Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (New York) : The largest dog show in the United States

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs are required to be on display in their assigned locations (show benches) during the entire show except when shown in the ring, groomed for showtime, or taken outside for elimination. This type of presentation allows spectators and breeders alike to have an opportunity of seeing all the entered dogs. (In the more common unbenched shows, dogs are required to be present only at assigned ring times.)

The first Westminster show took place on May 8, 1877, making it second only to the Kentucky Derby, in terms of continuously held sporting events in the United States. (Both events were held despite the Great Depression & World War years.) The show originated as a show for gun dogs, primarily Setters and Pointers, initiated by a group of hunters who met regularly at the Westminster Hotel at Irving Place and Sixteenth Street in Manhattan. They decided to create a kennel club called the Westminster Kennel Club specifically to hold a dog show. The prizes for these first shows included such items as pearl-handled pistols, which were of use to the hunters and terriermen who worked these dogs in the field.

Held at Gilmore's Garden (Madison Square Garden) the Westminster show drew over 1200 dogs. It proved so popular that it took four days instead of the three days originally scheduled. The club donated proceeds from the fourth day to the ASPCA for creation of a home for stray and disabled dogs.

The Westminster Kennel Club predates the formation of the American Kennel Club by seven years and became the first club admitted to the AKC after AKC's founding in 1884. Breed parent clubs (e.g., the Collie Club of America) create the standards for judging their breeds, with the AKC administering the rules about shows and judging.

Dogs are judged by how closely they conform to a written description of the ideal specimen of that breed (the breed standard). Many breeds no longer need to perform their original jobs and are bred mostly for companionship. However, they are still judged on their innate ability and physical makeup to perform their original jobs. Standards also include items that seem somewhat arbitrary such as color, eye shape, tail carriage and more.

According to wikipedia