Dalmatians knock spots off rival

EVERY dog has its good hair day. Yesterday was Arnie's. The Old English Sheepdog (a Dulux dog to the rest of us) had his bouffant backcombed by his owner, Mary Trucman, to compete in the best of breed at the Dublin Dog Show Society show.

"We have to throw his hair back before he runs so he can see where he's going. When it's down in his eyes he walks into walls."

There were more big hairdos at the National Showgrounds near Dublin Airport yesterday than at a Dolly Parton convention. But the real celebrities were the Dalmatians.

This year they knocked spots off the Lassie lookalikes, basking in the glory of Disney's remake of 101 Dalmatians as the dog with the biggest child appeal.

Olga Dalgetty said she could stand outside cinemas where the Disney film was showing with an instamatic camera and her Dalmatian dog, Bonzo.

"The kids all love him. You could make a fortune selling pictures, if you had the nerve."

She walks him four to six miles a day.

Gail Hussey flew over from England yesterday with her Dalmatian bitch, Zmila (pronounced "smiler" because the dog's mother smiled a lot.)

But unfortunately a half inch of snow kept her plane on the runway at Stansted airport for four hours and Zmila missed her moment of glory on the green baize.

Smiler snr had a part in the Disney movie, Gail said. "She was just in a crowd scene, but we were able to pick her out," and far from seeing an increase in demand for Dalmatian pups Gail has seen a fall in demand.

"It's like those people who really want a Dalmatian haven't been buying pups because they don't want to seem to be jumping on the bandwagon.

She had done a deal with Disney to rent them a litter of puppies, "but the producer was two weeks late and the dogs were two weeks too old."

The best grooming tool for a Dalmatian is a pair of Marigold gloves, Gail said. You just rub the coat down wearing the gloves.

Veterinary surgeon Patrick Condren was a bit of a showstopper in Dalmatian print fake fur trousers.

Elsewhere in the showgrounds some alternatives to the rubber glove treatment were on sale.

A dog hairdryer that looked like a large upside down vacuum cleaner retailed for £295, and a range of shampoos, conditioners and volumisers were a must to prevent those bad hair days.

Arnie, for to give him his full show name, Sir Arnold, walked away with the first prize rosette in his breed group, an achievement marred only by the fact that he was the only Old English Sheepdog to show up. "I don't blame the rest," Mary said, "It's all too much trouble."