Doggie portrait booths, gourmet canine cuisine, designer pet beds, and custom-made rosettes were in evidence at the St Patrick's International All Breed Dog Show at the Irish Kennel Club's national showgrounds in Cloghran, Co Dublin, yesterday.
None of the canine comforts on offer, however, could detract from the main event, where close on 3,000 beautifully coiffed pooches from across 170 breeds strutted their stuff in the ring while anxious owners, hugging flasks of soup and limp sandwiches, looked on.
It's not as glamorous as it seems, according to one of the judges, Ann Cuthbert from Bray, who says a lot of hard work goes into preparing for the big day.
Whitecliff Doubletake, a seven-month old miniature schnauzer, spent the last two months getting ready for the show.
Over 4½ hours of coat-brushing a week and a 3.45 a.m. start on Saturday for an early-morning bath paid off yesterday when he picked up fourth prize in the Pat Plan Junior Stakes.
His father Hideki, an Irish and Great British champion, and owner Paul Scanlon from Rathfarnham were there to cheer him on.
According to Ms Cuthbert, the dogs enjoy the shows just as much as the owners.
"If a dog didn't enjoy it they just wouldn't work in a show. You can see the dogs getting excited and I'm sure that some of them know it when they win." Breeding and showing dogs is an absorbing hobby for owners, according to Ms Cuthbert.
As ever the highlight of the dog show, which is sponsored by Pedigree, is the accolade of Best in Show, which this year went to Sparkle, a Maltese toy dog owned by Sharon Rainey from Portadown, Northern Ireland.
The Best Puppy went to a West Highland Terrier called Chandler owned by Ms Sinéad Taggart from Churchtown in Dublin.