Stache the Sealyham Terrier Wins 2023 National Dog Show

The highly ranked terrier is "the epitome of an excellent dog."

A performative Sealyham terrier with a Best in Show pedigree has won the National Dog Show, taking home the trophy before an audience of millions on Thanksgiving.

Stache—registered name GCHP CH Goodspice Efbe Money Stache—is the country's second-ranked terrier so far this year. At the show on Saturday—broadcast Thursday— he bested more than 1,900 other dogs at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.

Best in Show judge Carrie Chase said in a news release that Stache's showmanship, condition, and "breed type" all combined to form "the epitome of an excellent dog."

“At the end of the day, it is a dog show and you want them to show off all their great attributes," Chase said.

Margery Good is one of Stache's owners and also his handler, living little over an hour outside Philadelphia in Cochranville, Penn. She called the Best in Show triumph "exhilarating," commending her dog's ability to adapt to the high-stakes atmosphere.

“Stache deals easily with multiple things happening around him," she said in the news release. "He’s so well-balanced and he loves to show."

Perhaps he gets that from his grandfather, Charmin. He won Best in Show at the AKC National Championship (2007) and Crufts (2009), the massive show in the United Kingdom that features more than 20,000 dogs.

On Saturday, Stache first won his breed. The judge decided the furry little guy fit the Sealyham terrier's breed standard better than all the other Sealys. Then Stache won the Terrier Group, with the judge again deciding he fit his breed's standard better than all the other dogs.

In the Best in Show ring, Chase chose Stache over Chesapeake Bay retriever M (Sporting Group), Great Dane Carson (Working), Azawahk Yaro (Hound), German shepherd Heathcliff (Herding), shih tzu Comet (Toy), and Dalmatian Pumpkin (Non-Sporting).

Pumpkin the Dalmatian took home Reserve Best in Show (second place).

About the Sealyham Terrier

The Sealyham terrier is a rare breed—No. 164 out of the American Kennel Club's 200 registered breeds—but the dogs are spunky and friendly companions. They're small, weighing a little more than 20 pounds, and are known for the long "fall" hairs that cover their faces.

They originated in Wales, bred to hunt small game such as otters, badgers, and foxes. These days, they'll be happy to run and play around your yard or apartment.

Read the original article on dailypaws.