NJ Giant Schnauzer Wins Best In Show At 2025 Westminster Dog Show

OCEAN CITY, NJ — A New Jersey canine is the top dog after winning best in show at the 2025 Westminster Dog Show.

Monty, a giant schnauzer from Ocean City, took home the top prize at Tuesday night's show at Madison Square Garden.

His handler and co-owner, Katie Bernardin, was so overwhelmed by his victory she almost couldn't speak.

“He always tries so hard, and we’re just proud of him,” she told the crowd at Madison Square Garden, according to the Associated Press.

Monty, whose registered name is GCHG CH Hearthmore's Wintergreen Mountain, is co-owned by Bernardin, who lives in Connecticut, along with Ocean City's Sandra Nordstrom and Pemberton breeder Cherlann Ambrose.

He also won the working group for the third year in a row. And it will be his last - the 5-year-old pup is retiring from showing after this, according to the Associated Press.

Dogs at Westminster are judged on how they best align to breed standards. These standards are set by the American Kennel Club.

For a giant schnauzer, they must be "a larger and more powerful of the Standard Schnauzer, on the whole a bold and valiant figure of a dog," according to the American Kennel Club.

Standards include everything from the most minute details of the dog's physical look, including its coat, muzzle and eyes, and its temperament.