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By Krista

Interview with John O’Hurley and David Frei of ""The National Dog Show" on NBC 11/10/16

NBC UNIVERSAL Moderator: Erica Lewis
November 10, 2016 10:00 am CT

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the National Dog Show presented by Purina, Press and Media Conference Call. I will now like to turn the conference over to Erica Lewis from NBC Universal. Please go ahead ma’am.

Erica Lewis: Hi, good morning, good afternoon everyone, and thank you for joining today’s call for the National Dog Show presented by Purina. We’re celebrating the show’s 15th broadcast on NBC this Thanksgiving Day and we’re very happy to have cohosts John O’Hurley and David Frei with us to answer your questions. Please feel free to ask two questions during your turn and you may rejoin the queue if you have any more. And we’ll get ready with the first question. Thank you all.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen to register for a question that is the one four on your telephone. Our first question comes from the line of Jay Jacobs from PopEntertainment. Please go ahead sir.

Jay Jacobs: Hi. Nice to talk to you guys gain.

David Frei: Thank you. How are you?

Jay Jacobs: Good, good. A few years ago, when I spoke with you we were discussing the old W.C. Fields line that you should never work with children and animals because they always steal the spotlight from you. So, have you guys had any situations in the show recently that where the spotlight isn’t stolen?

John O’Hurley: Well, let’s see. You know, we had my son on last year on the show, and they mic’d him up for a segment that we were doing on why we were thankful for dogs. Well, he happened to have a dear – a little school friend accompanying him for the day at the National Dog Show and so once he finished his little piece about thanking dogs he as he’s taking the mic off he turns to his friend and goes, “This is pretty much my life. This is pretty much every day.”

Jay Jacobs: How about you David? Did you have any?

David Frei: Well, we just did a press event today for the Kennel Club of Philadelphia show which is the National Dog Show and we did it at the Pet Plan Offices – Pet Plan Health Insurance offices and they brought in a classroom of probably first graders and they were there with all the dogs that we had -- the new breed dogs and the therapy dogs that are part of the National Dog Show therapy ambassador therapy dog team -- and so - I was the MC and I guarantee you there weren’t many pictures taken of me today.

It was all the dogs and the kids, so it’s great fun. And, of course, that’s what it’s all about is dogs and kids -- so we have a great time.

John O’Hurley: It is. In fact, actually I would say that one of the on-camera pieces that we did last year, David, you and I were upstaged by the bloodhound.

David Frei: Yes, that’s true.

John O’Hurley: He was licking you all over the place towards the – during the spot, yes.

David Frei: As Mary Carillo once said about the Olympics, it’s the only sport that she covers where the competitors lick her.

Jay Jacobs: Now as a native Philadelphian we’re very proud of the dog show. How involved is the community been in the show? And also, did you - do you guys get any time to see any of our city while you’re here?

John O’Hurley: Well, I, yes, I have enjoyed all 15 years for the reason that we are there are in Philadelphia. I think it’s one of the most beautiful cities. I love the increased renovation that they’ve been undergoing there and restoring a lot of their historical – the history of the community. And regarding the response to the show, now that we have a permanent home out there at the – in Oaks, Pennsylvania we have found that the audiences are – they grow every year.

Jay Jacobs: Right.

John O’Hurley: We have upwards of 30,000 people a day that come through there and it’s wonderful and they’ve got the idea that a benched show like ours is a place that children will have a full day of fun and that’s what they – that seems to be the way that it’s grown.

David Frei: Hey the other thing is too that it’s - this has become the month that has been declared, “National Dog Show Month” in Philadelphia so we know we’re well received and not just from the crowds that come to see us at the show, but in terms of the community and media involvement and things. People are excited to see us and excited to be a part of what we’re doing.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Dave Leonardi with News. Please proceed with your question.

Dave Leonardi: Hi John. Good to hear your voice again and David nice to be talking to you as well.

David Frei: Well, thank you.

Dave Leonardi: My question is a very - you’re welcome. My question is very simply, “How is the Beverly Hills Dog Show going to be different from the National Dog Show?”

