Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show: New Eligible Breeds to Watch

The 135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is just a few days away and anticipation is certainly starting to build. There is obviously plenty of talk about who might be top dog this year after a Scottish Deerhound won last year, but there is plenty to be excited about.

New dog breeds are being created and discovered all the time, so the dog show is continually evolving. This year six new breeds have been admitted into the club and are eligible to compete. While they may not be well known by casual dog lovers, they are all of great interest.

Here is a breakdown of this year's most exciting new breeds.

Xoloitzcuintli

The Xoloitzcuintli is a very rare and interesting Mexican breed that will be making its Westminster debut this year. More commonly referred to as a Mexican hairless dog, the Xoloitzcuintli comes in toy, miniature and standard sizes. According to the Westminster website, this breed descends from hairless dogs prized by the Aztecs.

This particular Mexican hairless breed will compete in the non-sporting group, so it is a bit of a long shot as that group has only won at Westminster on 10 occasions. For these new breeds it is more about getting noticed and building interest than winning, though, and the Xoloitzcuintli will certainly do that.

Entlebucher Mountain Dog

The Entlebucher Mountain Dog, or Entlebucher Sennenhund, is a Swiss breed that is the smallest of the four types of Sennenhund. The tri-colored dog is part of the herding group as that was traditionally the breed's main function. The Westminster website says that Entlebucher Mountain Dogs are very sociable and need plenty of attention from their owners.

The herding group has had much luck at Westminster traditionally as only one dog from that group has ever won, but this is certainly an exciting new entry. This Swiss Mountain Dog has a very unique look and excellent characteristics, so it could easily become a fan favorite very quickly at Westminster.

Cesky Terrier

The Cesky Terrier is a Czech breed that will be seen for the first time at Westminster this year. The terrier group has a very diverse selection of breeds and has been extremely successful in the show over its history as the group's 45 wins are far more than any other. With that said the Cesky will have plenty of competition, but it should get a great reaction.

To say that the Cesky has a unique look would be an understatement. Not only is it extremely small with stubby legs, but it also has large tufts of fur on its legs and snout. Although I'm not sure how the judges perceive it, viewers generally love to see small dogs get their little legs going during their presentation. Because of that, the Cesky is going to be a crowd pleaser.