The National Dog Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks is a regional treasure and a national phenomenon because of the tradition associated with the event and because of the NBC TV special that airs on Thanksgiving Day following the Macy’s Parade. For that reason, the Expo Center at Oaks is crowded throughout the day on Saturday when the NBC cameras are there.
- Doors open at 8 a.m. and the activity continues until well after 6 p.m., when Best in Show is awarded to one dog at the stadium show ring inside the Expo Center.
- Please understand that the stadium show ring is large (over 1,000 seats), but it gets very crowded well before the taping begins around noon. Best in Show is awarded sometime after 6 p.m.
- The seating area is packed beginning at around 11:30 a.m. in anticipation of the start of group judging.
- Seats become available again around 3 or 4 p.m. as people return to the main floor or head home for dinner. Those who are waiting are able to get seats at that time.
- Seating is on a first-come first-serve basis in the stadium show ring. There is no reserved seating.
The doors open at 8 a.m. because breed judging must begin early so that judges and organizers can get all the breeds judged throughout the course of the day in time for the group judging to begin around noon. The National Dog Show hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia is a benched show, which means that dogs are situated at designated locations (benches) throughout the day.
The breed judging encompasses some 200 breeds. One winning dog advances into the group competition, which includes seven groups of 25-30 breeds.
There are seven groups as follows: Herding Group, Hound Group, Non-Sporting Group, Sporting Group, Terrier Group, Toy Group and Working Group. The group judging begins around noon and continues until Best in Show after 6 p.m. The order of groups to be judged will be determined a few days before the show.
Food and beverage is available at the Expo Center in multiple locations beginning when doors open. There are also 70 or more vendors offering free gifts and selling wares for anything and everything that visitors might be interested in having to do with dogs and pets.
Strollers are not permitted because of the unusual circumstance of most dogs being on the same eye level as children in strollers. We have found that the safest way to proceed is to not permit strollers in the venue. Please understand that.
Wheelchairs and walkers are permitted, as the National Dog Show complies with all American Disabilities Act requirements. Handicapped seating in the stadium show ring is available. All handicapped persons are asked to make themselves known to the ushers in the stadium show ring as early as they can on Saturday so that they can be accommodated appropriately. There are chairs surrounding most of the 13 breed rings on the expo center floor, though most people stand when viewing the action.