John O’Hurley: Well, I will say straight out that David and I have had a lot of hands on a lot of this - the birth of the Beverly Hills Dog Show. We wanted to look different, everybody wants it to look different, and they want it to be kind of the promise of what Beverly Hills would bring to the dog show world. There’s been a whole redesign of the staging that choosed…

David Frei: Okay.

John O’Hurley: …and it will be much more – it will be -- I hate to use this word -- but it’ll be much more “Victoria’s Secret Runway”. It’ll have that feel to it. We’re going to – we’ll take advantage of the surroundings in Beverly Hills and it’s going to have a little bit of the favor and the flavor and the splash of what you’d hope a – an event in Hollywood would be like.

Jay Jacobs: Do you think it will be benched as well?

David Frei: No, it is not a benched dog show. It’s California style. We’ll all come and enjoy it. It’s at a fairgrounds location. And the people of Beverly Hills has been very embracing of what we’re doing as well, so we think it’ll be great fun for everybody and we hope that we can communicate that on the telecast.

Jay Jacobs: Oh, well, great. Thank you very much and…

David Frei: Okay. And one more thing about that too is the show is telecast on USA Network in its original telecast and then is repeated a week later NBC.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Lorry Young with WOND Radio New Jersey, A Paws For Your Pet. Please go ahead.

Lorry Young: Hi David. Hi John. How are you today?

John O’Hurley: Hi Lorry.

David Frei: Very well.

Lorry Young: All right, I’d like to ask both of you gentlemen if you’d like to each take a big piece of this. This is the 15th year anniversary of the National Dog Show. Am I correct in saying so?

John O’Hurley: Yes, that’s correct.

David Frei: It is, and I think that’s our crystal anniversary and I hope John’s picking out some nice piece of crystal for me.

John O’Hurley: I would find the lists (unintelligible). I don’t know. My chronologically said, “Paper Mache”.

Lorry Young: Right, right, or some cannoli’s John as I think that would go over very well. To both of you gentlemen, what do you tribute the fascination of people of the public in watching man’s best friend compete over and over again these wonderful shows? Why do you think we are -- and I’m one of them -- so fascinated with the shows?

John O’Hurley: Well, I think – I’ll answer first, David. I think - my perspective is just a television viewer I think if you have the remote in your hands and you’re not used to what dog shows are and you just happen to be flipping through the channels, the moment that it lands upon the National Dog Show and you see the close-up faces of all of these dogs the expressions and the fact that they are beautiful representatives of their -- their particular breed -- you stop.

You stop and you watch and you get glued to it and you continue to watch it and you find yourself an hour or two into it and it’s just very compelling television from that. There’s something about the look of a dog’s face that I think is just a very compelling thing. Now add to that that we have so many loyal viewers because we have so many loyal dog owners that have the, as David refers to it, “the altar mater factor” sitting there on the couch next to them.

And not only that, people, you know, that love certain breeds of dogs -- so we have a wonderful built-in audience of dog lovers all across the nation. And again, I think it’s compelling television that when you go channel surfing it’s anytime you see the close-up of a dog you’re going to stop.

Lorry Young: Yes, especially if it’s our breed that we have. That we are pet-parents too. Absolutely. We’re always (unintelligible).

John O’Hurley: And what is your breed?

Lorry Young: Well, it was. Yes, I lost him two years ago. German Shephard and Basset Hounds all my life. Yes, so…

John O’Hurley: Oh, uh huh.

Lorry Young: I have opposite ends of the spectrum, John.

John O’Hurley: Yes, they sure are.

Lorry Young: Yes, they are. Yes, they are. One, you know, you become a food slave to one and the other one is, you know, “What can I do for you constantly,” with the German shepherd.

John O’Hurley: Yes, yes.

Lorry Young: David - yes, thank you John. Thank you so much. That’s great input. David, what is your take on that? I know that you’ve been doing this also for a very long time, you know, as the host of Westminster Dog Show and what do you feel our fascination is? There’s always a click to, you know, to that.

