Madison Square Garden is divided into 6 rings for judging of different breeds belonging to different groups. These groups and breeds are defined on the Westminster Kennel Club website, if you want to know more about that. A partial list of the dogs to be judged in each ring is posted above the judging table of each ring. You can also view or print a schedule of the judging from the Westminster Kennel Club website or purchase a program at the show.
During the daytime, there are basically 3 ways to enjoy the dog show:
1. Visit the benching area. This is where the dogs and the humans that own, handle, and groom them, hang out when they aren't in the show ring.
2. Walk around floor of Madison Square Garden and watch the judging that is going on in one of the 6 rings.
3. Sit in a seat and view more than one ring from a bit of a distance.
It starts at 8am and gets more and more crowded as the day progresses. Today was President's Day and I think this made it a little more crowded than usual. The crowd is what makes me move from the benching area to the floor to the seats.
The benching area can be a great place to see the different breeds up close and personal. And also talk to the owners, breeders, handlers, and groomers. Of course, as usual, people vary in their friendliness. It's best to be as polite as possible when taking photos or petting the dogs. There is an area in the back of the bench where dogs are groomed, primped before going to the judging rings. You can watch these groomers and see that any dog with more than a short coat gets fluffed or teased and hair products are used. As the day wears on you may even see dogs prepping for the next day's judging. It's a long day for a dog. Arriving early in the morning they have to stay until 8pm. There are also vendor booths in the benching area selling dog related products such as grooming products, dog jewelry, dental products, pedigree gives samples of dog food, dog magazines, pedigree brand apparel, etc. The benching area is only a daytime option.
You can also watch judging from the floor. There are chairs around the rings and if you're lucky you can sit in one. But most people end up standing around. It's as close as you can get but not necessarily a great view and it could be crowded and uncomfortable at times. On the other hand, you can walk around between the 6 rings as much as you want and look at all the different breeds. This is only a daytime option, the night judging is only viewable from your seat.
When you get tired of being in a crowd and/or standing you can find a seat. During the day the seat designation on your ticket doesn't really matter, just take an empty seat. If the person with the ticket for that seat asks you to move just move - but I've been going for years and it's never happened to me. People sit in their actual seats at night but the daytime is much more lax.
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