Sun Shines Again on Chiswick House Dog Show
More than 500 entrants across 17 different classes
A participant in this year's dog dash. Picture: Graham Hodson
September 24, 2026
It was great weather for this year’s Chiswick House Dog Show, held last Sunday 20 September on the cricket pitch in Chiswick House grounds. More than 500 dogs – and their owners - entered into the spirit of the show and took part in one or more of the 17 classes. This year the show was jointly sponsored for the first time - by Dog Town and by Wolfe Vets – both Chiswick-based independents. Each also sponsored a ring with support from Butternut Box as the sponsor of the third ring.
Best in Show – judged by James Bennett from Wolfe Vets, Adam Gibbins from Dog Town, and Xanthe Arvanitakis (Director of Chiswick House & Gardens Trust) – was won by the handsome Pia, a Petit Bleu de Gascogne, owned by Alex Usher.
The Dog Show ‘Barking’ Bar (sponsored by Whitman & Co) did a roaring trade, thanks to the weather, as did the DogBola (sponsored by Barlow & Co). The Registration Desk, this year again supported by Killik & Co, was kept very busy by those registering their dogs for a class on the day, and – another first – Orchard House School sponsored the Volunteers’ Desk AND the show guide. Sam Harrison and his Sam’s Waterside were responsible for the Green Room and for providing refreshments for the judges before and after their arduous (and often controversial) judging stints!
There was the usual wide range of stalls with Sipsmith, Chiswick Art School, the Hogarth Health Club, Chiswick Cinema, Rose Canine Massage and Chiswick Salon representing local businesses, and then a whole raft of different stallholders selling dog food and dog treats, collars and leads, candles and carpentry, pet portraits and tea-clothes PLUS an eclectic mix of catering stalls. Added to these were various animal charities such as Pets as Therapy, Battersea Dogs Home, Animals Asia and All Dogs Matter.
The very popular Doggy Dash was back again and run by the Dogs Trust (Harefield branch), manned by their own DT volunteers as well as some of the Dog Show volunteers. Our other dog show volunteers (x 150) were responsible for marshalling and stewarding the classes, for photographing the class winners (“PhoDOGraphers”), for setting up and taking down (“Dogsbodies”) the show, and for generally keeping the dog show site clean and tidy (“Sheep Dogs”). The event could not go ahead without their help.
Picture: Graham Hodson
Winners of the individual classes were as below:
| Class | Dog | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Waggiest Tail | Agamemnon | Lowri Betz-Vals |
| Prettiest Bitch 5-8 years | Sophie | Carol Fletcher |
| Handsomest Dog 5-8 years | Biscuit | Stephen Butterworth |
| Best Rescue | Libby | Chris Harker |
| Best Youngster Dog 1-2 years | Duke | Sherrilee Doyle |
| Best Youngster Bitch 1-2 years | Kylie | Laura Archer |
| Best Young Handler 7+ | Barci | Ava Milburn |
| Prettiest Bitch 3-4 years | Pia | Alex Usher |
| Handsomest Dog 3-4 years | Ronin | Isabella Cole |
| Best Puppy Bitch under 12 months | Daphne | Fred Stevens |
| Fancy Dress for adult + dog | Joy | Oleksandra Vestrykova |
| Fancy Dress for child + dog | Cooper | Arabella Facemire |
| Best Puppy Dog under 12 months | Arlo | Ollie Marsden-Ridley |
| Best Veteran Bitch 9+ years | Dotty | Ian Plummer |
| Best Veteran Dog 9+ years | Buddy | Charlotte Stoute |
| Best Groomed Dog | Finch | Dawn Bailey |
| Best Groomed Bitch | Fawn | Mary-Joy Langdon |
| My Dog’s Got Talent | Pretzel | Alexander Montier |
| Naughtiest Dog | Alfie | Monika Fryzicka |
The Dog Show is organised and run by a committee of 12 local, dog-loving volunteers and all proceeds go to the Chiswick House & Gardens Trust specifically to help improve and maintain the trees and shrubs and to make the grounds and gardens a safe place in which to walk – with or without a dog!
Picture: Graham Hodson
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