A Griffon Bruxellois dog (R) sits with a pink toy dog during the 101st Crufts dog show at the NEC in Birmingham, March 4, 2004. Crufts was founded in 1891 by entrepreneur Charles Cruft and has long been established as one of the world's greatest dog shows. PHOTO - REUTERS

LONDON - Hackles raised, teeth bared -- dog owners from around the world descended on Britain's Crufts dog show on Thursday to do battle in the ring after a scandal-ridden build up. Over 24,000 loyal canine competitors from all corners of the globe came with them, making this year's event the third biggest since the show began more than a century ago. The prize is pure kudos, with only nominal money and negligible stud fees for the winners. But that does nothing to dull the intensity of the competition.

The four-day competition in the central English city of Birmingham is the world's largest and the quintessence of British canine culture, rivalry and for some eccentricity. It kicked off on Thursday with a display of "toy dogs", a category ranging from the tiny Chihuahua to the "mischievous and monkey-like" Affenpinscher, the Kennel Club said. But the jovial atmosphere belied a sinister undercurrent in the dog world, which was recently shocked by a hate mail campaign that led this year's top judge to resign. Joyce Mann, this year's Crufts Best of Show judge and wife of its chairman Peter, had been targeted by a faxed smear campaign to highlight her mass breeding of Yorkshire Terriers in the 1960s -- puppy farming -- a practice common at the time, but now considered unethical.

"The Manns were the talk of the show today, and at times you had to remind people we were there for the dogs, not the people," said Beverley Cuddy of "Dogs Today" magazine. The scandal was not the first to blemish Britain's highly competitive dog show circuit. Dogs have been poisoned in the past by jealous competitors, owner's cars have been spattered with paint, and one unfortunate pooch even suffered an acid attack. Last year there was a whispering campaign against Crufts winner Danny the Pekinese -- did he, or did he not, have a face lift? Danny was eventually cleared. Cuddy reported talk of a Flatcoat Retriever as odds-on favourite to win Best in Show this year. "But watch out for a Bearded Collie," she added. "I suspect it's going to be something hairy." Reuters