Georgia dogs at Westminster - day 2

February 10, 7:04 AMAtlanta Dogs ExaminerSandy Weaver Carman

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Dale, a Curly-Coated Retriever from Lawrenceville

Last night, if you were Scottish, it was an asset, it seems.

Two of the four Group winners at America's premier dog show were breeds attributed to Scotland.

From the Hound group, the Scottish Deerhound, CH Gayleward's Tiger Woods came, out on top. From the Terrier group, it was the Scottish Terrier, CH Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot winning. The other two Groups didn't follow suit, but the winners of each are also fabulous representatives of their breed: from Non-Sporting, the Standard Poodle, CH Randenn Tristar Affirmation was the winner and from the Herding group, CH Cordmaker field of Dreams, a Puli, is headed for the Best in Show ring tonight.

Day two of Westminster Kennel Club's annual dog-fest is going on in New York at Madison Square Garden, and today this column features two more Georgia contenders. The Sporting, Working and Toy groups have breed judging all day today, with Group judging televised tonight starting at 8. After those three Groups are judged comes Best in Show, with the four dogs from last night joining tonight's Group winners for the crowning of this year's Westminster winner.

From the Sporting group, a handsome Curly-Coated Retriever from Lawrenceville, GA named Dale will be vying for Best of Breed at about 3:30 this afternoon. Dale is bred, shown and owned by George and Yvonne Cooper, who are no strangers to Westminster, or to winning. They have another Curly named Dillon who has won a Best In Show, a rare feat for a rare breed, and has won Best of Breed twice at Westminster.

Dale, also known as CH Boyerie's The Intimidator, is also no slouch at winning. The first thing he won was the hearts of George and Yvonne, who were wanting to keep a female from Dale's litter. But watching him run and play with his nine littermates, Yvonne found that she couldn't take her eyes off of this one particular puppy, who reminded her of a certain NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. So Dale stayed, and the comparison between the two Dale's careers began:

Dale wins his first Group placement the same weekend Dale Jr. won Richmond in 2006.
Dale qualifies for Westminster and Dale Jr. was in the Chase.
In 2007, Dale made the Top 10 in his breed. Dale Jr. didn't make the Chase.
In 2008, Dale won the Sporting Group the same weekend that Dale Jr. won the pole position at Texas Motor Speedway. Both Dales earned what they were after: Dale the Curly qualified for Westminster, and Dale Jr. qualified for the Chase.

Not sure what Dale Jr. is doing today, but Dale the Curly will be doing his best to add more polish to the "Dale" name by winning the Breed at Westminster.

Kathryn Robertson of Acworth is watching the clock today, waiting for 1:45 so she can head to the ring at Westminster with her Bullmastiff, Player. CH Starrdog's He's a Player, all 140 pounds of him, isn't one of those dogs that needs hours of grooming, so Kathryn will have to work off her nervous energy some other way.

Kathryn was introduced to the world of show dog in 1991 with her first Bullmastiff puppy. It was love at first sight...puppy, multiple dogs, training, and the sport of showing dogs. She was a quick learner of the sport, learning the fine points of handling a dog in the show ring, joining local dog clubs to network, and becoming a judge herself four years ago. Player was out with a professional handler for much of 2008 and is in the Top 5 of his breed in the country.

But with 25 Bullmastiffs entered, the competition is tough. Westminster attracts the best of the best, so Player will have to wow the judge in order to be named Best of Breed and represent Bullmastiffs in the Working Group competition tonight.

All of Monday's breed judging videos are posted on the Westminster Kennel Club website, and today's will be posted after each breed is judged, so check back.

Tonight:
Sporting, Working and Toy Groups, then Best In Show
8-11 p.m. (ET) live on USA Network

Dog Examiner Sandy says: I'll post an update after Dale and Player have shown, so be sure to subscribe using the button below to get the update notification.

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