westminster
Chester, a Berger Picard, leaps over an obstacle during an agility demonstration at a news conference to introduce the seven new breeds of dogs that will be competing in the 2016 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York, Jan. 21, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar

If you love dogs, then the perfect combination of the Valentine’s Day weekend and this year’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is for you. Canine aficionados, novice and neophyte dog owners and everyone in between will surely have some type of a vested interest in watching man’s best friends prance about during the 140th annual installment of the breed judging.

More than 3,000 dogs are expected to compete for the coveted "Best in Show" award, one of many prizes set to be doled out over the next two days.

To watch a live stream of the competition, you can either click here or watch below.

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

The events are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, with the show hours starting each day at 8 a.m. and concluding at 11 p.m. EST. The schedule includes the breed competition judging/benching and junior showman preliminaries each day, with the first masters obedience championship set to be held Monday, according to the official Westminster Dog Show’s judging program schedule of events.

A handful of TV channels will be broadcasting each day of the annual event, including CNBC, USA, Animal Planet, UNIHD and Fox Sports 1. Click here to find out the television schedule.

The event, as always, is happening in New York City at two locations, Madison Square Garden and Piers 92 and 94 on the Hudson River.

What is traditionally called Westminster Week got its name from a hotel in Manhattan, according to the show’s organizers. After the first Westminster Dog Show in 1877, the event was met with rave reviews, including this one from Forest and Stream magazine:

"To say that the dog show held in the city last week was a success would but poorly convey an idea of what the result really was. It was a magnificent triumph for the dogs and for the projectors of the show. We question if on any previous occasion has there ever assembled in this city such a number of people at one time, and representing as much of the culture, wealth and fashion of the town."

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