David Frei: Well, our dogs are now members of our family. We used to have dogs that do work for us whether it was herd our animals or get the rats out of our kitchen or pull a cart or something like that and nowadays they don’t need to do that. We keep them because of those unique temperaments and personalities that were developed because of the things that they were bred to do and they become members of our family. You know, it’s not just open the door and let them out, it’s let’s go for a walk together. And I think when people are watching us on television they have that same feeling as John talked about – talking about the alma matter factor, but I also think that just the fact that our dogs do the same – that our dogs that they see in the dog show do the same things at home that your dog is doing at home and we want you to relate to that and have this be a celebration of the dog in your life whether they’re a purebred dog or a mixed breed dog or a cat even -- we let the cats in there sometimes too -- but it’s great fun for us all in that respect.

And we’ll sit there with our Britney on the couch and say, “You know what? Grace, we’re going to root for the Britney today because I know you and I can be out there and we can be doing just as well if I gave you a bath once a month instead of once every six months and maybe we both did a little roadwork,” so in that respect and it’s easy to relate too.

Lorry Young: Thank you. To both of you gentlemen the wonder of therapy dogs. I think a lot of the public do not realize how many of these wonderful breeds, how many of these wonderful dogs do therapy work whether it’d be Ronald McDonald house or hospital – other hospitals. David and I we did the Hackensack DOG hospital up in North Jersey which was wonderful.

Ronald McDonald house. I know you gentleman are quite involved in that. Can you tell me – tell us a little bit about, you know, the job of therapy dog and how these dogs acquire that and, you know, what it takes for them to become a therapy dog? They’re not just beautiful specimens of their breed, but they’re – they give back to children and adults.

David Frei: Well, it’s a natural thing for dogs. You know, they are spontaneous, they have unconditional love where they’re universally accepting of everybody and when a dog walks into the room the energy changes, people smile, they talk, they do things maybe that get their mind off any problems they might have and I think we can bring you a little bit of that on television when you see the dog on TV, you can’t help but smile and think about the great things that they do for you every day. And John has written books about this stuff now that he’s learned all about them too and he’s been a great advocate for therapy dogs. He’s come to the Ronald McDonald house and performed, if you will, with therapy dogs there with him as he reads his book about “The Perfect Dog” to them.

Lorry Young: John, what is your book? What is the title of your book?

John O’Hurley: Well, the title of the – I have several that I’ve written - three now…

Lorry Young: Okay.

John O’Hurley: …two that are more autobiographical that one is called, “It’s Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump and the Other Life Lessons I’ve Learned from my Dogs”. The follow-up book to that was, “Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It.” And then I wrote a children’s book that came out. It was a poem. Kind of a Dr. Seuss style book that I wrote. It was a poem called “The Perfect Dog” that ends with the line, “The dog that is perfect is the one next to you.”

Lorry Young: Awesome.

John O’Hurley: And that has and oddly enough that has now been become a musical which is now being performed at the Children’s Theater there in Philadelphia the weekend before the National Dog Show so it’s going to be a wonderful – It’s now all over the world now. The musical has become quite popular, so it’s a lot of fun.

Lorry Young: And the last question for both of you gentlemen is that Beverly Hills Dog Show this is going to be exciting. How did this concept transpire? Now this is also – this is sponsored by Purina. Am I correct in saying so?

John O’Hurley: They are joining us as well, yes.

Lorry Young: Wonderful. How did the show transpire? How did you gentlemen get together and say, “This would be an awesome dog show to have?”

David Frei: The basic background is that there were the three major dog shows they were all east coast based -- the Westminster Kennel Club, the National Dog Show in Philadelphia, and the AKC National Championship in Orlando FLorryda. So it made sense to look to the west when NBC - when the contract at the NBC and USA Network ended with Westminster they said, “What are we going to do for this?” and they chose Beverly Hills partly because it’s just down the street from where John lives and we knew they could commit him right away and we thought it would be fun to be there with the celebrities and having a nice, warm weather climate to do a dog show in and John I know is very excited to have that be there in his backyard.

John O’Hurley: I, you know, I truly am and only because when you say, “The Beverly Hills Dog Show’ you immediately smile, and I think there’s just – I think there’s an inherent expectation of it being a really interesting or really interesting potential from the show and we certainly hope to deliver on it, but I also think what’s really magical about the show is that if we found another time of the year -- Easter Sunday -- which is another one of those kind of family times of the year, we don’t have a lot of sporting – there’s not a lot of sports to conflict, there’s not a lot of – there’s not a lot of other programming on and so it’s a wonderful day of the year.

