Kousha Navidar: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Kousha Navidar filling in for Brian today. To end the show today, let's take a break from the news and spend a few minutes praising our four legged companions, specifically, our dogs. Tonight's the big finale, the Best in Show contest at the Westminster Dog Show, which I'll note was parodied so brilliantly and warmly by the Christopher Guest crew, including the late, the great Catherine O'Hara in the film Best in Show.

Right now, listeners, I've been excited about this all day, and I'm ready to hear from you. We want to hear what your dog deserves a trophy for. Give us a call, send us a text at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Maybe your dog is well trained like the ones competing at Madison Square Garden and deserves recognition for sitting and rolling over and not jumping on everyone they meet. Or maybe your dog just has the biggest heart, or leaps the highest after that frisbee, or buries your shoes the deepest in the backyard, or lets you dress them up in funny hats. That deserves a medal, right?

That's the dog. Is your dog able to chew up a new dog toy in record time? Make up your award and tell us about it. Text or call 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. What makes your dog the best in show? 212-433-9692. While you're calling in, to kick this off, we're joined by Elias Weiss Friedman, AKA, The Dogist on Instagram. He's the author of the book This Dog Will Change Your Life, and host of the YouTube talk show called DOGS with Elias Weiss Friedman. Welcome back to the show, Elias.

Elias Weiss Friedman: Thanks for having me again.

Kousha Navidar: It's a pleasure to have you here. I am really excited to hear what some of these awards are. I saw that you did your own parody, kind of Westminster. You ran their agility contest yourself. I got to ask, how'd you do? Did you do as well as the dogs?

Elias Weiss Friedman: I think I'm still recovering. A little sore from rolling around, jumping through all the hoops. [laughter] I was in there with 50 kids who were doing the same thing. It was a pretty crazy experience.

Kousha Navidar: The back, the quads, I'm sure it all hurts. Four legs is so much more agile than two. That's what I've always said.

Elias Weiss Friedman: Yes, it was nowhere near as impressive as the dogs.

Kousha Navidar: [laughs] What about your dog? Elsa is your dog's name, right?

Elias Weiss Friedman: Yes, Elsa. She's a husky mix. I think she would be good at agility. It's just she's not very obedient, at least not that I know of. She'll have to watch from the sidelines.

Kousha Navidar: What trophy would you give Elsa?

Elias Weiss Friedman: Let's see. Besides number one, Shedder. [chuckles] I would say she's a comedian. She makes us laugh every day, all day. I would say she gets the trophy for most gorgeous eyes. She's got these striking blue eyes that everyone talks about.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, wow. What does she do that is comedic? Tell me more about that.

Elias Weiss Friedman: I think she doesn't let my wife and I cuddle at all without her intervening.

Kousha Navidar: Sure.

Elias Weiss Friedman: If we're on the couch watching a movie, she's like, "Wait a second, I didn't get the invitation. Move over. That's my spot." Or she'll roll over on her belly to get attention. It's like classic dog things that we can all identify with, but it never gets old.

Kousha Navidar: Yes, absolutely. We've got a caller already. Let's bring him down. We have Ellen in Manhattan. Hey, Ellen, welcome to the show. What would your dog's award be?

Ellen: My dog's award would be for singing along with Mozart.

Kousha Navidar: Wow.

Ellen: His name is Ari, and we call it an aria when he sings. [laughter] I play the piano, and I play a lot of different things, but there's a particular horn concerto that I've been practicing for a while, and he comes in only on that. He comes in at specific spots. He knows when he wants to come in. He sings along, and it's quite beautiful. A lot of the time, he's in the chord-

Kousha Navidar: Oh, wow.

Ellen: -that I'm playing.

Elias Weiss Friedman: He's on tune.

Ellen: He's clearly responding to the music. If you play a video recording of him and he hears it and he starts singing along again, a lot of times he's singing the same thing. He's worked out a part for himself.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, wow. How did you figure this out? Were you playing the piano one day and--

Ellen: Yes, I was playing piano. He started singing along, and then I noticed that he came in at the same spot every time I was practicing that piece. A particular motif. It comes around twice in that movement. He'd sing for a page or two, and then he'd rest. Then when that motif came around again, he came back in.

Kousha Navidar: Wow, that's so amazing.

