Six new dog breeds are being welcomed into The 135th Westminster Dog Show. David Frei presents the new dogs on the Today Show. These new breeds were first chosen by the American Kennel Club based on a variety of statistics.
The Boykin Spaniel, South Carolina's State Dog, is an energetic hunting dog known to work all day, according to the American Kennel Club.
The Bluetick Coonhound, known for trailing raccoons, has a dark blue coat pattern.
The Redbone Coonhound is also known for its hunting abilities, but features a flashy red coat.
The Cane Corso is considered a serious body guard. As the Today Show's Lester Holt exclaims, "he's looking at you like lunch."
The Leonberger is known to be a calm and sweet family companion, making for a good therapy dog.
Lastly, the Icelandic Sheepdog, a playful, confident pup is considered the only dog native to Iceland.
The event should be exciting for these new breeds, since, according to Frei, "The first year's kind of a party."
While the Westminster Dog Show is considered the second longest continuously held sporting event in the country, not everyone is a fan.
Last year, the show took a startling turn of events when the winning dog was interrupted by protestors holding up signs that read, "Mutts Rule" and "Breeders Kill Shelter Dogs' Chances."
While dog breeding remains popular, especially for dog shows, an estimated 4 million unwanted animals are killed each year in shelters. Other dogs are used for human enjoyment and then killed when they are no longer needed - just last month, 100 sled dogs were euthanized in British Columbia.
What do you think? Should these beautiful dogs still be bred while millions of other animals are euthanized? Are dog shows in the best interest of the dogs or do they exist for human entertainment?
WATCH these six new dogs:
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