Kelli Denton’s dog, Journey, strutted his keeshond keester Monday at Madison Square Garden and will journey back to Shawnee the king of his kind.

With Denton, 18, at the leash, Journey won best of breed at the 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show. He competed under the registered grand-champion name Baronwood Infinity and Beyond — and had a shot in the evening at moving on to the best of show event, but couldn’t quite sniff out victory.

Even before Journey’s faceoff with 20 rivals in the non-sporting group (including Martha Stewart’s chow chow, Ghenghis Khan), his owner, a senior at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, was sending excited texts between rounds:

I’m best of breed at Westminster — like, the most prestigious show in America!!!!!!

This was not her first visit to Westminster’s pooch parade at the Garden. Denton has been handling the keeshond breed for several years, but it’s her first win there.

A richly plumed tail curled over his back, the nearly 4-year-old champion benefits from brushing, and brushing from the attentive Denton.

Friend Megan Musson, who was house-sitting with Denton’s three other dogs Monday, said the Dentons recently had to put down a prized keeshond named Salem, “who took Kelli very far as a junior handler … She was devastated.”

So Journey won one for Salem.

“And I’m sure he’s loving the attention,” Musson said.

After the judge, Richard Beauchamp, awarded the blue ribbon to Baronwood Infinity and Beyond — the pup of Kenmonts Skyline’s Game Boy and Bonnyvale’s S’Mply Irresist’Ble — some of Denton’s classmates were puzzled.

“I just know him as ‘Journey,’ ” said Julia Noland, one of Denton’s best friends. “He jumps up on me, all lovey, when I walk into Kelli’s house … There are so many things about the dog-show world I’m confused about when Kelli tries to explain it.”

A quiet, high achiever, Denton is considering pursuing a college degree in international business. She will compete later this week for Queen of the Court honors at Northwest.

“One of her motivators is to get all these scholarships,” said her creative writing teacher, Fran Koenigsdorf.

“She literally puts the dog in the crate and drives anywhere they have a show in a four-state area,” she said. “A lot of it, she does pretty much on her own.”

In this case, though, parents Mark and Becky Denton accompanied her and Journey to New York.

And what about the keeshond do judges like to see?

“The body should be abundantly covered with long, straight, harsh hair standing well out from a thick, downy undercoat…,” advises the website of the American Kennel Club. “The Keeshond is to be shown in a natural state with trimming permissible only on feet, pasterns, hocks and — if desired — whiskers.”

Apparently, the judges liked what they saw in Journey.