He has personality. He has panache. He has pride, dignity, showmanship, that vital bit of a swagger. He also has a refined palate, which is why he chews exclusively on bits of filet mignon when he is in the show ring.

None of that junkyard dog chow for Joey.

“Toy breeds,’’ offered amused owner Tina Truesdale, “prefer the good stuff.’’

Truesdale, from Attleboro, will be ringside at Madison Square Garden the next two days while her Joey, an affenpinscher, tiny enough to fit in a breadbox, competes in the prestigious 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. He is not the only Bay State doggy in the window, but he is a favorite, with a collection of some 50 “Best in Show’’ ribbons in his trophy case.

Dogs such as Joey don’t come around all that often. But Truesdale and her husband Bill, a longtime veterinarian, have another affenpinscher like him named Cosmo, who made it to Westminster’s final cut in 2002, only to lose Best in Show to a miniature poodle.

Hard enough for a dog to lose, but to lose out to another tiny thing, and in New York? Maybe a terrier. Terriers have a way of ruling MSG. They own New York on a Yankee-like level. Losing to a terrier would have been far more dignified.

“I’ve been going to the Westminster since 1978,’’ said Truesdale, who grew up in San Jose, Costa Rica, never thinking her adulthood would go to the dogs the way it has the last 40 or so years. “And let’s see, a Norwich Terrier won in ’78, another Norwich in ’94, and then a Scottish Terrier in ’95. It goes on and on.

“A Kerry Blue in 2003 . . . a Bull Terrier in 2006 . . . another Scotty in 2010.

“I honestly can’t tell what the deal is with terriers. I think it’s mainly that they’re just such an old breed. I take my consolement in that.’’

Cosmo, her little dog who did such big things, is long out of the competition ring and lives with seven other dogs, all affenpinschers and boxers, in the Truesdale household. Joey is the champ on the ramp right now, the one with a chance to go where no affenpinscher has gone at the Westminster, while Cosmo lives out his elder years as a lap-of-luxury dog.

“Oh my god, Cosmo, he’s like 16 years old now,’’ Truesdale said. “He’s deaf. He’s blind. But he’s still here, still alive, and mostly what he does is sleep.

“The best part of having a show dog is when they retire and come home to be, you know . . . just be a dog.’’

Meanwhile, Truesdale is optimistic that Joey will get the job done in New York. USA Network and CNBC split the action tomorrow night, and USA wraps it up Tuesday, 8-11 p.m. Joey will be in the ring early tomorrow afternoon, competing only against other affenpinschers.

If he makes the cut there, he’ll compete against the best of the other toy breeds tomorrow night. Round 3, if he makes it, will be Tuesday night, pitting Joey against the six dogs also voted best in their groups.

Winner takes all in the Best in Show round. One champ, one ribbon. The other six dogs, all tied for second, can go howl at the moon.

What makes a champion? According to Truesdale, who calls her passion for show dogs and the industry a form of gambling (“I don’t play the shot machines, I play the show ring!’’), it’s a dog’s breakfast of genetics, desire to compete, focus, intelligence, and overall temperament. To hear her work her way down the list, it’s like listening to a talent agent check off the attributes of the next cinematic ingenue.

In a world so crammed with talent, might it not just be the glimmer in the dog’s eye, a certain wag of the tail, a paw stately poised, a cold nose cleverly and poignantly poked into the judge’s shin, as if to say, “Look, pal, you know how to whistle, don’t you?’’

“Sometimes, yes, it really does boil down to that - personality,’’ agreed Truesdale. “You also can have a magnificent specimen out there who is a dud and there’s just no chance that dog’s winning.’’

For the most part, Truesdale believes taking home the ribbon comes down to the dog’s want, his or her desire to get in that ring and rule the pack, show ’em all who’s the choix de canine. She politely dismisses any suggestion that trying to read a dog’s mind or temperament may be more a mirror of an owner or handler’s own psyche than it is a true read of what’s in the dog’s head.

Never really a “dog person,’’ Truesdale started to figure out what man’s best friends were all about from the day she met her future husband’s dog, a boxer named Kizzy, in 1973.

“Not much choice, really,’’ she recalled. “It was like, ‘OK, why is Kizzy sitting here in the middle of every conversation we have?’ And I soon realized, ‘Well, OK, Kizzy’s just part of the deal, I guess.’ ’’

Whichever dog wins at Westminster - considered by many to be the top dog of dog shows - most likely will carry the day with its “demeanor, disposition, and want,’’ said Truesdale.

“Listen, they are on stage, and they think they are superior to all,’’ she said, offering a treasure trove of some 500 Best in Show ribbons as her curriculum vitae. “They’re alphas, right? They are on stage, and they’re saying, ‘I want to win!’

“Oh, trust me, they know it. No doubt in my mind. When they get to that level, they’re all saying, ‘I’m telling you, I am the best dog.’ ’’

New York is no stranger to that mentality, doggone it. Joey, the tiny Attleboro affenpinscher with big dog dreams, now gets his bite of the Apple.

Kevin Paul Dupont’s “On Second Thought’’ appears on Page 2 of the Sunday Globe Sports section. He can be reached at dupont@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.