It makes sense to me that Top Dog the expression is thought to originate in the 19th century in dog fighting where the winning dog ends up on top of the losing dog.
It isn’t a great designation to be given, to my mind. It implies fscrappy fighting, intense fighting and bitter combat. Supposedly it carries a positive connotation today - that’s according to AI - with the claim that it celebrates success and achievement rather than aggression or violence. I say “claim” with skepticism of AI - it gives no sources for its information.
There’s one place where Top Dog is a wonderful designation - at Westminster Dog Show. What a beautiful Doberman pinscher Penny is. She seems as smart as her handler to me.
I think of Westminster as a British name/place. It turns out the American Kennel Association named the show after a hotel bar where its founders met. And is it more popular than the British Show - the Crufts Dog Show? I guessed so as I hear about the Westminster Show every year and only now learn about Crufts. But let’s find out.
The Crufts Show is considered the top dog show in size, international scope and status - as it is the world’s largest dog show. The U.S. Show is considered the “premier, elite and historic show in the U.S.” This sounds like babble-speak to me.
Crufts has the Guinness World Record for the largest dog show - over 24,000 dogs from 44+ countries and 150,000 visitors. It has over 8.7 million TV viewership.
Westminster has 1,200 dogs from the U.S. plus 17 countries with over 2 million viewers.
So I guess the numbers would have Crufts as the Top Dog Show. And could anything top the dog show? I think so. Remember the coronation? The Cavaliers were the Dog of the Day.
Perhaps this picture of a store front in Santa Fe might describe the mood of both of these Dog Shows. A Big Grin and fun by all.
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