Americans aren't very familiar with the Pumi, a tiny herding dog from Hungary, but they're about to fall in love with this fuzzy little pooch when it competes in the Westminster Dog Show this year.
More than 2,800 dogs from 190 breeds will be competing at the annual event to crown America's top pooches. Every year, new breeds that are becoming more popular are added to the competition.
It takes a lot of work from owners - including keeping detailed records about your dog's family tree - to get a new breed into the competition, but this year there are 3 new types of pups competing.
Pumi
These small, fuzzy dogs with floppy rabbit ears are well known in Hungary but dog owners in America are only just realizing how adorable they are. One of the pumi making their debut this year is a favorite to win the show's big prize, so scoop up one of these little fuzzballs now before they get really popular.
American Hairless Terrier
Once, a rat terrier gave birth to a puppy with no hair. The dog's breeder through this was so cute that they kept breeding hairless terriers, and now we have this breed. They actually need to have their skin moisturized, and they wear suntan lotion when they go outside. It's not everyone's idea of "cute," but this is definitely a unique dog.
Sloughi
These hunting dogs have a LONG history. They're originally from northern Africa, and ancient egyptian paintings show dogs very similar to these ones from as far back as 3,000 BC. Sloughis (say it like "sloo-gee") were used as hunting dogs, and racers. In fact, they're sometimes called "Arabian greyhounds."