Elias Weiss Friedman: What kind of dog is he?

Ellen: He's a great Pyrenees mix. He's giant. He's 117 pounds.

Elias Weiss Friedman: He's vocal.

Ellen: He's very vocal, and it's beautiful. He has a very beautiful voice.

Kousha Navidar: Ellen, thank you so much for sharing some beautiful moments of Ari with us. Listeners, we're taking your calls. If you are a dog owner, what award would you give your dog? What do they deserve? Today we are going to have the big finale of the Best in Show contest at the Westminster Dog Show. We're hearing from you about your awards for your dogs. Give us a call at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Elias, for your very popular Instagram account @thedogist, which I follow, I love. You meet and interview a lot of New York City dogs and their owners. Do city dogs deserve a medal, I don't know, for walking on sidewalks and sharing dog runs? How would you describe what New York City dogs would deserve for a medal?

Elias Weiss Friedman: I think they all deserve an award. A lot of dogs have the same type of things they do that make us happier, whether it's celebrating us when we come home or making us feel less self conscious about everything we do because dogs don't see themselves as-- They see themselves as enough as they are. Things people tell me when I'm walking around, funny anecdotes like they always poop in the crosswalk. [laughter] Why are they deciding that that's the spot?

To more profound things, like someone who was going through cancer and the dog was the one thing that kept her going to the gym, going out of the house, maintaining a normal lifestyle. The range of rewards we can give our dogs is anything from silly to remarkable.

Kousha Navidar: Let's go through some texts that we have received. There's some funny ones here. Here's one. "My 20 pound terrier deserves a gold medal for sitting on the couch in such a way that she appears to be a middle aged man in boxer shorts and an undershirt holding a can of beer." Kind of a Homer Simpsons motif, I'm getting there, from the 20 pound terrier. Thank you so much for that text. Here's another one. "My dog once won most eye catching at a community garden event. He was a husky German shepherd mix with two different colored eyes. A magic dog named Cole." Thanks for sharing that about Cole.

Here's another one. "My dog would win the award for eating dinner 50 times and looks like it's the first time she's managed to fool us over and over again. We now have a family group chat to know who has fed her." That I think a lot of people can relate to. Here's another one we've got. "The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde award cute to evil in less than 30 seconds." Oh, that's great. I'd be interested to know what kind of dog that is that has that Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde vibe going on. Let's go to some more callers. We've got Kim in Wilmington, North Carolina. Hey, Kim, welcome to the show.

Kim: Hi. Thanks. My dog Juno is a German shepherd mix, and she sheds-- I've had plenty of dogs, and she sheds like nobody's business. Do you remember Pig-Pen from the Charlie Brown-

Kousha Navidar: Oh, yes.

Kim: -and just things falling off of him? That's her. It's just a constant cloud of blonde hair.

Kousha Navidar: A wake of cloud everywhere that you're going. Go ahead, Elias.

Elias Weiss Friedman: [unintelligible 00:08:56] vacuum deserves an award, really.

Kim: Oh, me and the vacuum. I sweep and vacuum multiple times a day. I'm doing it right now as we speak.

Elias Weiss Friedman: My dog is the same way. Once you are finished vacuuming, it's time to vacuum again.

Kim: Exactly.

Kousha Navidar: Kim, thank you so much.

Kim: I was just saying to my husband, I could sleep for the rest of my life in one spot and I would never not see her hair.

Kousha Navidar: Kim, what's your dog's name one more time?

Kim: Juno.

Kousha Navidar: Juno. Thank you so much for sharing about Juno. We appreciate it. Let's go to Jordan in Brooklyn. Hey, Jordan, what would your award for your dog be?

Jordan: Hey, how are you?

Kousha Navidar: Good.

Jordan: My dog Ziggy's award would be for collecting the most rocks in his mouth at one time. He's currently up to five at one time, which is pretty amazing.

Kousha Navidar: Wow.

Jordan: He looks exactly like a sexy Scooby-Doo. That's another [unintelligible 00:09:48].

[laughter]

Kousha Navidar: Sexy Scooby-Doo.

Elias Weiss Friedman: Is he a Great Dane?

Jordan: Yes, he's a Great Dane German shepherd mix.

Elias Weiss Friedman: Wow.

