Tonight starts with the popular with Southerners, Sporting and Hound Groups. I have a lot of family in middle TN’s Natchez Trace area and it never failed to amaze me to see purebred hound dogs by the dozens living around (and under) run-down trailers. My grandparents owned Brittanys and I think it was no coincidence that my grandfather lived less than a year after the last one died. The Sporting Group is also the group with the most popular dog in America, the Golden Retriever. I have known many people with Goldens and I don’t deny that they are sweet and gentle giants, but they are not the brightest bulbs. I worked with a bright, athletic woman who owned a Rhodesian Ridgeback. She joked that it slowed her jogging down only slightly when the dog would hunt and eat a squirrel during their runs through the park.

Update: The English Springer won the Sporting Group. The winner of the Hound group is the Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen (or PBGV for those of us who get confused easily). This is such a popular breed right now that I expect to start seeing them with increasing frequency.