Best In Show Awards By Breed (1907-2022)
115 total awards. (AKC rules did not allow for a BIS award in 1923.)
TOTAL | BREEDS & VARIETIES | |
15 | Wire Fox Terrier | |
8 | Scottish Terrier | |
6 | English Springer Spaniel | |
5 |
Poodle (Standard) Pekingese |
|
4 |
Airedale Terrier Boxer Doberman Pinscher |
Smooth Fox Terrier Sealyham Terrier |
3 | German Shorthaired Pointer Pointer Poodle (Miniature) | |
2 | Afghan Hound Beagle (15 Inch) Bichon Frise Bulldog Cocker Spaniel (Black) German Shepherd Dog Lakeland Terrier Newfoundland | Norwich Terrier Old English Sheepdog Poodle (Toy) West Highland White Terrier |
1 |
Affenpinscher Bedlington Terrier Bloodhound Bull Terrier (Colored) Bull Terrier (White) Clumber Spaniel Cocker Spaniel (A.S.C.O.B.) Cocker Spaniel (Parti-Color) Collie (Rough) English Setter Irish Water Spaniel Kerry Blue Terrier Papillon |
Pomeranian Pug Scottish Deerhound Siberian Husky Skye Terrier Standard Schnauzer Sussex Spaniel Welsh Terrier Whippet Yorkshire Terrier |
Best In Show Handlers:
Note: The handlers for the Best In Show winning dogs are unknown for 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1922
MOST BEST IN SHOW WINS AS A HANDLER: | |||
4 | *Percy Roberts | 1926, 1927, 1934, 1937 | |
4 | *Peter Green | 1968, 1977, 1994, 1998 | |
3 | Donald Munro | 1907, 1908, 1909 (same dog) | |
3 | *Anne Hone Rogers | 1956, 1959, 1961 | |
3 | *Gabriel Rangel | 2010, 2014, 2019 | |
2 | John G. Bates | 1930, 1931 (same dog) | |
2 | *McClure Halley | 1932, 1939 | |
2 | *Robert Gorman | 1942, 1958 | |
2 | H.E. Mellenthin | 1940, 1941 (same dog) | |
2 | *Nate Levine | 1947, 1951 | |
2 | *Peter Knoop | 1952, 1953 (same dog) | |
2 | *George Ward | 1962, 1985 | |
2 | *Clint Harris | 1971, 1972 (same dog) | |
2 | *William Trainor | 1979, 1982 | |
2 | *Michelle Ostermiller | 2004, 2005 | |
2 | *Kellie Fitzgerald | 2000, 2007 | |
2 | *Scott Sommer | 2001, 2009 | |
2 | *Bill McFadden | 2003, 2018 | |
2 | David Fitzpatrick | 2012, 2021 |
BEST IN SHOW WINS BY FEMALE HANDLERS: | ||
1935 | Mrs. Sherman Hoyt | |
1956 | *Anne Hone Rogers | |
1957 | Sunny Shay | |
1959 | *Anne Hone Rogers | |
1960 | *Clara Alford | |
1961 | *Anne Hone Rogers | |
1970 | *Jane Kamp Forsyth | |
1974 | *Jo Shellenbarger | |
1978 | Maureen Lutovsky | |
1980 | Trish Kanzler | |
1984 | *Gerlinde Hockla | |
1995 | *Maripi Wooldridge | |
1996 | *Jane Alston Myers | |
2000 | *Kellie Fitzgerald | |
2004 | *Michelle Ostermiller | |
2005 | *Michelle Ostermiller | |
2006 | *Kathryn Kirk | |
2007 | *Kellie Fitzgerald | |
2011 | *Angela Lloyd | |
2016 | *Valerie Nunes-Atkinson | |
2020 | *Chrystal Murray Clas | |
2022 | *Heather Buehner (fka Helmer) |
HUSBAND AND WIFE HANDLERS TO EACH WIN BEST IN SHOW: | ||
1964 | Bob Forsyth | |
1970 | Jane Kamp Forsyth |
BREEDER-OWNER-HANDLER WINNING BEST IN SHOW: | ||
1918 | R. H. Elliott | |
1921 | William T. Payne | |
1940 1941 | H. E. Mellenthin | |
1945 | T. H. Snethen | |
1957 | Sunny Shay | |
1969 | Walter Goodman | |
1983 | Chris Terrell | |
2016 | Valerie Nunes-Atkinson | |
2017 | Kent Boyles | |
2021 | David Fitzpatrick | |
2022 | Heather Buehner (fka Helmer) |
