National Dog Show 2021 Results: Best in Show and List of Winners

Don't call it a dynasty.

The Scottish deerhound took home the Best in Show award Thursday at the National Dog Show hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia for the second year in a row. 

The champion prevailed among those who won First in Group of the seven dog groups.

NBC Sports explained the format of Thursday's show, noting the American Kennel Club limits the competition to only purebred dogs. That means it recognizes 197 breeds and varieties it splits into the seven groups of sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting and herding.

Dogs of the same breed compete against each other in the first round for the Best in Breed title. 

Those who are determined Best in Breed advance to the group stage to compete to be named First in Breed, and those dogs advance to compete for the Best in Show title. 

The National Dog Show's inaugural event took place in 1879, and it has been an annual event since 1933. Despite the long history, Sunday marked the debut of a new breed in the Biewer terrier.  

The defending champion Scottish deerhound Claire made an early statement as the winner of the hound group, while the bulldog took home the title in the non-sporting group:

The other group winners were: 

• Sporting: German shorthaired pointer

• Working group: kuvasz

• Herding: Pyrenean shepherd

• Toy: affenpinscher

• Terrier: lakeland terrier

That set the stage for the coveted Best In Show, and, for the second year in a row, it was the Scottish deerhound.