6 New Dog Breeds Debut at Westminster Kennel Club Show 2012

The Westminster dog show next month will see six new dog breeds introduced in the competition. The Westminster Kennel Club show, the oldest sporting event in the United States along with the Kentucky Derby, will be held at the Madison Square Garden on February 13 and 14, 2012.

According to the Westminster Kennel Club, the 6 new dog breeds are: the American English Coonhound (Hound Group); Cesky Terrier (Terrier Group); the Entlebucher Mountain Dog and the Finnish Lapphund, both for the Herding Group; and the Norwegian Lundehund (or Puffin Dog) and the Xoloitzcuintli, both for the Non-Sporting Group. The introduction of the six dog breeds brings the numbers of competitors to the annual show to 185 breeds.

Here is more information about the new dog breeds debuting at the 2012 Westminster Kennel Club Show via Wikipedia:

Entlebucher Sennenhund: The Entlebucher Sennenhund or Entlebucher Mountain Dog is the smallest of the four Sennenhunds, a dog type that includes four regional breeds. The name Sennenhund refers to people called Senn, herders in the Swiss Alps. Entlebuch is a municipality in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. The breed is also known in English as the Entelbuch Mountain Dog, Entelbucher Cattle Dog, and similar combinations.

Norwegian Lundehund: The Norwegian Lundehund (Norsk Lundehund) is a small dog breed of the Spitz type that originates from Norway. Its name is composed of the prefix Lunde, from the Norwegian lundefugl (puffin), and the suffix hund, meaning dog. The breed was originally developed for the hunting of puffins and their eggs.

English Coonhound: The English Coonhound, sometimes referred to as the “Redtick Coonhound”, is a breed of dog. It is a type of coonhound that is typically bred in the southern United States.

Finnish Lapphund: The Finnish Lapphund is a hardy, easy going, medium-size breed of Spitz type. Traditionally it has been used for herding reindeer. Although it is one of the most popular dog breeds in its native country, Finland, it is not very numerous outside of the Nordic countries.

Cesky Terrier: The Cesky Terrier is a small terrier type dog originating in Czechoslovakia. The name is pronounced /?t??ski/ chess-kee (after its Czech name ?eský teriér, literally Czech Terrier).

Xoloitzcuintli (Mexican Hairless Dog): The Xoloitzcuintli is a rare, hairless breed of dog, found in toy, miniature and standard sizes. It is also known as Mexican hairless dog in English speaking countries.

New breeds are added to the competition each year. However, the Westminster Kennel Club show has strict rules before a new breed is accepted. New breeds have to be registered with the American Kennel Club and recognized for conformation show competition. And before acceptance to the American Kennel Club, a breed has to have a significant number of the dogs in the United States and there has to be a breed club to oversee enthusiasts and geographic diversity.

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