Breeder-Owners also won Best In Show in 1910*, 1922*, 1924, 1938, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1963, 1975, 1979, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2015. (*handler unknown)
Multiple Best In Show Wins:
DOGS: | ||
1907 1908 1909 | Smooth Fox Terrier | Ch. Warren Remedy |
1915 1916 | Wire Fox Terrier | Ch. Matford Vic |
1917 1920 | Wire Fox Terrier | Ch. Conejo Wycollar Boy |
1930 1931 | Wire Fox Terrier | Ch. Pendley Calling of Blarney |
1940 1941 | Cocker Spaniel (Black) | Ch. My Own Brucie |
1952 1953 | Doberman Pinscher | Ch. Rancho Dobe’s Storm |
1971 1972 | English Springer Spaniel | Ch. Chinoe’s Adamant James |
SAME OWNER, DIFFERENT DOG: | ||
1926 1934 1937 | Halleston Kennels (Stanley Halle) | |
1932 1939 | Giralda Farms (Mrs. Geraldine Dodge) | |
1942 1950 | Mrs. J. G. Winant | |
1973 1990 | Mr. Ed Jenner | |
1979 1982 | Ms. Anne E. Snelling | |
1993 2000 | Mrs. Julia Gasow | |
2001 2009 | Ms. Cecelia Ruggles | |
2005 2016 | Ms. Valerie Nunes-Atkinson | |
2008 2015 | Mr. Eddie Dziuk | |
2014 2019 | Mr. Victor Malzoni Jr. | |
2012 2021 | Mr. David Fitzpatrick | |
2012 2021 | Ms. Iris Love | |
2012 2021 | Ms. Sandra Middlebrooks | |
SAME BREEDER, DIFFERENT DOGS, SAME BREED: | ||
1947 1949 | Mr. & Mrs. John P. Wagner | |
1992 2000 | Mrs. Julia Gasow | |
SAME BREEDER, DIFFERENT DOGS, DIFFERENT BREEDS: | ||
1996 2009 | Mr. Douglas Johnson |
What dog breed has won Westminster the most?
We can all agree that the competitors in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show — past, present, and future — are all just the goodest boys and girls ever. But that being said, the judges are forced to declare one of those dogs as “Best in Show” each and every year.
Since 1907 — the first year that Best in Show was awarded — the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has awarded the title to a dog from the Terrier group a whopping 48 times. And of those 48 winners, 15 were Wire Fox Terriers. The second-winningest breed, Scottish Terriers, has won a total of eight times.
The rest of the doggie groups don’t even come close to putting up the same numbers as the Terrier group, either. For example, the Sporting group has produced the second-highest number of Best in Show winners, which amount to just 20 since 1907. (The English Springer Spaniel, a Sporting dog and the third-most winningest breed, has only won Best in Show six times.)
Of course, one group always seems to fall to the back of the back. Of the seven groups judged at Westminster — the Terrier, Sporting, Hound, Working, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding groups — only two Herding dogs (both German Shepherds) have ever been recognized as Best in Show. (Its worth noting that the Herding group has only existed since 1983, when it broke away from the Working group to have its own category.)
The results don’t appear to reflect the popularity of a given breed, however. The Labrador Retriever, which has been ranked as the American Kennel Club’s “most popular breed” in the United States since 1991, has never won a single Best in Show title.
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will take place on Monday and Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.