About 200 owners entered the Gore and Districts Kennel Association annual championship shows.
Lois and Lance Butler of Maitland and their daughter Ashleigh Milford of Gore entered three of their Talbothights Japanese Spitz in the non-sporting section.
Japanese Spitz, which were classified as a rare breed in New Zealand, were initially bred to be watchdogs, Mrs Butler said.
"No-one will get near your place without them letting you know, so suffice to say they are a barky breed.
"They’re definitely a door bell."
However, they were also companion dogs, which was why she liked them, she said.
"They make very good family pets."
The Japanese variety of Spitz were always white but German Spitz were multicoloured and Finnish Spitz were tan and white.
Nine-year-old Kona is a top Japanese Spitz in New Zealand and has won many awards.
Dallas is 3 months old and taking part in his first show.
"He’s going out there like a little champ."
Association president Sue Pinnow said weatherwise the championships had "everything thrown at us".
"We’ve coped extremely well."
It was the first time the association had been assigned four shows for the weekend.
The first show of the four was named the Ngami Prattley Memorial Show after the late Mrs Prattley, who died not long after last year’s show.
Judges from Indonesia and Australia officiated at the championships, as well as judges from New Zealand.
- By Sandy Eggleston
