Raleigh trainer wins NBC National Dog Show with ‘gorgeous’ dog in Philadelphia
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh trainer Daniel Martin guided Belgian Sheepdog Soleil to NBC National Dog Show win.
- Soleil upset top contenders, beating rank leaders and multiple Westminster title holders.
- Martin and Soleil formed rapid bond since 2024; trainers project more major wins.
Daniel Martin’s nerves grew all day as he and his black Belgian sheepdog, Soleil, waited for the second round of the NBC National Dog Show.
Soleil’s breed doesn’t win competitions often. And as Martin stepped onto the blue carpet, he could see all the cameras, hear the crowd. Soleil could, too — and she loved it.
“I could see how happy she got,” Martin said. “And then my nerves and my anxiety just went away, because then I just floated around the ring with her.”
Soleil beat out stiff competition to win the NBC National Dog Show at the Expo Center near Philadelphia, held Nov. 15-16 and broadcast Thursday, en route to her seventh Best In Show award.
The 6-year-old dog has only competed for a little over a year. Her upset victory required her to topple:
- a miniature schnauzer who came in as the No. 1 ranked all-breed dog in the country
- a shih tzu with 143 Best In Show titles and twice a group winner at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, and
- a bichon with 42 Best In Shows and a Westminster group title.
Martin, a Raleigh native, has trained dogs since his first dog show in 2011. That day, his mom, who had just become a dog trainer two years earlier, didn’t have a handler and needed Martin’s help.
Martin had been around dogs his whole life — he had a viszla named Whiskey and an English pointer named Garrett growing up.
He was studying business management at East Carolina University, a much different life, but that show got him hooked, and he became a trainer himself.
He met his wife, Amanda Miller, through dog training. They’ve trained dogs for clients together for over 10 years. Last year, a family friend emailed the couple about Soleil, owned by Connie Jasinski of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina; Pat Snow of Sapulpa, Oklahoma; and Nancy Maye of Towanda, Kansas.
Martin and Miller were honest: they didn’t have much experience training that breed. But the couple still took her on.
The breeders warned them that Soleil was going to pick a favorite: Martin or Miller. Within two hours of them meeting, Soleil picked Martin. Soon, Soleil was Martin’s little shadow. She could look into Martin’s eyes — like she’s peering into his soul, Martin said — and he’d know exactly what she wants.
“We just connected instantly,” Martin said. “We just created this bond over the past year that just kind of grew and grew. “And now, it’s almost like I can look at her, and she knows what I’m thinking.”
Soleil and Martin’s first show together was the American Kennel Club National Championship in Orlando, Florida in December 2024. Instantly, Martin said, she had a “showboat attitude.” He gets goosebumps thinking about it. A full black dog doesn’t usually stand out, but she does. And she loves an atmosphere.
Soleil’s handler deserves a bit of credit, too. National Dog Show co-host and analyst David Frei said the first thing you notice about Soleil is her “beautiful black coat.” When Frei felt her fur at the end of the show, he could feel how well-conditioned she was.
“Daniel’s one of our great young handlers, has a great dog show family,” Frei said. “And the dog was beautiful.”
Frei said the best handlers are invisible — and Martin lets his dog do the talking. For Martin, it takes trusting your dog. That takes focus — making sure positive energy flows from him to Soleil and vice versa. It also looks like giving Soleil Purina Pro Plan treats and giving her favorite toy, a stuffed turtle, a squeak from time to time. That gets the positive energy flowing.
“I can feel her energy and her intenseness, and then we kind of go off that,” Martin said. “We play off each other’s feel too. So it’s kind of a fun game. At times.”
Soleil beat three other Belgian sheepdogs in the first round and then beat out 279 other dogs in her second round group, the herding group, before securing the upset in the final round. She won $2,000, a Purina Pro Plan embroidered chair and a YETI dog bowl — and bragging rights for next year.
“Today, that dog was ‘on,’” judge Charles Olvis said about picking Soleil. “Didn’t put its foot down wrong. Didn’t miss a beat. And it is in drop-dead gorgeous condition. I mean, gorgeous condition.”
Soleil already is one of, if not the most, accomplished Belgian sheepdogs ever with seven Best In Show awards, Frei said. But at 6 years old and with a young handler like Martin, she’s now one to watch at future shows — and she won’t just be impressive for her breed.
This story was originally published November 27, 2025 at 2:00 PM.
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