indias dog show economy is thriving as owners spend thousands on prepping their trophy pooches it is 2pm on a wintry sunday in delhi and a competition is under way the crowd leans in as three contestants saunter up heads high gait straight the judge peers at their teeth runs a hand down their back and moves around and feels their rump the siberian huskies submit to the inspection uncomplainingly they were among 310 canines across 39 breeds to have registered at the delhi 39 breeds to have registered at the delhi kennel clubs 83rd and 84th all breed championship dog show at delhis indira gandhi indoor stadium last sunday here ranged across the asphalt and lawns were boxers bull terriers st bernards and the rarer fila brasileros maltese and dogue de bordeaux in portable airconditioned kennels or tethered to trees coiffed dryconditioned and waiting for their turn at breed and group toy dogs sight hounds etc faceoffs some owners had flown in their game dogs from as far as hyderabad and kolkata others had rolled in from nearer jalandhar dehradun and moradabad why go to the trouble youll ask for a swing at a small trophy and worse no cash prize because a winning title is an attestation of high breeding and genetic standards the new high watermark of canine ownership of course for the more commericalminded the progeny of a titled pedigree can call three times more than market ratesmoreover breeders can charge as much as rs 15 lakh for conjugal rights to a champion in a sense dog shows are to dogs what beauty contests are to 20year olds career launchers euro monitor international reckons indias petcare market is valued at rs 173 billion of which canines corner about 80 and growing at 20 annually whats also rising is the demand for pedigrees and rare breeds like samoyeds tibetan mastiffs and akitas when once indias dogs hunted and guarded they are today trophies signalling status like cars a tibetan mastiff a mercedes a beagle the beetle people once regarded dogs as little more than security fixtures but now they look to buy good quality pedigrees says c v sudarsan secretary kennel club of india kci the countrys only registrar of canine pedigrees last year kci registered 45000 of them certificates typically trace five generations of the bloodline dog clubs have ergo multiplied with the canine population around 70 clubs across the country are affiliated with kci each organizing at least two shows annually we had some 140 shows last year which was twice the number ten years ago continues sudarsan when 30yearold simranjeet singh from jalandhar sprang rs 35000 for a chow chow six months ago he didnt expect her to win a challenge certificate cc at her very first clash a cc indicates that the dog is worthy of becoming a show champion three ccs brings home the champion title im a farmer i only contested for fun but after