Also, and in many respects a family day, Easter Sunday, so we almost found a similar ground to what Thanksgiving is and it will give us hopefully a great audience – a great viewing audience -- although, we’re – we are going to be in the evening.

Lorry Young: When is the date? Easter Sunday of this year 2017?

David Frei: Easter Sunday April 16 this year.

Lorry Young: Okay.

David Frei: And the show itself is shot in March in California -- on March 4 -- and we’ll add to it and create a nice television event for everybody.

Lorry Young: Well, I can’t think of two better gentlemen to host that than both of you. You guys do an awesome job with the National Dog Show. Everybody tunes in just to watch you. And, of course, the dogs we know are the stars all the time. Thank you, David, thank you John. Good luck to both of you…

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen as a reminder to register for a question, that is the one four. Our next question comes from the line of Marty Van Duyne with News Net News, Pet Writer Chain of Virginia Weeklies. Please go ahead sir.

Marty Van Duyne: Hi, this is Marty. Hi David, hi John.

John O’Hurley: Hello.

David Frei: Hi Marty.

Marty Van Duyne: As the last person growing up the Beverly Hills show. Can you tell me what celebrities we can expect to see out there and then, you know, Beverly Hills is close to Hollywood. You’re going to have a lot of star power out there.

David Frei: Is involved in the show and ask John. He’s - who’s become a celebrity who’s more identified with dogs in this country than John O’Hurley. We’re lucky to have him with and we’ll hopefully bring along a few of his friends as well.

John O’Hurley: Yes, without revealing names, we will have a celebrity involvement.

Marty Van Duyne: Besides you John there’ll be another celebrity besides you and David?

John O’Hurley: We hope we’ll have many.

Marty Van Duyne: You two are the biggest stars when it comes to dogs. You know that, right? I mean the whole world knows that. All right, listen. Got another question for you. David, maybe you can tell me can you tell me what’s certain about his new breed that’s going to be here in Philadelphia -- the one that looks like a little koala bear?

David Frei: The pumi. The pumi John’s met the pumi also, but the pumi looks more like a koala bear than any other breed of dog. But it’s a little, curly black coated dog with – it says in the standard it’s supposed to have a whimsical look about it and it creates that with its facial expression and its ears and John you’ve met the pumi as well.

John O’Hurley: Oh, I did, yes. I have to tell you it became one of my favorite little breeds. It’s – the texture of the coat of a pumi is just extraordinary. It’s like a – just like a wonderful, little curled pile rug you just want to stroke the – you want to stroke it very – it’s just an adorable dog and that you’re right, the face is just adorable.

Marty Van Duyne: Wow. That sounds like something you want to snuggle up with like a – sort of lamb’s wool thing or something. Hey John…

John O’Hurley: It’s a snuggler.

Marty Van Duyne: Speaking of star power, here in Philadelphia at the gala the night before are you doing another show for us?

John O’Hurley: I will be entertaining. I’ll be doing a piece of my one man show that I’ve been touring around the country and just finished here in New York with on Broadway which is called, “A Man with Standards” and I’ll be doing a segment of the show for that on Friday night for the charity gala.

Marty Van Duyne: Oh, that’s terrific. And your other show that you did a little trailer, as it were, at the gala last year, is that here in Philadelphia this year -- the full show?

John O’Hurley: Yes. “The Perfect Dog” will have another performance. I believe it’s going to be on November 12 at the theater there. I don’t have the actual name of the theater off the top of my head. I’m so sorry. I should. I don’t have it, but I know it’s in the Philadelphia..

Marty Van Duyne: And David I know you do the things that therapy dogs for the Ronald McDonald house and you had a big thing at Pet Plan Insurance today a press preview -- so those wonderful people there that do all kinds of nice, charitable things. Can you give me a little bit background on that?

