Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, held annually in the New York metropolitan area.

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs are required to be on display in their assigned locations (show benches) during the entire show except when shown in the ring, groomed for showtime, or taken outside to urinate or defecate. This type of presentation allows spectators and breeders alike to have an opportunity of seeing all the entered dogs. (In the more common unbenched shows, dogs are required to be present only at assigned ring times.)^[1]

The event had long been associated with the various incarnations of New York City's Madison Square Garden. In 2021 and 2022, the event was postponed to June from its past February scheduling, and moved to the Lyndhurst mansion in Tarrytown, New York due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the event moved to a May scheduling, and was relocated to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, with Arthur Ashe Stadium as the main venue.

The logo of both the Westminster Kennel Club and its Dog Show is based on a steel engraving by artist J. Wellstood of Sensation, a Pointer brought over from England by the organization in 1876 primarily for breeding purposes.^[2]