Six new breeds at the 135th Westminster Dog Show

Six new breeds will be strutting their stuff in the ring for the first time as the 135th Westminster Dog Show takes over Madison Square Garden next week. This year’s new dogs include:

The Boykin spaniel

Official state dog of South Carolina, the Boykin Spaniel is used as a hardy retriever of upland birds as well as water fowl. The Boykin Spaniel is popular in the Southern United States among bird hunters. It is liver-brown in color, a medium weight dog around 16 inches in height. This dog is said to loyal, enthusiastic and a water-lover.

 

 

 

The Bluetick Coonhound

The official dog of the state of Tennessee, Blueticks are said to be curious and have a tendency to follow their noses. They may wander off if they pick up an interesting scent and decide to not return when they’re called if they’re too preoccupied with locating the cause of the scent. Therefore it is not advisable to let them off-lead in an unsecured area. Their name is due to their unusual coat color of dark blue,with a mottled body and large black spots on back, ears and sides.

This large dog has a life expectancy of about 11-12 years on average and needs plenty of exercise and a large yard.

 

 

The Redbone Coonhound

Bred for hunting hunting bear, raccoon, and cougar; this handsome dog is medium to large in size with a keen sense of smell. As the name suggests, this breed is red in color and isn’t suitable for a home with cats but makes a good companion dog if exercised often.

The breed is even-tempered and trainable in the home, and wants to please its owner. It is a healthy breed with an average life expectancy of 11-12 years.

 

 

 

 

The Leonberger

This beautiful giant was originally bred in Germany with the aim of breeding a dog that closely resembled a lion. Once a breed owned by Royalty, this breed is good at guarding livestock, water-rescue and search and rescue. They are bred to be well-mannered and even-tempered so they make great family dogs and love to swim, hike and pull carts and sleds.

Weighing in between 45 and 78 kilos, depending on whether it is male or female, these dogs are large and require regular walks and grooming.

 

 

 

The Icelandic sheepdog

Iceland’s only native dog, the Icelandic sheepdog is a small to medium, energetic and friendly dog. Related to the Spitz group of dogs, the Icelandic sheepdog has a double coat that requires a lot of grooming. Despite it’s size of around 12-16 inches, it is a great herder of farm livestock.

A very active little dog that needs a large amount of exercise to keep it happy but can adapt to living indoors or outdoors and even apartment life, provided it is walked often.

The Icelandic Sheepdog is a healthy breed with a life average of 12 years.

 

 

 

 

The Cane Corso

A loyal guard dog and companion, the Cane Corso is a large breed that is part of the Mastiff group. This stocky dog is usually black, silver grey or sandy colored with expressive eyes and a soft, short coat. They require a moderate amount of exercise and can become overprotective of their property, even though they weren’t ever bred to be guard dogs like other Mastiff breeds.

The Westminster Dog Show will take place Monday and Tuesday.

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