David Frei: Well we’ve been involved through with Steve Griffith leading the way. We created a therapy dog ambassador program that goes along with the Kennel Club of Philadelphia and the National Dog Show presented by Purina and that has provided a lot of great experiences for people who are in need of the things that therapy dog bring us and it’s also brought some recognition to some wonderful people who are very involved with their dogs in visiting at healthcare facilities all over the country especially here at the Ronald McDonald house in Philadelphia which is the very first of 300 and some worldwide Ronald McDonald houses to be formed so it’s great to have a partner like them in what we do and to recognize their great work as well as the great work of the therapy dogs and the people that visit there.

Marty Van Duyne: That’s terrific. And I do involve therapy dogs all along with your anger program and you have your own little dogs that do therapy work. Does that (unintelligible)…

David Frei: My dogs do great things for people and I’m lucky enough to be the guy that brings them. They – I’m the transportation and the treat carrier and they do the work. They do the work. I just try to stay out of their way when they’re dealing with people.

Marty Van Duyne: That’s terrific. Well, you know, I cannot wait for the Philly – for the show here in Philly and the National Dog Show and really looking forward to this thing in Beverly Hills because this something in the Spring time for us to look forward too and yes, because that’s like a big empty spot that time of the year -- so I think that’s awesome and great that…

David Frei: And you’re getting a bonus this year with John and his and his “The Perfect Dog” at Center Theater in (Norris Town). He’s actually not in it, but it’s his show and it’s a wonderful show. They put it on for us at a gala here last year -- fundraising gala -- and as John has told you, it’s in a lot of places around the world so it’s fun to have that.

Lorry Young: Yes, that is super. And John….

David Frei: Yes, and it’s part of the National Dog Show in Philadelphia celebration -- so it’s great to have it here.

Marty Van Duyne: Well, thank you so much guys. I just can’t wait for the show here in Philla (sic) for the National Dog Show within NBC and Purina. This is just, you know, great event every year and it’s the best way, you know after you got that turkey in the oven, you put your feet up while it’s cooking and watch those dogs and thank you so much for all you do for bringing that to us. You know, absolutely love watching John O’Hurley and David Frei that show with Mary Carillo. Looking forward to it guys.

Operator: Our next question is from Stephanie Piché From Mingle Media TV. Please go – please proceed.

Stephanie Piché: I talked to you in the past about the National Dog Show. One of my favorite times being a parent to two fluffy children and my question for you for either one of you is do you have some special stories that stick in your mind from years past about dogs that you’ve met or about things that have happened during the show?

John O’Hurley: David, I’ll let you go first. I know you have some.

David Frei: Well, I – the great thing about the dog show is that you get to see dogs being dogs and I’ve said for all the years that I’ve done the previous dog show on television and for the National Dog Show is that I want people to know that the dogs that they see on television are more than show dogs. They are real dogs shown by real people and these dogs do the same things at home that your dog does at home.

They steal food off the counters, they shed on your black clothes and sleep on our couches and maybe even drink out of a toilet once in a while, but the main thing about the dog show coming in person and attending and that you get to see all these athletes -- these canine athletes -- up close and personal.

It’s the only sport that I know of where you can go backstage and hug the competitors. I don’t think you can go back and hug Tom Brady just anytime at all. But it’s fun to be here and see all these dogs that are the stars on television. And you can come and hug John and me too, so we’re fine with that.

John O’Hurley: That’s the important part of the benched show is that David and I have to remain there too so we are just as huggable and just as approachable.

Stephanie Piché: That’s fabulous. And so, have you - did you ever wish an outcome would’ve been different of putting your hat on as a judge maybe?

David Frei: Sure. It happens all the time. I think it’s the beauty of dog shows is you can judge from outside the ring and people sitting at home can root for whatever dog they want for whatever reason they want. It did something cute or it’s like my dog at home or it’s the same color or I love that hair or it’s just did something cute with somebody outside the stands.

But I’ll walk around at a dog show and watch them judging and they’ll be times that a judge points to a certain dog to win and I’d say, “Why didn’t they pick this other dog?” and, you know, it all depends on that one person. It’s not a vote or anything and so that’s fun. I can like whatever dog I want for whatever reason I want to.

