National Dog Show Introduces Petcentricplace.Com

On Thanksgiving Day at Noon, Purina televised the annual National Dog Show hosted by John O'Hurley best known for his portrayal in Seinfield and competing on Dancing With the Stars. Also hosting were David Frei, the resident dog expert, and Andrea from Animal Planet who did the behind-the-scenes interviews. The show held in Reading, Pennsylvania and broadcast by NBC on November 27 has become a Thanksgiving Day tradition for many. Best in show for 2008 was a young female English pointer handled by Michael Scott. The beautiful pointer named Holly, whose AKC registered real name is Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry has been a consistent winner and fan favorite.

The real star of the show, however, was a little 7-month-old puppy Shih Tzu named Lacey who simply refused to walk the ring when her audition came up. After much prodding by the handler, the tiny stubborn puppy with a pink bow on her head simply plopped down and gave a smug face for the cameras. The audience roared in the background and even the judge could not help but give a grin. As a Shih Tzu owner myself, I can tell you these dogs can be quite obstinate and bossy, so the handler had her work cut out for her. You can catch videos of all the dogs at this link: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/11168131 which was covered by MSNBC and the sports team.

During the show, Purina offered to their audience the opportunity to log on to Petcentric.com and Petcentricplace.com which are the latest websites for pet lovers especially owners of dogs and cats. Purina, maker of pet foods such as Milk-Bone dog biscuits, has opened shop and announced the official launch during the National annual Thanksgiving Dog Show telecast on NBC television. That a pointer was best in show is apt since Purina's new website now points the way to many exciting things ahead for pet lovers who want to get together and share photos and even videos.

Although there were error messages at Petcentric.com probably due to higher than usual traffic, the website allows you to profile both you and your pet. There is a place for telling about your pet's like and dislikes as well as their favorite toy. Since a well-known company such as Purina is hosting this free website, there are few questions about wet and dry pet foods, but you can also receive coupons and emails about animal training, grooming, travel with your pet and other opportunities. They also offered a two-for-one pet food deal and links so that you can look in on other pet lover profiles.

When you download your pictures watch the fine print, there is a larger-than-normal minimum requirement. There is a four-part process to get to completion of joining the website. If you log into Petcentric.com this should take you into Petcentricplace.com the community website, however, I did have to sign-up at both places. Once in the Petcentricplace.com site you can include 1) your information 2) pet information, and 3) any market information applicable to your pet.

The site looks pretty good so far and allows you to send Christmas Pet Cards and Carols online. I imagine there will be more in store when the word gets out. I especially enjoyed reading other pet profiles and glad to see that even pets have a place to voice their own opinions and have a say.