Today is one of the smug puppies’ favorite days of the year. It’s the day that the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show awards its best in show cup to a deserving pampered pooch. This year it’s James, the gorgeous Springer Spaniel, at right.

Panda stands on the ottoman and barks at the tv. I’m not sure what’s going on in her little peke brain – if she’s aware that they are dog shapes, or hears the random bark on the audio track, or what… but she occasionally barks, and is otherwise fascinated.

Lyza lies on the sofa with her nose regally in the air and sniffs, “Been there, done that.” Lyza is a retired show champion. It crushed her breeder (Lu-Cee Tibetan Spaniels) when she couldn’t have puppies because she is one dog that should have had the opportunity to pass on her conformation, temperament and beauty queen good looks!

In our house, we boo the poodles, (sorry, Mindy & Nikki, we love YOU!) because cut for show, they look like a cross between runway models and bizarre alien cult members. Poodles always win their group anyway. There should be a boutique class for dogs who are primped, cut, groomed and poufed within an inch of their life as a part of their showmanship! It’s not fair for wash-n-wear dogs to have to compete with that. Conversely, I was psyched for Steph and her teddy bear Tyge when the big furball Bouvier won its group!

When they show behind-the-scenes shots in the staging area, and we see dogs with rollers in their hair, multiple brushing attendants, dark eye masks, head wraps, booties, I think… these folks take this WAY too seriously. Have these dogs ever caught a frisbee? Swum in a lake? Rooted around under the deck after a squirrel? Slept with their chin on their owner’s lap? Do they get to be dogs, or just show animals?

At the end of the evening, we give our doggies big snuggles and treats, and assure them that they are the champions in our house and would win a big ol’ silver cup if we had one – Lyza is the best Tibetan Spaniel, and Panda the best Pekingese. And then they go romp through the backyard, drag in a stick or two, and come upstairs to bed.