Dog Show 101: What's what at the Westminster Kennel Club

[February 07, 2025]  By JENNIFER PELTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — The Westminster Kennel Club dog show is back for a 149th year — and back at New York's Madison Square Garden for the first time since early 2020.

It's a happy homecoming for the United States' most prestigious canine event, which moved to venues outside Manhattan in recent years because of the coronavirus pandemic and then other considerations. But organizers longed to return to the self-described World’s Most Famous Arena.

“If you love dogs and you want to see the very best dogs from all around the world competing for the top prize of best in show at Westminster, just be there,” club President Donald Sturz said. For fans who can't be there in person, Fox Sports is showing the event's various components on FS1 and FS2 and streaming some on the network's website and app; Westminster is streaming some others. The competition spans Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, with best in show awarded around 11 p.m. Tuesday on the East Coast.

Might Mercedes, the German shepherd who was Westminster’s runner-up last year, become top dog this time? Or could this be the year for Monty the giant schnauzer, who was a Westminster finalist the last two years, won the American Kennel Club’s big show in December and is currently the sport's top-ranked dog? Will the prize go to another high-ranking dog — or a dark horse?

Here are the basics on Westminster and the dog show world it epitomizes.

When is Westminster?

It begins Saturday morning at the Javits Center convention hall with agility and obedience championships and some demonstration events, including Westminster's first experiment with flyball. That's essentially a canine relay race that involves running a course of jumps and retrieving a ball.

The traditional, breed-by-breed judging — what show folk call “conformation” — unfolds Monday and Tuesday. First-round competition, where dogs are judged against others of their breed, happens during the daytime at the Javits Center. Then, in what are essentially semifinals, each breed winner is judged against others within its “group” of dozens of breeds at Madison Square Garden in the evenings. In the final round, the seven group winners compete for best in show Tuesday night.

At each level, judges decide which dog in the ring best matches the ideal, or “standard,” for its own breed.

How many dogs?

About 2,500 dogs from 201 breeds and varieties (subsets of breeds) are signed up to compete.

Hailing from every U.S. state and 12 other countries, contestants include such familiar breeds as golden retrievers and such rarities as sloughis. No doodles, though. At least for now, those poodle mixes aren't recognized as purebreds by the American Kennel Club, the governing body for Westminster and many other U.S. dog shows.

Dachshunds are the best-represented breed, with 52 entered.

The agility and obedience contests involve a few hundred more dogs, including mixed-breed ones. Last year a border collie-papillion combination named Nimble became the first mixed-breed winner in the agility trial’s decade-long history.

How do dogs get into the show?

First, breeders determine which puppies are physically and temperamentally suited for showing. Those pups are raised, trained and groomed to put their best paw forward in the show ring. “Beginner puppies” can start competing in AKC shows at 4 months.

Comet, a Shih Tzu, competes in breed group judging at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, May 13, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Some owners exhibit their own dogs where and when they can. Others have professional handlers who crisscross the country to compete most weekends, sometimes with multiple pooches.

Trying for a national ranking is known as “campaigning” a dog, and no wonder. As in politics, hopefuls — or, here, their owners and handlers — may gather intel about rivals’ plans and either seek or avoid a face-off. They may weigh a particular judge's record. Some even run full-page ads in dog magazines to congratulate, salute and promote their animals.

Are there favorites?

All Westminster dogs are champions, as measured by their sport's complicated point system. But yes, there are stats, kept by the Canine Chronicle magazine.

Besides Monty and Mercedes, entrants include Vito, a pug who won the National Dog Show televised Thanksgiving Day, along with 2024 Westminster semifinalists Comet the shih tzu and Louis the Afghan hound. There's a high-ranking otterhound, representing one of the country's rarer breeds, and a big-winning wire fox terrier, whose breed won more than any other at Westminster.

Still, show cognoscenti often say victory goes to “the dog on the day,” meaning the one that has the performance of a lifetime.

And regardless which dog the judge chooses, others sometimes win the audience's heart. Among the crowd faves over the years: a Sussex spaniel who sat up straight on his hind legs before the judge; a treat-seeking Leonberger who gnawed at his handler’s pocket while going around the ring; and a shiba inu shown by a 10-year-old girl.

What breeds win most?

Wire fox terriers have taken the top prize 15 times, most recently in 2019. Poodles of various sizes have 11 wins. A miniature poodle named Sage won last year.

Many breeds haven't won yet, including such favorites as the French bulldog and Labrador retriever. But never say never: Two of the last three winners have been firsts for their breeds: the petit basset griffon Vendéen and the bloodhound.

What do winners get?

Bragging rights, ribbons and trophies. There are no cash prizes, though the agility and obedience winners each get to direct a $5,000 Westminster donation to a training club or the American Kennel Club Humane Fund.

OK, it's prestigious, but aren't there protests?

Animal rights activists routinely protest outside, and sometimes inside, the show. During last year's final round, someone carrying a sign reading “boycott breeders” tried to climb into the ring. The demonstrator was quickly intercepted and arrested.

The Westminster club says it promotes responsible dog ownership and celebrates all canines while highlighting the “preservation” of breeds with particular traits.

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