{"id":457356,"date":"2026-02-04T07:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T07:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/457356\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T07:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T07:32:13","slug":"doberman-pinscher-named-penny-wins-top-prize-at-westminster-dog-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/457356\/","title":{"rendered":"Doberman pinscher named Penny wins top prize at Westminster Dog Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Doberman pinscher named Penny has won best in show at the 150th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, earning the US show dogs’ most coveted prize.<\/p>\n

Penny bested six other finalists at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, local time.<\/p>\n

Each dog is judged according to how closely it matches the ideal for its breed.<\/p>\n

Penny not only gets a trophy, ribbons, and bragging rights but, this year, the distinction of winning the milestone 150th annual Westminster show.<\/p>\n

\"Cota<\/p>\n

Also in the running for the top prize was Cota. (AP Photo: Yuki Iwamura)<\/p>\n

The winner came out on top after two days, 2,500 dogs and more than 200 breeds who strutted their stuff at the Westminster Kennel Club.<\/p>\n

Finalists included an Afghan hound named Zaida, a Lhasa apso called JJ, a Maltese named Cookie and an Old English sheepdog dubbed Graham.<\/p>\n

Also in the running were a Chesapeake Bay retriever called Cota and a smooth fox terrier called Wager.<\/p>\n

Lots of others scored meme-able moments or lightened up the crowd, even if they did not make the finals.<\/p>\n

Over two nights of semifinals, spectators cheered extra loud for a Xoloitzcuintli named Calaco, a hairless dog who went around the ring like he had nothing to prove.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Each dog in the show is judged according to how closely it matches the ideal for its breed. (AP Photo: Yuki Iwamura)<\/p>\n

A vizsla named Beamer charmed the crowd by hopping into a box set out for his handler’s tools, and Storm the Newfoundland got laughs when he jumped up on his handler, standing almost as tall as she.<\/p>\n

Spectators cheered so loud for a golden retriever named Oliver that they drowned out the arena’s announcer, and chants of “Lumpy! Lumpy!” resounded as Lumpy the Pekingese strolled before a judge.<\/p>\n

One dog that made history in the semifinals was Millie, a Danish-Swedish Farmdog.<\/p>\n

The small, spry breed just became eligible for the Westminster show this year, and Millie bested about 10 other farmdogs on Tuesday afternoon to get to the evening round.<\/p>\n

“It’s been a very exciting journey” to establish the breed in the United States, said Brita Lemmon, who got her first farmdog in 2000 and competed on Tuesday with one named Coyote.<\/p>\n

Westminster wins often go to pooches with professional handlers or owners with decades \u2014 or even generations \u2014 of experience behind them.<\/p>\n

But just reaching the elite, champions-only show is a major accomplishment in “dogdom”, especially for first-timers such as Joseph Carrero and his Neapolitan mastiff, Dezi.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Lagotto Romagnolo named Boardwalk Here Comes the Sun competed in the sporting group.\u00a0 (AP Photo: Uki Iwamura)<\/p>\n

After yearning for a “Neo” since his teenage years, Mr Carrero finally got one when he was 35.<\/p>\n

A heavy equipment operator from Indian Springs, Nevada, he started showing the dog only because the breeder wanted him to.<\/p>\n

Now, Mr Carrero himself breeds and handles his Neos in the ring, while also working full-time and then some.<\/p>\n

“It’s really hard for us to do this, but we enjoy it, and he enjoys it,” Mr Carrero said as visitors gathered around to greet the jowly, 86-kilogram dog.<\/p>\n

Boerboels, which are formidable guard dogs originally from South Africa, played a major role in how Natalee Ridenhour met her late husband and why she eventually left metropolitan life for a farm in Royse City, Texas.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Ms Ridenhour and a Boerboel named Invictus did something else she once would never have pictured: compete at the Westminster show.<\/p>\n

The 77-kilogram animal, Ms Ridenhour said, “Honestly, the big win is: You’re about the 50th person who’s gotten down in his face and loved on him.”<\/p>\n

AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Doberman pinscher named Penny has won best in show at the 150th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,235567,235566,235565,235569,85,140033,235568],"class_list":{"0":"post-457356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-best-in-show","11":"tag-doberman-pinscher","12":"tag-dog-show","13":"tag-penny-doberman-pinscher","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-westminster","16":"tag-westminster-kennel-club-dog-show"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}