In case you haven't picked up on it from our previous posts on this year's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Best In Show really did not lie. But we mean this in the nicest way possible (for the most part): the men wore ridiculously formal suits, the women were decked out in colorful dress suits, there were hyperventilating puppy care routines and the whisper of psychic bonds between human and animal. Overall, the owners, handlers and groomers we met backstage were exactly what we imagined, thanks to Christopher Guest's film.

On the plus side, they were also much friendlier than their cinematic counterparts—especially the owners who seemed to take in the proceedings with a grain of salt: "He's learned that in NYC, there's food on the ground. We don't have that at home," said Shirley Wilson about her 4-year-old English Bulldog Petrone (see photo #5). "After the Rangers game [Sunday] night, people were dropping hot dog bits, and he was like, 'This is great!'"

Petrone and Wilson, who live in Michigan, were competing in their first Westminster Dog Show this year—and it'll also be his last. Wilson said Petrone was retiring, and will never be shown again. As for what he'll do with all his free time: "He likes to jump on trampolines...for fun!"

Once you got them started, most of the owners and handlers could have talked endlessly about the various showings and ribbons and awards their dogs had won. And everyone seemed to have something impressive to talk about. There was Vicki Meadow and GCH Linshire's Rolling Stone—nicknamed "Mick," after you-know-who—a 4-year-old yorkshire terrier who was the "#1 yorkshire terrier for the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America." There was Promise, a 2-year-old Keeshond, who won "best select bitch," and "likes to flirt with the judges."

There was Eve, a 9-month-old snuggle-happy boston terrier who was taking after her father—he won last year for best of breed. There was Looker, a 2 1/2-year-old shih tzu from Savage, Minnesota, who was the #1 shih tzu in 2012, and won best of shih tzu at Westminster. After this year's competition, she was "retiring" to be shown in Tapei in the future.

There was Nahmee, a 4-year-old Kaizon (see photo #1), who owner Bonnie Hammond Brown said was "my best in show bitch." Even more impressive: Nahmee just had a liter of puppies last month, not that you could tell (we couldn't tell, at least).

And then there was Hazy, a 3-year-old Belgian Tervuren (see photo #3), who won best of her breed this year, her first year at Westminster. "I'm amazed by all this," owner Bonnie Kreider, of Allentown, PA, told us. "This is not the typical show scene...there are so many people here." She added that she's been breeding and showing for 30 years, but "this is the big league of everything. To come here for your first time and take the breed is very exciting."

Click through to see more portraits of the show dogs and their owners, as well as other handlers and groomers prepping dogs—and getting themselves ready—to walk into the spotlights of Madison Square Garden.

Also check out the rest of our Westminster coverage: 28 photos of dogs being groomed; the 32 cutest dogs of the competition; and a closer look at Swagger, the old English sheepdog who looks like a shaggy white sun.