A person walks with his Saint Bernard and (under) Dachshunds at the show. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 8: Dog lovers in the city went wow-wow as sprightly canines strutted their stuff at the 45th and 46th Championship Dog Show on the OUAT Veterinary College campus today.

Organised by Odisha Kennel Club, the event saw about 200 dogs of 25-odd breeds competing in various categories.

This is the first time that Kennel Club of India has accorded a “pointed show” status to the championships.

“The status means that the winners of different categories would be accorded points. The one earning the highest number of points touring various championships in the country would be named the Dog of the Year. This year, we have fewer participants. But quality wise, they would easily make it to the top 20 dogs of the country,” said Odisha Kennel Club secretary S.R. Prusti.

The participating canines were judged under categories based on age – minor puppy class, puppy class, junior class, intermediate class, bred in India class, and open class as well as on efficacy such as toy, utility, hound, gundog working and pastoral. None from terrier category was seen in the competition though.

Trainers and owners came mainly from Odisha, Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and New Delhi. A couple of Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky became the cynosure of all eyes in the competition.

Then there were breeds such as Saint Bernard, Dogue de Bordeaux, Dachshund, Great Dane and Pekingese. “He has been with me for two years now. He is a very happy and friendly dog. He performed really well in the competition,” said Animesh Mohanty about Storm, his Rottweiler.

Prashant Chaudhary was also pleased with the performance of Obby, his year-old Dalmatian. El Baroudi from Morocco and Rajiv Shandilya of India, who have judged over 100 dog shows, were the adjudicators for the championships today.