At just 3 years old, Teddy has arrived.
The playful, 12-pound silky terrier is clipped, blow-dried and brushed, ready to strut the ring Monday in what is arguably the Super Bowl of U.S. dog shows.
Owned by Suzanne Detwiler of Rancho Palos Verdes, Teddy is among more than 3,000 elite canines invited to compte at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York.
And yes, in the dog world, that’s a really big deal.
Teddy — his full name is Teddy Altogether Mountain Splendor — surprised nearly everyone when he won the Silky Terrier National Specialty show in August, earning him and his owner, who also groomed and handled him in the ring, the coveted invitation to Westminster this year.
“We went to that show just for fun and he won,” Detwiler said. “Everybody stood up and cheered.”
Detwiler is a clinical laboratory scientist working in the blood bank at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance.
High profile, big audience
Westminster is watched by more than 1 million people every year, but it won’t change Detwiler’s so-far winning strategy of doing her own grooming and taking her own dog around the ring herself as opposed to hiring professional groomers and handlers.
Also competing in the obedience portion of Westminster this year is a Rottweiler named Chace owned by Jeremy Schuster of Long Beach.
But it is the breed conformation show — in which dogs are judged by how closely they match the ideal breed standard — that is the highlight of Westminster every year.
The dog that wins Best in Show quickly becomes the toast of New York and the nation, making the rounds on morning news shows and enjoying major bragging rights for the rest of the year.
Teddy is Detwiler’s third silky terrier. Her first, a rescue dog, had some behavioral issues but wound up earning obedience titles as Detwiler took him through his paces. That exposed her to the world of dog clubs, where competition dreams often are born.
Teddy was a purebred silky she acquired as a puppy after her first dog had died.
Along with breed conformation, Teddy also has been competitive in terrier training exercises through dog obedience clubs.
Lively in the ring
Teddy is a lively presence in the show ring, she said, and has an especially good bone structure that she believes makes him stand out.
“He goes around quick and out in front of me,” she said. “He likes to turn his head and sniff at the judges; he wants to play and interact with them.”
At home, he loves to play tug-of-war and cuddle. He’ll get to sleep on the king-size bed in their New York hotel, Teddy’s owner said.
Detwiler figures they have a 50-50 chance at making it into the finals. Teddy will be one of seven silky terriers competing at 1:45 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday. Those breed trials can be viewed online at www.westminsterkennelclub.org/. The top silky terrier will go on to compete in the larger toy group.
And the winner of the toy group will be among those showcased from 8-11 p.m. Monday and Tuesday nights on FS1 (Fox Sports).
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