16th Annual ‘National Dog Show Presented By Purina’ Airs On Thanksgiving Day

As traditional as turkey and cranberries are on Thanksgiving Day, “The National Dog Show Presented by Purina” is a favorite of millions of people who tune in to watch the televised program as part of their holiday. This year’s show promises to be one of the best ever with 2,135 dogs competing, the highest entry in the past 10 years.  

Hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, the National Dog Show is one of three benched dog shows in the country. The Saturday dog show will air on NBC at noon in all time zones on Thanksgiving Day, November 23.

Returning as co-hosts are John O’Hurley of “Seinfeld” and “Dancing With the Stars” fame and David Frei, a veteran dog show analyst, who have provided commentary for the show since it began in 2002. Mary Carillo, best known for her NBC coverage of the Olympics, joined them in 2010.

Exhibitors attending the show who are members of Purina Pro Club can earn 2,000 bonus points as Purina advocates by bringing a friend to the Pro Club VIP booth at the Friday and Sunday shows.* Your friend will receive a free gift.

In the spirit of giving thanks, Purina continues its #DogThanking initiative by inviting dog owners to tweet what makes their dog the best. For every unique tweet submitted on Thanksgiving Day using the hashtag and tagging @Purina, Purina will donate $1 to Greater Good — up to $50,000 — to help support hurricane relief for pets and people who love them. Greater Good is an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization devoted to improving the health and well-being of people, pets and the planet that gives more than $100 million to its charity partners worldwide.

For three straight years, the National Dog Show Best in Show and Group First winners have been Purina Pro Plan-fed dogs. In 2016, “Gia,” the Greyhound, took Best in Show, and the Group First winners were “Timmy,” an English Springer Spaniel, “Rondo,” a West Highland White Terrier, “Clue,” a Tibetan Terrier, “Ty,” a Giant Schnauzer, “Chuckie,” a Pekingese, and “Slick,” a Border Collie. Check out the 2016 National Dog Show recap to find out more about last year’s winners.

Be sure to tune into this year’s National Dog Show! Best of luck to all those competing.  

* Purina Pro Club members can only earn bonus points one time for this event. Allow two to three weeks for points to be posted to your account. Only one friend gift per Purina Pro Club member.