What to know about the 150th Westminster dog show
It’s show time in New York for thousands of competitors, as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show marks its 150th edition. The judging begins with breed-by-breed competition, officially known as “conformation,” scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at a mix of the Javits Center convention hall and Madison Square Garden. Best in show will be awarded at the Garden around 11 p.m. EST Tuesday.
For viewers who can’t attend in person, Fox Sports will air components of the event on FS1 and FS2 and through its streaming platforms, with Westminster also offering streaming for some parts of the coverage. The broadcast schedule is designed to reach fans across multiple devices and channels while the competition progresses through its different stages.
The lineup is built for breadth as well as depth. Some 2,500 dogs from 212 breeds and varieties are signed up for Westminster’s main competition, according to the event preview. The roster includes entries from every U.S. state as well as competitors from 18 other countries, and the note accompanying the preview adds that doodles are not included because they are not recognized as distinct breeds by the American Kennel Club, which governs Westminster and many other U.S. dog shows.
Alongside the main judging, Westminster’s timeline also includes other events. A few hundred additional dogs, including mixed-breed contestants, competed Saturday in the show’s agility and flyball contests. The preview positions those contests as part of the broader weekend program rather than part of the main conformation pathway leading to best in show.
Among the entrants to watch, the preview highlights Comet, Neal and Zaida, while also naming Soleil, a Belgian sheepdog that won the National Dog Show televised last Thanksgiving Day, and JJ, a Lhasa apso who is described as having won the AKC National Championship that aired in late December. It also mentions that the runners-up from those shows—George, an American foxhound, and a Gordon setter named River—are due at Westminster, and it calls out Baby Joe, a miniature schnauzer that topped national dog show standings for 2025, plus Penny, a Doberman pinscher climbing the rankings after a standout showing in last year’s Westminster semifinals.
How dogs advance at Westminster depends on standards at multiple levels. Dogs are judged against others of their breed first, and then each breed winner moves up to compete in its “group,” such as terriers or herding dogs. In the final round, the seven group winners compete for best in show, with judges at each stage selecting the dog that best matches the ideal “standard” for its breed.
The preview also ties the weekend’s atmosphere to familiar storylines from past years. It notes that Daniel, a golden retriever who was a 2020 crowd favorite, is among eight past finalists or winners set to return for a special presentation Monday night, alongside Bono the Havanese, Wilma the boxer, and Siba, the standard poodle described as having defeated them all to claim the 2020 best in show award. The preview frames the event as a champions-only tournament in which any finalist can ultimately take the trophy.
Winners at Westminster receive recognition rather than cash. The preview says there are no cash prizes, but that the agility winner gets to direct a $5,000 Westminster donation to a training club or to the American Kennel Club Humane Fund. It describes the event’s competitive rewards as “bragging rights, ribbons and trophies.”
Alongside the competitive format, Westminster also faces public scrutiny. Animal welfare activists routinely protest the show, arguing it functions as an irresponsible canine beauty contest that overlooks shelter dogs’ predicament and some purebred health problems. For the milestone show this year, the preview says PETA plans to demonstrate outside the venue and has erected billboards nearby featuring messages including that “flat-faced dogs struggle to breathe,” which it links to aspects of the animal rights group’s ongoing lawsuit against the American Kennel Club. The preview adds that the AKC has called the case frivolous and is trying to get it dismissed.
The Westminster club’s response is framed as a commitment to care and breeding standards. The preview says the club notes that it donates to rescue groups, veterinary scholarships and other endeavors that help dogs, and it includes a quote from club President Donald Sturz, who said that “shows an overarching commitment to responsible dog ownership and responsible dog breeding.”