Dog Show 101: What's what at the Westminster Kennel Club

NEW YORK (AP) — The Westminster Kennel Club dog show is back for a 149th year — and back at New York's Madison Square Garden for the first time since early 2020.

It's a happy homecoming for the United States' most prestigious canine event, which moved to venues outside Manhattan in recent years because of the coronavirus pandemic and then other considerations. But organizers longed to return to the self-described World’s Most Famous Arena.

“If you love dogs and you want to see the very best dogs from all around the world competing for the top prize of best in show at Westminster, just be there,” club President Donald Sturz said. For fans who can't be there in person, Fox Sports is showing the event's various components on FS1 and FS2 and streaming some on the network's website and app; Westminster is streaming some others. The competition spans Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, with best in show awarded around 11 p.m. Tuesday on the East Coast.

Might Mercedes, the German shepherd who was Westminster’s runner-up last year, become top dog this time? Or could this be the year for Monty the giant schnauzer, who was a Westminster finalist the last two years, won the American Kennel Club’s big show in December and is currently the sport's top-ranked dog? Will the prize go to another high-ranking dog — or a dark horse?

Here are the basics on Westminster and the dog show world it epitomizes.

It begins Saturday morning at the Javits Center convention hall with agility and obedience championships and some demonstration events, including Westminster's first experiment with flyball. That's essentially a canine relay race that involves running a course of jumps and retrieving a ball.

The traditional, breed-by-breed judging — what show folk call “conformation” — unfolds Monday and Tuesday. First-round competition, where dogs are judged against others of their breed, happens during the daytime at the Javits Center. Then, in what are essentially semifinals, each breed winner is judged against others within its “group” of dozens of breeds at Madison Square Garden in the evenings. In the final round, the seven group winners compete for best in show Tuesday night.

At each level, judges decide which dog in the ring best matches the ideal, or “standard,” for its own breed.

About 2,500 dogs from 201 breeds and varieties (subsets of breeds) are signed up to compete.

Hailing from every U.S. state and 12 other countries, contestants include such familiar breeds as golden retrievers and such rarities as sloughis. No doodles, though. At least for now, those poodle mixes aren't recognized as purebreds by the American Kennel Club, the governing body for Westminster and many other U.S. dog shows.

Dachshunds are the best-represented breed, with 52 entered.

The agility and obedience contests involve a few hundred more dogs, including mixed-breed ones. Last year a border collie-papillion combination named Nimble became the first mixed-breed winner in the agility trial’s decade-long history.

First, breeders determine which puppies are physically and temperamentally suited for showing. Those pups are raised, trained and groomed to put their best paw forward in the show ring. “Beginner puppies” can start competing in AKC shows at 4 months.

Some owners exhibit their own dogs where and when they can. Others have professional handlers who crisscross the country to compete most weekends, sometimes with multiple pooches.

Trying for a national ranking is known as “campaigning” a dog, and no wonder. As in politics, hopefuls — or, here, their owners and handlers — may gather intel about rivals’ plans and either seek or avoid a face-off. They may weigh a particular judge's record. Some even run full-page ads in dog magazines to congratulate, salute and promote their animals.

All Westminster dogs are champions, as measured by their sport's complicated point system. But yes, there are stats, kept by the Canine Chronicle magazine.

Besides Monty and Mercedes, entrants include Vito, a pug who won the National Dog Show televised Thanksgiving Day, along with 2024 Westminster semifinalists Comet the shih tzu and Louis the Afghan hound. There's a high-ranking otterhound, representing one of the country's rarer breeds, and a big-winning wire fox terrier, whose breed won more than any other at Westminster.

Still, show cognoscenti often say victory goes to “the dog on the day,” meaning the one that has the performance of a lifetime.

And regardless which dog the judge chooses, others sometimes win the audience's heart. Among the crowd faves over the years: a Sussex spaniel who sat up straight on his hind legs before the judge; a treat-seeking Leonberger who gnawed at his handler’s pocket while going around the ring; and a shiba inu shown by a 10-year-old girl.