Kousha Navidar: That's wonderful. Jordan, thank you so much. I wonder what happens with all of those rocks. Like five at a time. I guess that they have a rock garden, maybe, outside.

Elias Weiss Friedman: He's a rock star.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, there you go. Tell me this, Elias, what about all the snow that we're dealing with? Maybe there should be a medal for dogs who really love the snow, like the Winter versus the Summer Olympic Games.

Elias Weiss Friedman: Some of the dogs are better prepared for it than others. My dog has a double layered coat, so she doesn't even need a jacket. This is her time to shine. That big snow day, seeing her with all the snow on her coat was just like this majestic creature. Whereas some dogs have short hair, they need all the jackets and booties. They get cold and shiver otherwise. We're also seeing how often dogs pee, realistically, around the city. You walk down the street, and it doesn't wash away like it usually does.

Kousha Navidar: Yes, absolutely. There's artifacts there that we can track.

Elias Weiss Friedman: Exactly.

Kousha Navidar: I'm wondering for you, how is it going to the Westminster Dog Show? What's that experience like for you? What are you looking forward to today?

Elias Weiss Friedman: It's incredible seeing-- These dogs are exquisite. These people are extremely dedicated to maintaining these often very obscure breeds, things that I'd never see on the street, typically. Sealyham Terrier, Xoloitzcuintlis, Afghan Hounds. It's just incredible seeing the variety of dogs, and seeing the origin of where a lot of our dogs came from. It's obviously very niche. If you've seen the movie Best in Show, I know it's considered to be a mockumentary, but I've spoken to handlers there, and they say it's more of a documentary.

Kousha Navidar: [laughs] How about from your perspective? How accurate is the movie?

Elias Weiss Friedman: I would agree.

Kousha Navidar: Yes, you would agree.

Elias Weiss Friedman: It's one of my favorite movies. Rest in Peace, Catherine O'Hara. You go there, and they've captured a lot of it. One of the things that stands out are the outfits, especially on the female handlers. There's sequins everywhere. There's just this theme. It's a little bit old school, I think. The male handlers, they have sequins on their tie. It's so that they can stand out but not overshadow the dog. It's unlike anything else. It's very special. I'm excited to go see Best in Show this evening at Madison Square Garden. I'm glad it's back in the city.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. Let's go-- if we can get Emily on line two on the line. Emily from Suffolk. Hi, Emily. Welcome to the show.

Emily: Hey, Kousha, how are you?

Kousha Navidar: [laughs] Hi, Emily. This is my cousin Emily. Hi, Emily. Thanks. You want to talk about Tony, I'm guessing, right?

Emily: Yes, Tony. I adopt and foster senior dogs and cats, and Tony's been my dog for the last five years. He would probably win an award for Most Confused. [laughter] He's at that senior dog phase where he's always perplexed about everything.

Kousha Navidar: Emily, tell me more about the work that you do volunteering for dogs and cats.

Emily: We like to clear the shelters, and we definitely try to take in seniors, especially. They're often overlooked, but they're amazing additions to your family. I like to take in a lot of the seniors.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. Emily, I am a big fan of Tony as and I completely agree. Most Confused would be the award that he would win, hands down. Thank you so much for calling, Emily. I really appreciate it. I'll talk to you later. We're about to wrap up, Elias, but I was wondering, for you-- let's go back to the Best in Show contest. Do you have a favorite tonight or something you're looking out for?

Elias Weiss Friedman: Of the groups I know, I've seen the Afghan, the Maltese, the Lhasa Apso, the Old English. Those have been chosen so far. We'll see who get chosen of the other group. I feel like the crowd favorite will be the Old English Sheepdog, the ultimate fluffy dog. You know what? The Lhasa Apso will be my choice. They look like walking wigs, if that's a thing.

Kousha Navidar: We'll have to leave it there with all these prize-worthy dogs. Congratulations to the winners. Thank you to The Doggist, as Elias Weiss Friedman is known on Instagram. You can catch him here or on YouTube or with the book This Dog Will Change your Life. Thanks, Elias.

Elias Weiss Friedman: Thank you for having me.

Kousha Navidar: Of course. I hope you all enjoy the show tonight if you're going to check it out. That's it for today's show. I'm Kousha Navidar, and this is The Brian Lehrer Show. Thanks for hanging out with us, and stay tuned for All of It.

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