Madras Canine Club hosts 150th championship dog show in city

The Madras Canine Club (MCC) commenced its two-day All Breeds Championship Dog Show on Saturday.

The event features a comprehensive programme including obedience trials and three distinct specialty shows: the Indian Breed National Specialty, the Dobermann National Specialty, and the 19th Great Dane Specialty Show.

An international panel of judges were empanelled — Andi Hudono from Indonesia, Petru Muntean from Romania, Stefan Mitrevksi from Macedonia, John Bryson from Australia, and Gerard Jipping and Tatjana Urek Jipping from the Netherlands. Also, the obedience trials are being judged by Manjunath M.R. from India.

Over 40 different breeds from across India participated, ranging from popular retrievers and hounds to rarer entries such as the Rhodesian Ridgeback and Basenji. The show also spotlighted indigenous breeds.

Ramanan Muthusamy, an owner of three Great Danes, said these shows organised by the Madras Canine Club were among the premier events in the country for showcasing dogs.

Ashwin, who has breeds from Tamil Nadu, said it was only after registering with the Greater Chennai Corporation and the Club that he discovered there were over 100 owners of native breeds in the city.

Selvaraj, a resident of the nearby Tamil Nadu Urban Housing Development Board, attended the show with his three-and-a-half-year-old son. “We are unable to keep such dogs at our premises, but my son loves them. Such shows allow us to enjoy watching both Indian and foreign breeds,” he said.

In the competition, a Siberian Husky owned by Abhijit Dutta and Brueva secured the ‘Best in Show’ award. An Afghan Hound owned by Praveen Kumar was named the second best, while an Irish Setter, also belonging to Mr. Kumar, claimed the third prize on Saturday.

The grand finale and prize distribution are scheduled for Sunday.