PHOTOS: Good things come in small packages at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

NEW YORK (TND) — At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Tuesday, one of the earliest moments of contention came when a pug began to misbehave mid-competition. The pug's handler traced the source of the bad behavior to another pug munching on grass and watching the judging from behind the fence. She asked the dog's owners to move further away from the ring, taking their happily eating pet with them. They complied, the disobedient pug relaxed and any true conflict was avoided.

Other hurdles (not literally — the agility portion of the show already took place Saturday, June 18) included trying to find an available chair to cart around from one ring to the next, rushing for shelter under the tent at the first drop of rain from a consistently threatening gray sky and avoiding stepping on an impossibly tiny Chihuahua or Pomeranian while weaving through the crowds gathered within that tent. There was also aPekingese who walked out of the ring instead of completing a final lap and another of the same breed who stopped short of the full circle and had to be convinced to shuffle along for the last few feet.

As the day progressed, the dogs seemed to get bigger, with breeds like the standard poodle, the Xoloitzcuintli, and theDalmatian occupying afternoon judging time slots, and it began to feel more likely that a dog hurrying over to the ring or an excited one on its way out would run headfirst into a human.

Of course, the biggest dogs have to wait until Wednesday to compete for Best of Breed when the working group finally gets a chance to shine; the sporting group will also be judged on the dog show's final day. Tuesday's daytime portion featured the terrier group, the non-sporting group, and the toy group, the latter responsible for all of the teeny tiny dogs no larger than a shoe that had to be so carefully avoided.

In the evening on Tuesday, the Best of Breed winners from the hound, toy, non-sporting and herding groups amassed in a much larger tent on the Lyndhurst Estate property in Tarrytown, New York. There, they vied for the opportunity to advance to the Best in Show competition Wednesday night. For the hounds, the honors went to Trumpet the bloodhound, and River the Germanshepherd took the prize for the herding dogs. The non-sporting group will be represented Wednesday by Winston the French bulldog and the toy group by Hollywood the Maltese.

Not every dog can win Best in Show, but they can still win a place in your heart, so check out the photo gallery to appreciate all of the pups who competed Tuesday.