Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. Penny the Doberman Pinscher was crowned Best in Show on Tuesday night as the 2026 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show reached its finale.
AP reports veteran handler Andy Linton couldn’t be happier to bag another win after nearly four decades. Linton got best in show in 1989 with another Doberman, named Indy, and his dogged determination has finally paid off with another victory.
Penny “is as great a Doberman as I have ever seen,” Linton told a supportive crowd at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Despite health problems, he guided his four-year-old charge through an impeccably crisp performance, the AP report notes.
Graham, an Old English Sheepdog, winner of Hearding Group, prepares backstage during the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show – Junior Showmanship, Group Judging (Sporting, Working, Terrier) + Best In Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Westminster Kennel Club)
“I had some goals, and this was one of them,” Linton said, adding later in a conversation with reporters that as he’s winding down his career, winning at the milestone 150th annual Westminster show is “extra-special.”
Runner-up — and cheers just as loud — went to a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Cota. While Dobermans have won five times including Tuesday, no retriever has ever won, and their fans applaud every encouraging sign.
A performer and his dog perform during the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show – Junior Showmanship, Group Judging (Sporting, Working, Terrier) + Best In Show at Madison Square Garden. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Westminster Kennel Club)
JJ, a Lhasa Apso, 1st place winner of Non-Sporting Group, competes during the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Westminster Kennel Club)
A German Shorthaired Pointer competes in the Sporting Group during the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden on February 03, 2026 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty)
The AP report further sets out, “Other finalists included an Afghan hound named Zaida, a Lhasa apso called JJ, a Maltese named Cookie, an old English sheepdog dubbed Graham and a smooth fox terrier called Wager. The judge, two-time Westminster-winning handler David Fitzpatrick, called the lineup one ‘that will go down in history.’”
The remaining group winners were:
Herding group: Graham the Old English Sheepdog
Hound group: Zaida the Afghan Hound
Non-sporting group: JJ (short for Jingle Juice) the Lhasa Apso
Terrier group: Wager the Smooth Fox Terrier
Toy group: Cookie the Maltese
Dogs in every category are judged on how closely they embody the ideal characteristics of their breed, with the winner receiving a trophy, ribbons, and significant bragging rights within the dog showing community.
Treats – lots of them – are also rumored to be offered to the four-legged victor Penny on return to her home kennel in Ontario, Canada.
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