John O’Hurley: But I will add in that David’s eye is very good. It’s a very trained eye. And he has taught me well. I have lived in his shadow now for 15 years. However, I’m getting the point where I’m just – I’m standing on my own right now. I’m getting a much better eye. And I have a wonderful database back in my grey matter there of dogs that I’ve seen of certain breeds that I know – I can kind of set the standard in my head and I can judge against them.

David Frei: John, I have – have come to a very good eye and when we’re sitting there watching and I say, “Who do your like?” he can often come up with the right dog or dogs that should be chosen from -- so, I’m proud of being his mentor in that respect.

John O’Hurley: That is nice to see that the way the show has grown is that you – for - I would say all the dogs that you see have all been breed winners at one point -- not just that day, but are constant breed winners -- so we’re getting the best dogs in the country to come to the show.

Stephanie Piché: Great. Well I’m looking forward to it. Thanks so much for talking to me and hopefully we’ll see you in March when you’re taping the Beverly Hills show so take care.

Operator: We do have a follow-up question from Jay Jacobs from PopEntertainment. Go ahead.

Jay Jacobs: Now there are so many adorable breeds in the show and you guys are obviously both huge dog lovers. I was just wondering what breeds do you guys live with as family?

David Frei: …a Britney and a Cavalier. I have a Britney named Grace who is a retired show champion, but also a certified therapy dog and does lots of therapy work. And my cavalier angel who’s dabbled in the show world but has made her impact as a therapy dog too and before that I had an afghan hound so those are my three breeds on the record but you know what? I’m supposed to like them all and I do.

Jay Jacobs: Okay. How about you John?

John O’Hurley: I have the cousin to David’s cavalier. Her name is Sadie. Just about the same age. And she is not – she has a little bit of an overbite, so she is not show material but she doesn’t know that and we don’t tell her. And I find that that’s healthy if she has the healthier self-image. But the – but then we also have a breed called a havanese which is a wonderful breed a little larger than a Maltese would be and I have come to love that breed as the absolute - if there is a perfect breed for families that just want a good, family dog that is the one I would recommend.

It’s just a – it’s such a nice, docile addition to the family that will adopt to the energy of the family and very easy – much more self-maintaining then most dogs are.

Jay Jacobs: Terrific. And John I can talk to you mentioning Mr. Peterman which is such a beloved character. What was it like to be part of such an iconic series? And do you feel that J. Peterman helped to sort of make all the other things like the dog show or the Fantastics -- which you’re going to be doing or (unintelligible) --possible or Dancing with the Stars possible for you?

John O’Hurley: Yes, I think if I have to look back on the one brand that I was able to – the “one belt loop I was able to slip my finger through” that was probably the one that has carried me through my entire career and I’m eternally grateful for being part of the rumble line of people that have been able to make their life and their livelihood off the series of Seinfeld and I do just, you know, it was like playing with the championship team in the championship season.

Jay Jacobs: All right. Now David has, obviously, been involved with dog shows for many years, but how did you first get involved with the dog show world?

John O’Hurley: Well, this came out of the movie, “Best in Show.” NBC sports took home the tape of the show and watched it over the weekend, comes back in Monday morning to NBC and says, “I know what we’re going to do for that two-hour slot after theomachy’s Thanksgiving parade right before football,” and he said we’re going to do a dog show.” And they about laughed him out of the office. But sure, enough by the end of the day he had – he’d gotten the Kennel Club of Philadelphia he’d gotten Purina as a sponsor and Tuesday morning he picked up the phone and called me in Los Angelo’s and I answered the phone and he said, “Woof woof”, and that’s how it all started.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Cibelle Burgos with NBC News. Please proceed with your question.

Cibelle Burgos: Hi John, hi David, thank you for taking my question. My question is, “Can you explain what happens behind the scenes and what the experience is like during the competition?

John O’Hurley: Sure. It’s a benched dog show so we see the dog in the ring for two minutes, but it’s, you know, taken awhile to get him to that point. For that some people, it’s a lifetime of involvement with breeds, but, you know, there’s conditioning and training roadwork grooming bathing and some of that stuff goes on at the day of the show just as touchup work to get dog ready for the ring then they must compete at three different levels.

