Lucy wore a white mantel and collar of flowers. Photos: Melkbos.net

There were happy hounds galore at the Melkbos Dog Club’s annual dog show yesterday morning. Dogs ranging in size from really big to medium and pooch-size turned up for the event at the Melkbosstrand Country Club. They had one thing in common; they all have big hearts despite their size.

Koda, a statuesque five-year-old great Dane, proved that size and gentleness can go together. Initially she appeared to tower over the rest of dogs. That is until Maddie, a Newfoundland who is a year-and-a-half old, arrived on the scene.

Koda.

Three-year-old Lucy arrived wearing a bridal mantel, with a beautiful collar of flowers. Only a scoundrel would turn down such a bride! Happy Lily, who is only 12 months young, had humans oohing and aahing over her. Phoebe wore a dapper bowtie for the event, and in doing so, made a stylish statement. Handsome Harvey stole hearts. Every dog was beautiful of course, and good too. Good, beyond the call of duty. They proved this by successfully running through “Temptation Alley.”

Harvey bounds down “Temptation Alley” towards his owner.

Bowls of treats had been put down along this course. The idea was to see if the dogs would obey their human companions calling them from the far end of “Temptation Alley” or pause to guzzle the treats. As far as this old hound could see, they all ran past the treats, towards their proud owners.

Congratulations to Melkbos Dog Club for its use of positive reinforcement techniques during training. More happy hounds can be seen on the Melkbos.net Facebook page.

Lily had an adoring group of human companions around her.