Wire fox terriers have taken the top prize 15 times, most recently in 2019. Poodles of various sizes have 11 wins. A miniature poodle named Sage won last year.

Many breeds haven't won yet, including such favorites as the French bulldog and Labrador retriever. But never say never: Two of the last three winners have been firsts for their breeds: the petit basset griffon Vendéen and the bloodhound.

Bragging rights, ribbons and trophies. There are no cash prizes, though the agility and obedience winners each get to direct a $5,000 Westminster donation to a training club or the American Kennel Club Humane Fund.

Animal rights activists routinely protest outside, and sometimes inside, the show. During last year's final round, someone carrying a sign reading “boycott breeders” tried to climb into the ring. The demonstrator was quickly intercepted and arrested.

The Westminster club says it promotes responsible dog ownership and celebrates all canines while highlighting the “preservation” of breeds with particular traits.

FILE — King, a wire fox terrier, poses for photographs after winning Best in Show at the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Feb. 12, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE — Dario, a Leonberger, tries to get at the treats in handler Sam Mammano's pocket during the working group competition, at the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Feb. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE — A Sussex spaniel competes with the sporting group at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Feb. 17, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE — Louis, an Afghan hound, takes part in the best in show competition at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, May 14, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

FILE — Comet, a Shih Tzu, competes in breed group judging at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, May 13, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

FILE - Cynthia Hornor poses with Nimble, the first mixed-breed dog ever to win the Westminster Kennel Club dog show's agility competition, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz, File)

FILE — Toby, 5, left, and Izzy, 4, both sloughi breed from Illinois owners, are shown at a press conference, Jan. 30, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

FILE — Monty, a giant schnauzer, takes part in the best in show competition at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, May 14, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

FILE — Mercedes, a German shepherd, takes part in the best in show competition at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, May 14, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

FILE— Sage, a miniature poodle, wins the best in show competition during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, May 14, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

FILE — Handler Janice Hays poses for photos with Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, after he won best in show during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, May 9, 2023, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

FILE — Heather Helmer poses for photographs with Trumpet, a bloodhound, after Trumpet won best in show at the 146th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, June 22, 2022, in Tarrytown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE — Wasabi, a Pekingese, rests on the winner's podium with its trophy and ribbons after winning Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, June 13, 2021, in Tarrytown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

FILE — Siba, the standard poodle, poses for photographs after winning Best in Show in the 144th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

FILE — Judging commences in the Best in Show competition in the 144th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, in New York's Madison Square Garden, Feb. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

LONDON (AP) — With one puff of a cigarette, a woman in Canada became a global symbol of defiance against Iran's bloody crackdown on dissent — and the world saw the flame.

A video that has gone viral in recent days shows the woman — who described herself as an Iranian refugee — snapping open a lighter and setting the flame to a photo she holds. It ignites, illuminating the visage of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's highest cleric. Then the woman dips a cigarette into the glow, takes a quick drag — and lets what remains of the image fall to the pavement.

Whether staged or a spontaneous act of defiance — and there’s plenty of debate — the video has become one of the defining images of the protests in Iran against the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy, as U.S. President Donald Trump considers military action in the country again.

The gesture has jumped from the virtual world to the real one, with opponents of the regime lighting cigarettes on photos of the ayatollah from Israel to Germany and Switzerland to the United States.

In the 34 seconds of footage, many across platforms like X, Instagram and Reddit saw one person defy a series of the theocracy’s laws and norms in a riveting act of autonomy. She wears no hijab, three years after the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests against the regime’s required headscarves.

She burns an image of Iran’s supreme leader, a crime in the Islamic republic punishable by death. Her curly hair cascades — yet another transgression in the Iranian government’s eyes. She lights a cigarette from the flame — a gesture considered immodest in Iran.

And in those few seconds, circulated and amplified a million times over, she steps into history.

In 2026, social media is a central battleground for narrative control over conflicts. Protesters in Iran say the unrest is a demonstration against the regime’s strictures and competence. Iran has long cast it as a plot by outsiders like United States and Israel to destabilize the Islamic Republic.

And both sides are racing to tell the story of it that will endure.

