Monty the Giant Schnauzer is the new top dog.
On Feb. 11, 5-year-old Monty won the highly-coveted Best in Show prize at the 149th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Presented by Purina Pro Plan.
The 2025 show marked the event’s return to Madison Square Garden in New York City after a 4-year hiatus from the venue that took the popular dog show to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and Lyndhurst Estate following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Westminster Dog Show is the second-longest continuous sporting event in the U.S. and has crowned dozens of dogs over 149 years. Monty is the first Giant Schnauzer to win Best in Show at Westminster. Monty – GCHG CH Hearthmore’s Wintergreen Mountain RI CGC TKN FITB – beat over 2,500 other dogs from more than 200 breeds to earn the top prize of Westminster’s confirmation show. Best in Show Judge Paula Nykiel made the final decision.
Before moving on to the Best in Show round, Monty won both the Best in Breed title for the Giant Schnauzer and the Best in Group honor for the Working Group.
To take the purple ribbon home, Monty triumphed over a Best in Show round that featured six other talented canines. The other pups who competed in the Best in Show round were Bourbon the Whippet of the Hound Group, Mercedes the German Shepherd of the Herding Group, Neal the Bichon Frisé of the Non-Sporting Group, Comet the Shih Tzu of the Toy Group, Freddie the English Springer Spaniel of the Sporting Group, and Archer the Skye Terrier of the Terrier Group. Bourbon the Whippet went on to win Reserve Best in Show, the canine competition’s runner-up title.
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Monty didn’t win on their own; the dog was led to victory by their handler, Kate Bernadin. The pair also won the 2024 AKC National Championship. The Giant Schnauzer takes the Best in Show crown from Sage the Miniature Poodle, who trotted away with the title during the 2024 Westminster Dog Show.
Another winner from this year’s popular, pooch-filled event was Vanish the Border Collie, who won the 12th Annual Masters Agility Championship at Westminster alongside her owner/handler, Emily Klarman.
