Arts & Entertainment

Westminster Dog Show: 'Best In Show' Winner, Breed Runner-Ups Announced

Patch is reporting live from night two of the Westminster Dog Show.

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MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — New York Fashion Week was but a frivolous and far-off parade of overpriced dishrags for the dedicated dog breeders/showers/lovers of the 141st annual Westminster Dog Show. They steered clear of the Manhattan catwalks this Monday and Tuesday, instead flocking by the thousands to Pier 92, Pier 94 and Madison Square Garden in search of the annual answer to one of life's most pressing questions: Who will be named "Best in Show"?

And just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, they got their answer: Rumor, a widely loved German Shepherd who came close to winning the title last year.

"She is just magnificent," the head judge said.

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Asked what she would do now that she was a Westminster champion, Rumor's owner said: "She's going to relax a while, then we're going to find an appropriate husband for her."

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This year, more than 3,200 of the world's sexiest and strangest-looking dogs — including specimens from three new breed categories — vied for the title. (Scroll to the bottom of this post for a full list of breed winners.)

We'll be reporting live from the show through the final ribbon ceremony on Tuesday evening, so check back for updates. Or, for dispatches from the scene sent straight to your inbox, along with other local news from your NYC neighborhood, subscribe to Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts.

How To Watch Live

Live streams from the show's breed-by-breed competitions on Monday and Tuesday are available to watch at the Westminster Kennel Club website.

The group competition for the Sporting, Working and Terrier breeds will then be live-streamed Tuesday at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports GO, but you'll need a cable TV login to access it.

Or, if you've got a TV, tune to the Fox Sports 1 (FS1) channel at 8 p.m.

The show's grand finale — the "Best in Show" competition — will then air on those same platforms Tuesday sometime before 11 p.m.

New Dog Breeds

Three new dog breeds are competing in the Westminster Dog Show this year — none of which are very easy on the eyes. (See portraits below.)

First off, we've got the Sloughi, a thin, hound-type dog originating from North Africa. Secondly, there's the Pumi, a shaggy herding dog from Hungary. And finally, there's the American Hairless Terrier, which looks pretty much exactly like you'd imagine it might.

Cats — yes, cats — also made a cameo over the weekend at the Westminster Dog Show's "Meet the Breeds" event, although their event didn't get near the same respect nor pomp as the dog competition. Persian, Toyger, Sphynx and Siamese cats were all on display. Mostly they just laid around, but a few daring owners ran their cats through a special "agility course." Here are some pics from Gothamist.

How The Judging Works

Each dog breed is graded on a separate set of criteria, as decided upon by the all-powerful Westminster Kennel Club. Judges have certain expectations about how each breed should look, move and behave — and the dog that best meets/exceeds these expectations is declared No. 1 among its breedmates.

For the group competitions Monday and Tuesday nights, best-in-breed winners in each of seven categories — Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting, Herding, Sporting, Working and Terrier — will compete to become the show's seven "group winners."

And lastly, for the coveted "Best in Show" title, made especially famous by the hilarious early-2000s film of the same name, these seven finalists will be pitted against each other on the green. The dogs will still, though, only be judged on how well they meet standards for their own breed. (If that makes any sense.)

Here are some of the dog traits taken into account by judges:

  • Overall body proportions and weight
  • Thickness, length and color of fur
  • Tail quality
  • How a dog walks (or its gait)
  • Attitude

Live From The Westminster Dog Show

We'll be live-tweeting from Pier 92, Pier 94 and Madison Square Garden on Monday and Tuesday — choice updates below. Check back for all the weirdest, wildest and most cultishly important moments from this year's event.


Winners And Losers

Here's where we'll be tracking who wins (and who loses) in each of the seven dog groups and, eventually, Best in Show. Yes, the dogs' names are supposed to be long and bizarre — it's tradition!

BEST IN SHOW

Winner: German Shepherd: Lockenhaus' Rumor Has It V Kenlyn, or "Rumor"

HOUNDS

Winner: Norwegian Elkhound: Vin-Melca's Daggarwood Delight, or "Duffy" (Full Norwegian Elkhound results here)


Runners up:


TOYS

Winner: Pekingese: Pequest Pickwick, or "Chucky" (Full Pekingese results here)


Runners up:


NON-SPORTING DOGS

Winner: Poodle (Miniature): Danfour Avalon As If, or "Aftin" (Full Results)

Runners up:


HERDING DOGS

Winner: German Shepherd: Lockenhaus' Rumor Has It V Kenlyn, or "Rumor" (Full Results)

Runners up:


JUNIOR HANDLER

Winner:


SPORTING DOGS

Winner: Setter (Irish): Vermilion's Sea Breeze, or "Adrian" (Full Results)

Runners up:

WORKING DOGS

Winner: Boxer: Mephisto's Speak Of The Devil, or "Devlin" (Full Results)


Runners up:

TERRIERS

Winner: Norwich Terrier: Taliesin Twice As Nice, or "Tanner" (Full Results)

Runners up:

Photos by Simone Wilson/Patch


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