we have fun play along the dogs . In a normal twelvemonth 2,000 dogs compete in 208 breeds and variety , moving forward into seven groups , seven group winners get together in the very end , and we have seven beautiful dog abide out there as the finalists , one of whom is become to become Best in Show .
That ’s when the grave money come out between John and I.(O’Hurley laughs.)We see at whatever dog we like for whatever reason . Maybe it ’s a click that just harbor us or perhaps it ’s a hound that looks great or maybe it ’s a frankfurter that we have an bond to because of the alma mater factor . John and I both haveCavaliers , so you know if a Cavalier ever gets into that Best - in - Show ring , there ’s going to be lots of money on the table then . We have fun with it but we ’re like anybody else . We require to be toy with and we need to be entertaining ourselves , and we retrieve we have accomplished that in 19 years .
JO : And dead on target to form , we will be watching from the same sofas as you are .
DP : Is there a wiener you ’ve never forgotten — but who did n’t win Best in Show ?
JO : There ’s a breed that amount to mind . I have become kind of a cause célèbre right now for thegolden retriever . It ’s , first of all , a very democratic hound , one of the most democratic breedsregistered with theAmerican Kennel Club . But it has not in retention won a Best in Show . And I for the life of me ca n’t give you an fair cause why , because we have had some illustration of that stock that are absolutely leading example of perfection . And they still have not won , so I ’m always kind of quietly root for that thoroughgoing consequence when they finally say(O’Hurley slips into his announcer voice ) , " Best in Show go bad to the golden retriever . "
JOHN O’HURLEY
" I ’m always kind of quietly settle down for that thoroughgoing instant when they finally say(O’Hurley slips into his announcer voice ) , ' Best in Show move to the golden retriever . ' "
DF : I was really drawn to theHavanesenamed Bono last year , but Bono just come about to run up againsta cracking bulldog named Thor in the last lineup . It ’s decided by one individual , and that one soul does n’t always pick the same dog that I pick . I would ’ve loved to see Bono do more , but I think what Thor did to win was well - deserved and Bono had other solar day . He was the No . 1 heel in the country all year long , so it was just one time Bono did n’t get through .
But there ’s always somebody in there that you say , " Jeez , I wish that dog had succeed " or " I wish that dog could have won . " But that ’s what the dog show is all about . You find the bounder you love and root for it . Call it the alma mater factor . You ’ve got a Brittany at family , then you should root for the Brittany , and I think that ’s part of the enjoyment .
David Frei
" … that ’s what the dog show is all about . You receive the Canis familiaris you make love and root for it . "
