The National Dog Show 2023 was held on November 18-19, 2023, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. The show was presented by Purina and was aired live on NBC.
This year’s show featured over 2,000 dogs from all 190 American Kennel Club (AKC) registered breeds and varieties. The dogs competed in seven groups: Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Non-Sporting, Herding, and Toy.
The Best in Show winner was a Sealyham Terrier named Striker. Striker was owned and handled by Joe and Stephanie Roy of Connecticut.
The National Dog Show is one of the most popular dog shows in the world. It is estimated that over 10 million people watched the show on NBC. The show is a great way to learn about different breeds of dogs and to see some of the most beautiful dogs in the world.
The Sealyham Terrier, whose registered name is GCHP CH Goodspice Efbe Money Stache, won Best in Show at the 22nd Annual National Dog Show Presented by Purina. The Kennel Club of Philadelphia hosted the event, and the 2023 National Dog Show aired on NBC on Thanksgiving, Nov. 23, after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
It was a hometown win for Stache, who lives in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, and his handler Margery Good, who hails from Cochranville.
“It’s an exhilarating feeling to win,” Good said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “Stache deals easily with multiple things happening around him. He’s so well-balanced, and he loves to show.”
Before taking home the Best in Show title, Stache won the National Dog Show’s Terrier Group, granting him access to the Best in Show round with the six other group winners: Sporting Group winner M the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Non-Sporting winner Pumpkin the Dalmatian, Toy Group winner Comet the Shih Tzu, Working Group winner Carson the Great Dane, Hound Group winner Yaro the Azawahk, and Herding Group winner Heathcliff the German Shepherd.
Best in Show judge Carrie Chase named Stache the winner and gave second place, known as Reserve Best in Show, to Pumpkin the Dalmatian.
“This dog’s condition, breed type, and showmanship all come together to produce the epitome of an excellent dog,” Chase shared in a statement.
Ahead of his National Dog Show win, Stache was the #2-ranked Terrier and #12-ranked All-Breed show dog in America. With the 2023 National Dog Show’s Best in Show title, Stache has now won 49 Best in Show prizes. Purina estimates over 20 million animal lovers watched the Sealyham terrier earn his Best in Show ribbon on Thanksgiving Day.
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Good said Stache plans to celebrate with “a wonderful celebratory dinner” and quality time with the six canine friends he lives with.
With his win, Stache takes the National Dog Show throne from Winston the French Bulldog, the 2022 National Dog Show winner. Winston made history with his win, becoming the first French Bulldog to receive the Best in Show prize at the National Dog Show.
NBC will air an encore presentation of the two-hour 2023 National Dog Show special on Saturday, November 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. NBC’s 2023 National Dog Show coverage is also available to watch on Peacock.
