{"id":8307,"date":"2026-03-06T11:55:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T11:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=8307"},"modified":"2026-03-06T11:55:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T11:55:45","slug":"she-just-switches-it-on-owners-of-westminster-winner-penny-reveal-their-dobermans-total-diva-transformation-%f0%9f%90%be%e2%9c%a8-under-the-bright-lights-of-the-we","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=8307","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSHE JUST SWITCHES IT ON\u201d \u2014 OWNERS OF WESTMINSTER WINNER PENNY REVEAL THEIR DOBERMAN\u2019S TOTAL DIVA TRANSFORMATION \ud83d\udc3e\u2728 Under the bright lights of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, a sleek Doberman named Penny moved across the ring with absolute confidence, capturing the crowd \u2014 and ultimately the judges. But according to her owners, the glamorous champion the world saw is only half the story. At home, Penny is playful, stubborn, and full of personality. \u201cShe just switches it on,\u201d they laughed, describing how their couch-lounging companion instantly transforms the moment she senses the spotlight. One second she\u2019s a goofy family dog \u2014 the next, a perfectly poised show superstar who knows exactly how to command the ring. That dramatic switch, they say, is what makes Penny unforgettable \u2014 a true four-legged diva who lives for the moment the spotlight hits. See the moment she transformed in the ring below\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"

Owners of Westminster-winning Doberman pinscher Penny dish on their \u2018diva\u2019 dog\u2019s antics: \u2018She just switches it on\u2019<\/h1>\n
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Penny standing tall after winning Best in Show at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.Getty Images for Westminster Kennel Club<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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This dog had her day.<\/p>\n

A four-year-old Doberman Pinscher named Penny\u00a0nabbed Best in Show\u00a0at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club earlier this month, and her owners, Greg and Theresa-Connors Chan, were in doggie heaven.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou never think you\u2019re going to win,\u201d Greg gushed in an interview with The Post, noting that it was the first time in nearly 40 years that the breed had won the world-famous dog show.<\/p>\n

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Greg and Teresa, who hail from Ontario, Canada, were seated near the floor of Madison Square Garden on Feb. 3 as their statuesque canine was declared the winner in front of 50,000 fans.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI remember I jumped up and looked back at Teresa and she was bawling here eyes out and from there, it\u2019s all blurred,\u201d Greg stated.<\/p>\n

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Teresa, meanwhile, called the experience \u201csurreal,\u201d saying she watched the show for 18 years on TV, hoping that she\u2019d one day compete at the breeder level.<\/p>\n

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Penny nabbed Best in Show at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club earlier this month.ZUMAPRESS.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cSome people say you can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks,\u201d said Theresa Connors-Chan, pictured with husband Greg and their pooch Penny. \u201cYou can teach a Doberman a new trick almost every day.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The winner, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like any other athlete, when she crosses that threshold into the show ring, she just switches it on to show-dog,\u201d said Greg.<\/p>\n

To win the pageant, the model Doberman had to beat out a murderer\u2019s row of\u00a03,000 perfectly-coiffed canines, who primped and pranced about with the hopes of netting US\u2019 show dogs\u2019 most exalted prize.<\/p>\n

Penny\u2019s trainer, Andy Linton, previously won Best in Show in 1989 with another Doberman, named Indy.<\/p>\n

However, Penny\u2019s win was sealed during the \u201cfree stack\u201d portion \u2014 when contestants strike their show pose sans trainer assistance, allowing judges to gauge how well they embody their breed\u2019s ideal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Penny stopped on her own, you could hear a pin drop in Madison Square Garden,\u201d recalled Theresa, a full-time investment advisor. \u201cWhen he (Linton) came on down back with her, she just looked magnificent. Best in Show was hers to lose after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Trainer Andy Linton (pictured) parades Penny in front of the judges at the contest earlier this month.AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The model Doberman\u2019s \u201cdiva\u201d demeanor helped separate her from the pack, per Theresa.Lucas Boland-Imagn Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With her victory, she edged out Cota, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever while runner-ups included Afghan hound Zaida, a Lhasa apso named JJ, and an old English sheepdog dubbed Graham.<\/p>\n

Even the fastidious Linton \u2014 a Doberman breeding icon \u2014 was awestruck, dubbing Penny \u201cas great a Doberman as I have ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

