National Dog Show 2020: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Top Breeds and More

The coronavirus pandemic has affected events for most of 2020, and the National Dog Show has been no exception. However, it didn't stop this year's competition—one of the three annual major dog shows—from taking place.

With a history that dates back to 1879, the event has become a Thanksgiving fixture over the past two decades. Since 2002, coverage of the show has aired immediately after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, giving people something else to watch in addition to (or in place of) football.

Sanctioned by the American Kennel Club and hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, the National Dog Show takes place at Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

For those who have watched the event in past years, the 2020 edition will look a bit different. Due to the pandemic, the show was held behind closed doors with no spectators, vendors, sponsors or media in attendance on Nov. 14-15. There were also fewer dogs entered in the show, with only about 600 competing rather than the near-2,000 typically at the event.

Here's everything else you need to know about the coverage of this year's National Dog Show and the history of the event.

2020 National Dog Show Viewing Information

Date: Thursday, Nov. 26

Time: Noon-2 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live

Past Best in Show winners

2019: Thor (Bulldog)
2018: Whiskey (Whippet)
2017: Newton (Brussels griffon)
2016: Gia (Greyhound)
2015: Charlie (Skye terrier)
2014: Nathan (Bloodhound)
2013: Jewel (American foxhound)
2012: Sky (Wire fox terrier)
2011: Eira (Wire fox terrier)
2010: Clooney (Irish setter)
2009: Sadie (Scottish terrier)
2008: Holly (Pointer)
2007: Swizzle (Australian Shepherd)
2006: Vikki (Toy Poodle)
2005: Rufus (Colored bull terrier)
2004: Gracie (Smooth fox terrier)
2003: Raisin (Doberman)
2002: Miki (Standard poodle)
2001: Gus (Labrador retriever)

Preview

At the National Dog Show, there are seven groups that breeds are divided into: herding, hound, non-sporting, sporting, terrier, toy and working. Each section has a winner, and those dogs then compete for the honor of Best in Show.

Last year, a bulldog won Best in Show, as the two-year-old Thor beat out Bono, a Havanese who was the Westminster Kennel Club's No. 1-ranked dog at the time. He also defeated the winners from the other groups, which were a Siberian Husky, a Golden Retriever, a Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier, an Old English Sheepdog and a Pharaoh Hound.

In 2020, three breeds took part in the National Dog Show for the first time: the Barbet (sporting), the Belgian Laekenois (herding) and the Dogo Argentino (working).

A full list of the breeds that competed in this year's National Dog Show can be found at NBCSports.com.

"Everybody loves to look at little doggie eyes, and when you’re playing around with the remote on Thanksgiving Day, and you see those little puppy eyes, you'll stop and watch," said longtime television personality John O'Hurley, the co-host of the National Dog Show, per NBC 4 Columbus.

Of the three major dog shows in the United States, the National Dog Show comes second on the calendar, as it's followed by the American Kennel Club/Eukanuba National Championship, which takes place in December. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show took place in February, when the Best in Show winner was a standard poodle named Siba.

Each of the past eight years, a different breed has won the National Dog Show. The last repeat winner was the wire fox terrier, which won in 2011 (Eira) and 2012 (Sky), both of which were trained by Gabriel Rangel. If a bulldog wins this year, it would be the first breed to win in back-to-back years since then.

While this year's National Dog Show is going to be slightly different due to the pandemic, it will still bring the same enjoyment to households across the U.S., so it's certainly better than not having it at all, even with no crowd and fewer dogs in the competition.