It’s like a in sports where first they compete in the breed level if they win their breed 190 202 breeds and varieties that are eligible they win their breed they advance in to their group which there are seven groups, if they win the group they advance into the final seven the lineup for best in show so that’s the way the dog show goes during the day and the rest of the time the dogs when they’re not in the ring and they’re on the bench and people can come up and talk to them and talk to the people.

Cibelle Burgos: My next question is, “What keeps you coming back after 15 years of hosting the show?”

John O’Hurley: Well, it’s my favorite day of the year and it’s become our family day as well. It’s – if you had been in the room, every, I mean, I always believe that dogs change the energy in a room so if you can imagine 2,000 dogs in an arena and everybody there has a smile on their face.

Nobody is unhappy. You don’t see dog fights. Everybody is just – the energy is so positive and in enduring, I would say, for the entire day that it’s just a joy to be there and it’s just infectious with everybody’s always smiling and having a good time and the dogs are having a great time. I mean, they don’t care who wins, but they have, you know, it’s a chance for them to run around the ring and get a few sniffs in.

Cibelle Burgos: Thank you so much. I look forward to watching.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line Sabine Lavache with NBC. Please proceed with your question.

Sabine Lavache: Hi. Thank you so much for taking our call today. I wanted to know can you tell us a little bit about training goes into showing a dog and how much time is put into it each day or each week?

John O’Hurley: Well, it varies – it varies. It depends on the dog and not so much just the breed, but the dog. It – some dogs are natural showman, if you will, that are anxious to get out there and doing something with the human that they love and I think that makes it fun for them and it makes it a little easier than if you must convince them that dog showing is fun and that they want to be a part of it, but, you know, and then it comes to grooming and conditioning.

Some dogs are almost self-conditioning in terms of roadwork you know running in the year or something but some dogs require a concentrated effort so you put the dog in top physical shape and then of course is the grooming. It’s going to be a lot different than the American hairless terrier that we have today as one of us in breeds that we have in (unintelligible) and our show

John O’Hurley: You can leave the hairdryer home for that one.

David Frei: That’s right. And versus like an Afghan with its big mop coat, but those are all things that people spend their time working on and getting them ready for dog shows and just generally being a part of the family.

Sabine Lavache: Okay, thank you so much.

Operator: We have no further questions now. I’ll now turn the call back to Ms. Lewis. Please continue with your presentation or closing remarks.

Erica Lewis: Hi, thank you. Guys before we wrap up I just wanted – I know you just mentioned the hairless terrier and you mentioned the pumi and those are our new breeds for the show this year. Can you talk just a little bit about them?

John O’Hurley: Sure. The American hairless terrier is that it’s the terrier and it is hairless. It’s down from the rat terrier people are familiar with some of the terrier breeds, but it’s a small dog with a wedge shape head pointed ears and no hair. They are born with kind of a peach fuzz coat, but that goes away at about four five weeks and they are quite hairless. They are a whole different feel to put your hands on a dog and the only come up with skin instead of hair your own coat.

The Pumi the second breed we talked a little bit. It is a curly coated black curly coated non-shedding dog with a great whimsical expression. Ears that are kind of you know, placed around the head and has a great look and a great attitude. It’s a herding dog so it’s a very active athletic dog. Not unlike the Puli we’ve seen the Puli the rock the dreads that John loves so much and but it’s kind of a cousin of that dog. But it looks kind of like a koala bear almost. If a koala bear was a dog breed it would be a pumi.

And then there’s a third new breed that we don’t seem to be able to find one anywhere in this country. There’s a couple of them around that I know of, but they’re kind of scattered and we don’t have an entry of the Sloughi this year. It’s the third in breed. It sorts of looks like a greyhound. It’s kind of a northern African sort of native, if you will, and looks a lot like cross mostly greyhound but a little bit of sludge maybe you can see in it, but great athletic site hound.

Erica Lewis: Perfect. Thank you so much. And thank you John and David for your time today and thank you everyone for participating and for your question. You can watch the National Dog Show presented by Purina on Thanksgiving Day at noon and all time zones and I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving.

David Frei: Thank you.

John O’Hurley: Thank you Erica. Thanks, everybody. We’ll talk soon.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen that does conclude the conference call for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your line.

END

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