The dog show held on Sunday here witnessed a huge gathering of dog lovers and owners who visited and took part in the dog show.More than 400 dogs of 42 breeds took part in the 54th and 55th All India All Breeds Championship dog show conducted by the Coimbatore Kennel club at CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex.

Out of these were the ‘Borbels’, a South African breed and ‘Dogo Argentino’, an Argentinean breed, which were introduced in the show this time apart from the other regular breeds like Poodles, German Shepherds, Great Danes, Labradors, Golden Retrievers and Rottweilers.

President of the Coimbatore Kennel Club, Vikram Dhamodharan said that there were three judges for the show. One judge was from Portugal, the second from Malaysia and the third from Baroda. The Dogs are selected under the Federation Cynologique Internationale or in other words, the World Canine Organisation, which is an international federation for kennel clubs.

The crowd also included professional, registered dog trainers who trained some of the dogs that took part. Dogs from Rajapalayam, Erode, Salem, Punjab, Delhi, Kolkata and Pune. DMDK party leader Vijaykanth’s dog also took part in the show.

P. Muthu, a registered dog trainer, who was part of the show, had brought two of his dogs. His Great Dane won a place. A dog trainer for the past 10 years, he has been taking part in almost all the dog shows held at places like Udhagamandalam, Salem, Madurai, Palakkad, Kochi and Thrissur. He briefed on how dogs were trained in house obedience, security, behaviour and show handling.

For a show, they are trained and chosen on the criteria of obedience, behaviour and most importantly, their standing position. He said how he makes sure the owners provide quality food to the dogs and take them for regular check up for vaccination and so on.

For a show held annually, it was very grand this year, according to S. Sathish, Manager of Coimbatore Kennel Club, and the event manager of the dog show. He said that this year, in a first, entry was made free to attract more visitors. This time there were almost 20,000 to 30,000 people who enjoyed the show, watching so many different breeds showcase their skills.