2017 Westminster Dog Show: Day 2 TV Coverage and Live-Stream Schedule

Madison Square Garden often sees the greatest athletes in the world perform on its stage.

The Garden is the home of the New York Knicks in the NBA and the New York Rangers in the NHL, and it has also hosted some of the top boxing matches in the history of the Sweet Science.

But the arena has turned to the dogs, and we are not talking the recent play of the Knicks. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the premier event in canine competition, and it is being contested at Madison Square Garden once again.

The 141st edition of the premier dog show features nearly 3,000 dogs from 202 breeds, and they are competing for titles, including the Best of Breed award and the Best in Show honor.

Dog lovers, who often fill out NCAA tournament-style brackets for the competition, can follow the event on television and online.  

The championship will be determined Tuesday night, and the event will be televised by Nat Geo Wild from 2-4 p.m. ET and FS1 from 8-11 p.m. The event will also be live-streamed on the Westminster Kennel Club website and Fox Sports Go.

Venue	Date	Time (ET) and TV	Live Stream
Madison Square Garden	Feb. 14	Nat Geo Wild: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.; FS1: 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.	WKC website, FOX Sports GO

While many dog owners who watch the event would love to see their own breed win the championship, it almost never goes to a golden retriever, a labrador retriever or dalmatian. Many believe they are too common in the dog world to get strong consideration.

Instead, the title often goes to a greyhound, puli or terrier. Wire terriers have won 14 Best in Show awards throughout the event's history.

Gia the greyhound has been one of the top competitors throughout the dog-show world, as has Devon, the West Highland terrier. However, Preston the puli has also been a winner, and his title in the American Kennel Club Championship makes him a serious contender in the New York City event. 

Preston has 95 career titles and his black cord mane makes him distinctive and clearly original.

Bikfic, a pumi owned by Marika Foreman, is also in the competition.

The dog owner explained to USA Today writer Lorenzo Reyes how important the event is.

Foreman said:

"

This is confirmation. It gets you the chance to talk about the breed you love. It gets you the chance to talk about Pumis to another group of people. I've been to shows where I was the only Pumi. But I still went. I knew I wouldn't get any points, but that wasn't important. People saw the dog.

"

The winner of the event gets a prized pewter bowl, but it does not come with a cash prize. However, winning owners often celebrate as if they have won a major award, and their joy is not misjudged. That's because the winning dog owners can make a fortune in breeding rights.

The event is often well-timed and precis, and it features the most well-behaved and orderly canines in competition. However, they are still dogs and can't be controlled at every turn.

Last year's championship saw one competitor sniffing and gnawing at his handler's pocket in non-stop fashion. The reason behind Dario's amusing behavior was that he was looking for food. That was where his owner had normally kept it, and the dog was not about to settle down.

That's one of the many reasons fans attend and watch the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show every year.