Embark at the National Dog Show 2021

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia’s National Dog Show is a beloved tradition for many families across America. About 25 million people watched it last year. Children and their parents, Americans cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and families waiting for football to start all tune in to watch the National Dog Show together on Thanksgiving Day.

This year, the National Dog Show celebrates its 20th anniversary. It will air on NBC this Thanksgiving, November 25, 2021.

Embark is a proud sponsor and the preferred dog DNA test of the National Dog Show. We recently sat down with Wayne Ferguson, President of the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, to talk about the National Dog Show, how DNA testing plays an important role in breeding, and what the future of dog shows will look like.

The history of dog shows in America

Dog shows started as a place where breeders could evaluate breeding stock and confirm that a dog had a proper coat, good temperament, and other qualities that met breed standards. Dog shows became a forum for experts and judges to help breeders make those decisions, before tools like DNA testing were available.

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia began in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition, an event that commemorated 100 years of American history. Since then, they’ve held a dog show almost every year. This year, they had two shows—Saturday, November 20 and Sunday, November 21 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.