PHILADELPHIA — Two dog breeds renowned for their uncanny smiles — the Lancashire heeler and the Samoyed — were pitted head-to-head in a “smile-off” contest at the National Dog Show press preview Tuesday, shepherding in howls of laughter from the crowd and confused head tilts from the contestants.
These noble descendants of wolves, bred to strike fear in the hearts of livestock with their impeccable herding skills, just had to grin and bear the attention lavished upon them. Sometimes being man’s best friend is ruff.
The news conference at the Hilton Garden Inn Valley Forge/Oaks is held to get people pupped up for the main event this weekend at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks, where more than 1,900 dogs will compete for the title of “Best in Show” over two days.
This is the first time the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, which hosts the National Dog Show, has held a smile-off contest. As it turns out, getting herding dogs to smile on cue is a lot like herding cats. People lobbed treats in the air, made prolonged kissy-face sounds, and somewhere in the distance, someone repeatedly squeezed a squeaky toy to try and get the dogs to smile (no word on whether it was a Busy Bee ).