Monty the Big Schnauzer is the brand new high canine.
On Feb. 11, 5-year-old Monty gained the highly-coveted Greatest in Present prize on the 149th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Presented by Purina Pro Plan.
The 2025 present marked the occasion’s return to Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis after a 4-year hiatus from the venue that took the favored canine present to the USTA Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Heart and Lyndhurst Property following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Westminster Canine Present is the second-longest steady sporting occasion within the U.S. and has topped dozens of canines over 149 years. Monty is the primary Big Schnauzer to win Greatest in Present at Westminster. Monty – GCHG CH Hearthmore’s Wintergreen Mountain RI CGC TKN FITB – beat over 2,500 different canines from greater than 200 breeds to earn the highest prize of Westminster’s affirmation present. Greatest in Present Choose Paula Nykiel made the ultimate choice.
Earlier than transferring on to the Greatest in Present spherical, Monty gained each the Greatest in Breed title for the Big Schnauzer and the Greatest in Group honor for the Working Group.
To take the purple ribbon dwelling, Monty triumphed over a Greatest in Present spherical that featured six different proficient canines. The opposite pups who competed within the Greatest in Present spherical have been 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 Greatest in Present, the canine competitors’s runner-up title.
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Monty did not win on their very own; the canine was led to victory by their handler, Kate Bernadin. The pair additionally gained the 2024 AKC Nationwide Championship. The Big Schnauzer takes the Greatest in Present crown from Sage the Miniature Poodle, who trotted away with the title throughout the 2024 Westminster Canine Present.
One other winner from this yr’s standard, pooch-filled occasion was Vanish the Border Collie, who gained the twelfth Annual Masters Agility Championship at Westminster alongside her proprietor/handler, Emily Klarman.
