Canine competitors vie for top dog honors at Westminster Dog Show

NEW YORK -- True to his breed, Matisse the Portuguese water dog likes to play in the koi fish pond. He enjoys going on long bicycle runs, chewing Benny Bully's liver treats and falling asleep on his back.[br /] [br /]Pretty standard stuff for a lot of pooches.[br /] [br /]Oh, he also got a holiday card from the White House.[br /] [br /]So perhaps it was only fitting Monday that when the Westminster Kennel Club dog show started on Presidents Day, the Portie who's a cousin to Obama family pet Sunny was the early favorite.[br /] [br /]"He's a real dog. He likes to play, he likes to get dirty," co-owner Milan Lint said. "He just cleans up really well."[br /] [br /]At 3 1/2 years old, Matisse indeed has cleaned up. This is the 400th event he's entered - he's won best in show 238 times, among the most in canine history.[br /] [br /]"Spectacular dog," praised popular Westminster television host David Frei.[br /][br /][post ID="520598" /][br /] [br /]On a frigid day in New York, Matisse got to rest as many of the 2,711 dogs in 192 breeds and varieties stepped into the judging ring at Piers 92 and 94, the exhibition space stretching into the icy Hudson River.[br /] [br /]The hound, toy, nonsporting and herding group winners were to be picked Monday night at Madison Square Garden.[br /] [br /]Matisse is in the working group, which he's won the last two years at Westminster. The sporting, working and terrier winners will be selected Tuesday night, with retired California trial-court judge David Merriam choosing the best in show right before 11 p.m.[br /] [br /]If picked, Matisse would become the first Portie to win America's top dog show. Among the other prime contenders: Swagger the old English sheepdog finished second at Westminster in 2013 and Nathan the bloodhound won the recent National show that's tape-delayed and televised on Thanksgiving Day.[br /] [br /]"At this point, we're just focused on getting him to the ring healthy and happy," Lint said. "The results are the results."[br /] [br /]Matisse definitely knows his way around the ring. The nation's top-winning show dog in 2014 likes to entertain his fans. He often gets into the "downward dog" yoga position, stretching his back, as he approaches the judge.[br /] [br /]He has that "hard to identify quality, that je ne sais quoi," Lint said.[br /] [br /]Lint also was one of breeders for Sunny, who in 2013 joined another Portie named Bo as a pet for President Barack Obama and his family.[br /] [br /]Sunny and Matisse have never met. Not yet, anyway. But who knows? A few months after Uno the beagle won Westminster in 2008, he visited President George W. Bush at the White House.[br /] [br /]With a black, curly coat and a spirited temperament, Matisse mirrors the standards for an ideal Portuguese water dog. His hair is done in a traditional lion clip for the breed, with the muzzle and hindquarters trimmed close.[br /] [br /]Officially, he's GCh - grand champion, in dog parlance - Claircreek Impression De Mattise. Co-owner Donna Gottdenker, an art lover, named him for famed French artist Henri Matisse. Peggy Helming is the third co-owner, having co-owned 2004 Westminster winner Josh the Newfoundland.[br /] [br /]Even though the No. 1-rated show dog wins less than half the time at the Garden, the math for Matisse is formidable.[br /] [br /]Lint, who works in the financial world, keeps a spreadsheet that documents Matisse's previous 399 career shows: 396 wins in the breed round, 332 victories in the group competition.[br /] [br /]"There are certainly characteristics of the individual exhibit that have driven him to this degree of winning," Lint said. "It doesn't defy the imagination or explanation, but those are very impressive totals."[br /] [br /]Living in Chesapeake City, Maryland, and guided by expert handler Michael Scott, Matisse could easily break the best in show record of 275 wins by Mystique, a German shepherd that competed into the mid-1990s.[br /] [br /]Lint, however, said that's not going to happen. After Tuesday, the plans are to enter Matisse in just a few more shows before retiring.[br /] [br /]"We're not striving to meet or break that record," he said. "I'm a firm believer you leave a party before a party leaves you."[br /][br /]The voice of the dog show, David Frei, and some canine representatives joined Eyewitness News Sunday morning.[br /][br /]For more information, visit:[br /][url HREF="The 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is Monday and Tuesday, February 16th and 17th at Madison Square Garden. Visit http://www.thegarden.com/dogshow for tickets.