'Girl Power!': New Lenox Family's Female Rottweiler Among The Elite Invited To Compete At Westminster

NEW LENOX, IL — A New Lenox couple's beloved and accomplished Rottweiler will join an elite group of others in her breed, to compete on the Westminster stage.

Melissa and Shawn Buehler's "Trilogy's Love At First Sight"—Lula for short—adds to an already extensive show record, with an exclusive invite given to only five others of her breed. Lula is the only female of her breed invited to compete at the 150th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, her owners told Patch. Others showing enter via a lottery system, Buehler said.

It's another proud moment for the Buehlers, whose Lula in 2025 was named the #1 female Rottweiler in the country, and the #3 Rottweiler overall in the country.

"She’s the only female in a sea of boys, the only female in the top 10," Buehler said. "It’s quite an accomplishment. It was a very special year."

Winning a spot among the top five Rottweilers in the country also earned her an invitation to the storied Westminster dog show, what Buehler likens to "The Oscars in the dog world."

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is America's oldest, most prestigious and iconic all-breed conformation dog show, held annually since 1877 in New York. It showcases thousands of elite purebred dogs, evaluating them against breed standards to determine the best in seven groups and, ultimately, "Best in Show." The 2026 event takes place Jan 31–Feb 3, featuring 212 AKC-recognized breeds and varieties.

A dog has to “win” best of their respective breed to advance to compete in Group judging. Rotts are in the "Working Group," for dogs specifically developed, bred and trained for functional tasks requiring high intelligence, strength and energy, such as guarding, drafting or rescue, rather than for companionship or showing. The winners of each Group go on to compete for Best In Show.

Including Lula, there are a total of 21 Rottweilers competing at Westminster.

The Rottweiler breed is evaluated on several factors, including conformation, temperament and gait.

"The ideal Rottweiler is a medium large, robust and powerful dog, black with clearly defined rust markings," according to the American Kennel Club website. "His compact and substantial build denotes great strength, agility and endurance. Dogs are characteristically more massive throughout with larger frame and heavier bone than bitches. Bitches are distinctly feminine, but without weakness of substance or structure."

In temperament, the Rottweiler is ideally a "calm, confident and courageous dog with a self-assured aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate and indiscriminate friendships. A Rottweiler is self-confident and responds quietly and with a wait-and-see attitude to influences in his environment.

"He has an inherent desire to protect home and family, and is an intelligent dog of extreme hardness and adaptability with a strong willingness to work, making him especially suited as a companion, guardian and general all-purpose dog."

Lula, Buehler said, is "distinctly feminine," with a "beautiful temperament."

"She has a very nice silhouette," Buehler said. "Her top-line, neck and back: everything’s proportioned, she’s distinctly feminine. She screams 'female.' She’s very well put together.

"Boys, there’s so much to look at—they’re very impressive to look at. It makes it special when the girls win."

In judging Lula, her gait also stands out, Buehler said.

"When Rotts move, they are at a trot," she said. "When Lula moves, she looks like she’s floating, like she’s dancing. She’s smooth, has great stride and power and reach."

Lula touts a long list of accomplishments and titles ahead of and behind her show name. Born just before Valentine's Day, Lula is part of a love-themed litter. Registered a MBISS MBOSS GCHG CH Trilogy’s Love At First Sight CGC, CGCA, CGCU, TKN, Lula's accomplishments include Multiple Best In Specialty Show, Multiple Best Opposite Specialty Show, Grand Champion Gold, Champion, Canine Good Citizen, Canine Good Citizen Advanced, Canine Good Citizen Urban and Trick Dog Novice.

Canine Good Citizen, specifically, is a 10-skill test through the AKC that teaches good manners to dogs and responsible dog ownership to their owners. It has additional designations that can be earned with further training—like Lula's Canine Good Citizen Advanced, Urban, and Trick Dog Novice.

"She's not only pretty, but smart, too," Buehler said.

In a show of "Girl Power," Lula's team is made up of females. Her breeder is Lauren Warshaw. Her handler is Steger-based Holley Eldred. Eldred started showing Rottweilers in the early 1990s, and fell in love with the breed's intelligence, devotion and "at times, to my dismay, their ability to make their own decisions," she told Modern Molosser Magazine in 2019.

"She's one of the GOAT (greatest of all time)," Buehler said. "Team Lula. Girls rule, boys drool."

The Buehlers have lived in New Lenox for nearly three decades, having moved there from the city to raise their children, who are alumni of New Lenox District 122 and Lincoln-Way District 210. She won't be able to travel to New York City to watch Lula compete on such an exclusive stage. Lula is one of the couple's two Rotts, the second being a 14-year-old female rescued from Oswego-based Recycled Rotts. Lula's older sibling Baby can't be kenneled in her family's absence, so Buehler will stay back to care for her.

But she's watched before as Lula won big. In October, Lula competed at Morris and Essex Dog Show in Massachusetts. There, she beat out 16 other Rotts to win Best of Breed, Buehler said.

"It’s just incredible to watch," she said. "It makes you very proud, to see all the hard effort that the handlers go to. It’s also hard for the female (dogs)—when they go into heat, it affects their bodies, so it's harder for them with their heat schedule and staying in shape, against the boys—they don’t have to worry about that stuff."

An adored member of their family, Lula also loves snuggling with her dad, taking daily walks and sitting and watching the neighborhood.

"She watches all the kids get on the bus, sometimes she gets excited because they want to pet her," Buehler said. "Lula loves life, and life loves her. She’s a very solid, happy dog."

Along with her Rott sibling, Lula also lives with three cats.

"They all have their claws, and she knows when they mean business," Buehler said, laughing, "and they know when she means business."

Westminster will be live-streamed via both the show's website, and AKC.TV, Buehler said. On the show's website, a schedule of events lets viewers know when to tune in for a specific breed or group.

After Westminster, Lula will compete in Nationals in June, and then hopefully, will become a mom.

"To watch her go around the ring, present herself, represent the breed, it’s just really incredible and makes me very proud, to own her and have her as my pet," Buehler said.

She hopes New Lenox will tune in to see Lula compete.

"We love our town," Buehler said. "Lula hopes to make everyone—besides me, her mom, and her breeder—she hopes to make everybody proud.

"Any ribbon awarded is a big deal, but the Best dog always comes home to me."