What separated Penny from the pack? Theresa credited her immaculate \u201cstructure,\u201d noting that she is \u201cwell balanced\u201d in both front and rear so she looks like she was \u201cpoured into her skin,\u201d with no single defining feature but rather a harmonious whole.<\/p>\n

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Then Chans pose with Penny following her historic win.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Westminster isn\u2019t just about anatomy \u2014 attitude also plays a part. Theresa noted that Penny was \u201cstrong-willed\u201d with a \u201cdiva\u201d demeanor that says \u201clook at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally self-centered is probably the best description,\u201d she quipped.<\/p>\n

Greg noted that his pride and joy is \u201ccuddly and snuggly\u201d outside the arena, but can turn it on come gametime \u2014 a star quality that he insists was present from the start.<\/p>\n

As a pup in the whelping box, Penny would climb to the top of his neck and growl at her littermates as if to declare: \u201cThis is mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

This marks the culmination of years of dedication by the Chans, who bred Penny back in 2021, nearly ten years after Theresa started rearing Dobermans.<\/p>\n

Greg, a retired cop who now works as a community housing safety advisor, said they have a passion for doing right by the regal breed, originally developed in 19th-century Germany by tax collector Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann as a brave but intelligent guard dog.<\/p>\n

Together, the Chans run\u00a0Connquest Dobermans\u00a0with the goal of producing \u201cquality show dogs as well as wonderful, well-bred pets with excellent temperaments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite showing well early on, Penny was still a\u00a0ruff\u00a0<\/em>draft by Westminster standards. When they brought the prodigal pooch to Linton in Washington state several years ago, the \u201cmeticulous\u201d trainer and breeder reportedly gave her a 4.5 out of 10, lamented Greg.<\/p>\n

Much like a Seabiscuit story, the trainer took her under his wing and whipped her into Best in Show shape.<\/p>\n

Greg called Linton \u2014 who suffers from Parkinson\u2019s \u2014 a \u201cwizard\u201d who \u201cdisappears\u201d in the ring and allows the dog to \u201cpaint the perfect picture.\u201d It\u2019s a unique style that many have tried and failed to duplicate.<\/p>\n

He said this is accomplished via \u201cloose lead obedience,\u201d in which the dog-whisperer gets his trainees to do what he asks them without heavy leash-work.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe teaches the dogs to respond to the movement of his body,\u201d said Greg.<\/p>\n

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Penny the Doberman Pinscher attends the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Champion\u2019s Lunch at PEAK at Hudson Yards on February 4, 2026 in New York City.Getty Images for Westminster Kennel Club<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is paramount during the main event, where the judges evaluate their natural movement with minimal puppeteering.<\/p>\n

Greg noted that, unlike other Westminster contestants who had to manually move their contestant\u2019s paws to give the judge a look, Linton simply walked Penny into the box \u2014 like something out of \u201cBabe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Penny\u2019s brain is uniquely suited for these complex tasks.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people say you can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks,\u201d said Theresa. \u201cYou can teach a Doberman a new trick almost every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time Westminster came around, Linton graded her an \u201c11 out of 10,\u201d per Greg.<\/p>\n

Winning marked the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for 67-year-old Linton, who said he wanted to \u201cgo out on top,\u201d per Greg.<\/p>\n

Following the announcement at the event \u2014 which is the second-longest continuously running sporting event in the US behind the Kentucky Derby \u2014 Donald Sturz, president of The Westminster Kennel Club praised the trainer and his pooch.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy\u2019s going through some personal health struggles that make some things harder,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was like, \u2018I got you.\u2019 And that special energy that was there is what I saw. It was the magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like her trainer, Penny is leaving on a high note. She is \u201cretired\u201d from showing and will work as a therapy dog.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole meeting new people and being loved on is her game,\u201d Theresa gushed. \u201cShe loves that. So we\u2019ll continue to do that with her and hopefully she\u2019ll have puppies later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

It will be difficult for Penny\u2019s progeny to follow in her pawsteps.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly a select few make the cut,\u201d said Greg. \u201cIf you have that one little thing off that we\u2019re not happy with, you\u2019re going to be a pet and you\u2019re going to go off and live a great life with a nice family.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Owners of Westminster-winning Doberman pinscher Penny dish on their \u2018diva\u2019 dog\u2019s antics: \u2018She just switches it on\u2019 Penny standing tall after winning Best in Show at the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8309,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8307\/revisions\/8309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}