[br /]Additional Info: http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/[br /]" TARGET="The 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is Monday and Tuesday, February 16th and 17th at Madison Square Garden. Visit http://www.thegarden.com/dogshow for tickets.[br /]Additional Info: http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/[br /]" REL="The 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is Monday and Tuesday, February 16th and 17th at Madison Square Garden. Visit http://www.thegarden.com/dogshow for tickets.[br /]Additional Info: http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/[br /]"]http://www.thegarden.com/dogshow for tickets.[/url][br /][url HREF="http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/" TARGET="http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/" REL="http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/"]http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/[/url][br /][br /]Here's what you need to know:[br /][br /]THE FAVORITES: Las Vegas odds maker John Avello lists - for fun, not for betting - a Portuguese water dog as the 4-1 favorite. A solid choice, seeing how Matisse the Portie is among the top-winning show dogs of all time. And he's a cousin to Sunny, President Barack Obama's pet. Swagger the old English sheepdog finished second in 2013 and Nathan the bloodhound is definitely in the mix. Looking for long shots? Try a Norwegian lundehund or a white bull terrier, because there's only one of each kind entered.[br /] [br /]HIS HONOR: Retired California trial court judge David Merriam will choose the winner. He's prominent in the dog world, but has never judged a best in show. So there's no real book on him - does he like terriers or hounds, big dogs or little ones? He won't get to form an early opinion, either. As per Westminster protocol, he'll stay away from the whole show until the very minute he walks into the ring late Tuesday night and sees the final seven contenders.[br /] [br /]HOOP LET THE DOGS OUT: The NBA All-Star Game finished up Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, just in time for Westminster to move in. "We the opening act for the dog show," New York Knicks scorer Carmelo Anthony kidded. On Saturday night, the All-Star festivities were in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center - that's Bark-lays, in dog talk. Jim Brogan knows about both pursuits. In the early 1980s, he played in the NBA with Bill Walton on the San Diego Clippers. Brogan went to the same high school that later produced Kobe Bryant and now is a motivational speaker and youth camp leader. His wife, CJ Thornberry-Brogan, breeds and shows cavalier King Charles spaniels. Sometimes she needs him to fill in as handler. "I get more nervous in the ring than I did taking Magic Johnson into the low post and trying to dunk over him," Brogan said.[br /] [br /]GOOD SPORTS: Boston Red Sox catcher Ryan Hanigan is sending an Australian shepherd that won the breed last February. Former All-Star reliever and current MLB Network analyst Dan Plesac is planning to cover as a correspondent. New York Jets defensive back Darrin Walls also is expected to attend. The most famous athlete with a dog at Westminster was Lou Gehrig, the Yankees Hall of Famer whose German shepherd fared well in 1933.[br /] [br /]DASHIN' AND FASHION: A few blocks from where the dogs walk, there's the catwalk: It's Fashion Week in New York. Fittingly, a lot of thought goes into what people wear into the ring. The dog is supposed to be the star, so handlers try to avoid outfits that draw attention. Wild patterns, glittery accessories and free-flowing clothes are no-nos. Watch two-time Westminster winner Michelle Scott (her husband handles Matisse, by the way) - neatly tailored, solid colors, nothing outlandish, no scrambling around.[br /] [br /]A-PIER HERE: The best-of-breed judging is during the day at Piers 92 and 94, the exhibition spaces that jut into the Hudson River. Group winners - terrier, hound, toy, working, herding, sporting and nonsporting - are picked at night at the Garden. CNBC televises Monday evening, the USA Network does Tuesday. There are two new breeds this year, the coton de Tulear and the wirehaired vizsla.[br /] [br /]IN THE DOGHOUSE: Travel around most anywhere and it's easy to spot Labrador retrievers, Dachshunds, Dalmatians and Chihuahuas. Yet one place they don't show up is on Westminster best in show list. They've never, ever won at this event that began in 1877. Some people say they're almost too popular and too common. Instead, pert terriers and poofed poodles often rule.[br /]