This Dog Breed Just Won Westminster—37 Years After Its Last Victory

After rounds of competitive breed and group judging with over 2,500 entries, the Westminster Kennel Club crowned its 150th winner this week—Penny the Doberman Pinscher.

The regal prize-winning pup was named Best in Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Tuesday. Following two days of bench breed judging to determine Best in Breed at the Jacob K. Javits Center, the winning dogs moved on to represent their breeds in group judging at the Midtown venue. From there, the seven group winners were judged to determine Best in Show.

The four-year-old female Doberman Pinscher, whose full name is Penny GCHP CH Connquest Best Of Both Worlds, hails from Reseda, California. She was handled by Andy Linton and is owned by Francis Sparagna, Diana Sparagna, Theresa Connors-Chan, and Gregory Chan. This year’s competition was judged by two-time Best in Show-winning breeder-owner-handler David Fitzpatrick.

"You can’t attribute it to one thing, but she is as great a Doberman as I’ve seen," Linton told the American Kennel Club after the win. "As the judge said, this is maybe the best lineup I could ever imagine, so it’s truly a great honor to win under that judge, who is so renowned and well-thought-of.”

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The other contenders in Best in Show included an Afghan hound, a Maltese, a Lhasa Apso, an Old English Sheepdog, a Smooth Fox Terrier, and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Cota, who won Reserve Best in Show; it's the first time the breed has won the honor at Westminster.

This is the second consecutive year that a member of the Working Group has taken home Best in Show; Monty the Giant Schnauzer won in 2025. The Doberman has won the top title a total of five times: in 1939, back-to-back in 1952 and 1953, in 1989 with Linton, and now in 2026 with Linton again.

Held since 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second-longest, continuously held sporting event in America, second only to the Kentucky Derby. In 2012, Martha's own Chow Chow, Ghenghis Khan, won Best of Breed at the prestigious show.