Iranian state media announces wave after wave of arrests by authorities, targeting those it calls “terrorists” and also apparently looking for Starlink satellite internet dishes, the only way to get videos and images out to the internet. There was evidence on Thursday that the regime’s bloody crackdown had somewhat smothered the dissent after activists said it had killed at least 2,615 people. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the mayhem of the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Social media has bloomed with photos of people lighting cigarettes from photos of Iran’s leader. “Smoke ’em if you got ’em. #Iran,” posted Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana.

In the age of AI, misinformation and disinformation, there’s abundant reason to question emotionally and politically charged images. So when “the cigarette girl” appeared online this month, plenty of users did just that.

It wasn’t immediately clear, for example, whether she was lighting up inside Iran or somewhere with free-speech protections as a sign of solidarity. Some spotted a background that seemed to be in Canada. She confirmed that in interviews. But did her collar line up correctly? Was the flame realistic? Would a real woman let her hair get so close to the fire?

Many wondered: Is the “cigarette girl” an example of “psyops?” That, too, is unclear. That’s a feature of warfare and statecraft as old as human conflict, in which an image or sound is deliberately disseminated by someone with a stake in the outcome. From the allies’ fake radio broadcasts during World War II to the Cold War’s nuclear missile parades, history is rich with examples.

The U.S. Army doesn’t even hide it. The 4th Psychological Operations Group out of Ft. Bragg in North Carolina last year released a recruitment video called, “Ghost in the Machine 2 that’s peppered with references to “PSYWAR.”And the Gaza war featured a ferocious battle of optics: Hamas forced Israeli hostages to publicly smile and pose before being released, and Israel broadcast their jubilant reunions with family and friends.

Whatever the answer, the symbolism of the Iranian woman's act was powerful enough to rocket around the world on social media — and inspire people at real-life protests to copy it.

The woman did not respond to multiple efforts by The Associated Press to confirm her identity. But she has spoken to other outlets, and AP confirmed the authenticity of those interviews.

On X, she calls herself a “radical feminist” and uses the handle Morticia Addams —- after the exuberantly creepy matriarch of “The Addams Family” — sheerly out of her interest in “spooky things,” the woman said in an interview with the nonprofit outlet The Objective.

She doesn’t allow her real name to be published for safety reasons after what she describes as a harrowing journey from being a dissident in Iran — where she says she was arrested and abused — to safety in Turkey. There, she told The Objective, she obtained a student visa for Canada. Now, in her mid-20s, she said she has refugee status in and lives in Toronto.

It was there, on Jan. 7, that she filmed what’s become known as “the cigarette girl” video a day before the Iranian regime imposed a near-total internet blackout.

“I just wanted to tell my friends that my heart, my soul was with them,” she said in an interview on CNN-News18, a network affiliate in India.

In the interviews, the woman said she was arrested for the first time at 17 during the “bloody November” protests of 2019, demonstrations that erupted after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal that Iran had struck with world powers that imposed crushing sanctions.

“I was strongly opposed to the Islamic regime,” she told The Objective. Security forces “arrested me with tasers and batons. I spent a night in a detention center without my family knowing where I was or what had happened to me.” Her family eventually secured her release by offering a pay slip for bail. “I was under surveillance from that moment on.”

In 2022 during the protests after the death of Mahsa Amini in custody, she said she participated in a YouTube program opposing the mandatory hijab and began receiving calls from blocked numbers threatening her. In 2024, after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash, she shared her story about it — and was arrested in her home in Isfahan.

The woman said she was questioned and “subjected to severe humiliation and physical abuse.” Then without explanation, she was released on a high bail. She fled to Turkey and began her journey to Canada and, eventually, global notoriety.

“All my family members are still in Iran, and I haven’t heard from them in a few days,” she said in the interview, published Tuesday. “I’m truly worried that the Islamic regime might attack them.”

A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

CORRECTS MONTH - A protester lights a cigarette off a burning poster of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A protester burns an image of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with a cigarette during rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Zuerich, Switzerland.(Michael Buholzer /Keystone via AP)