The Westminster Kennel Club's big show is two weeks away on February 11 and 12. Today, the club unveiled two new breeds that will be in competition, Russell Terriers and Treeing Walker Coonhounds. But all you need know is that they are CUTE.
Here's how the WKC describes the dogs:
The Russell Terrier is considered the ultimate working earth terrier due to their small size (10" to 12" tall) and unique chest. The hallmark of the breed is its small, oval-shaped, spannable, compressible chest, which allows them to hunt efficiently below ground, pulling, pushing and bending through tight turns and narrow tunnels. Their origin dates back to the 1800's in England where they were utilized for fox hunting and carried horseback in terrier bags. Pack hunters, they are non-confrontational, not a sparring breed. They are predominantly white with spots and come in three coats - smooth, broken, and rough. They are athletic, intelligent, and fiercely loyal.
The energetic Treeing Walker Coonhound is perfectly suited for the task for which it was bred - tracking and treeing wild raccoons. Developed from the Walker Foxhound, the Virginia Hounds, and the earliest English Foxhounds brought to America, the Treeing Walker is a fast, alert, hot-nosed hunter with superb endurance, treeing ability and the desire to perform. It has a clear, ringing bugle voice or a steady clear chop with changeover at the tree. Today's Treeing Walker retains the same color and similar conformation to the Walker Foxhound. The breed is intelligent, confident and sociable.
In order for new breeds to be included, the Westminster Kennel Club checks "if the breed shows sufficient numbers and geographic distribution in this country, and a growing interest is demonstrated by an active parent club."
