With plenty of barks, treats and tail-wagging, the world's biggest and most famous dog show has a record number of overseas entries among those bidding for glory.

More than 20,000 pooches of varying size, shape and personality descend on the UK's National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham for the four-day Crufts showcase, with one claiming the coveted "Best in Show" crown late Sunday.

It's widely regarded as the pinnacle for any canine and its owner, attracting entrants in unprecedented numbers from around the world this year to tread the show's famous green carpets.

"People dream every year to have this piece of paper and the rosetta... it's something very special," said Italian breeder and handler Mattia Fasso. 

"The atmosphere, the air that you breathe here, is different – there's something magic about it," he added, comparing the annual competition to the quintessentially British tennis championships at Wimbledon.

Although this year sees entrants from as far away as New Zealand, Peru and Argentina, Britain's closest European neighbors make up the biggest slice of foreign competitors.

From a family that has bred Bernese Mountain dogs near Bologna in northern Italy for decades, Fasso has been coming to Crufts since the mid-2010s, witnessing its popularity grow internationally.

This year he has brought two Bernese, a Border Collie, a Pomeranian and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

"There are so many breeds... here in Crufts and generally in the UK, with a very high quality, so people (who) want to improve the quality of their breeds, their dogs, they have to come here."

'Big deal'

Crufts, first organized by dog lover Charles Cruft in 1891 and now run by The Royal Kennel Club, is billed as "a celebration of everything we love about dogs and the people who care for them."

Last year for the first time, a dog from Italy won best in show, perhaps encouraging European entrants to try to repeat the feat at the 2026 edition.

It has attracted 4,299 overseas entries – the highest number in the event's history. The Kennel Club says France leads the international contingent with 538 dogs, followed by Italy (436), Germany (425) and the Netherlands (353). 

Handler Karin Schijff, 61, is among the Dutch contingent.

She made the ferry journey over to England with a fellow Dutch breeder friend and seven pooches between them – three Swedish Vallhunds and four other hounds.

"It's a really big deal on the (European) mainland, if your dog is a Crufts qualifier," Schijff said as she waited to show Ivy, a 22-month-old Swedish Vallhund – a breed originally used as cow herders.

Schijff recently attended the Westminster Dog Show in New York but was left disappointed by its relatively smaller scale.

"I imagined it much bigger. It was a wonderful show... but you just can't compare them," she said. 

Schijff puts Crufts' growing international appeal down to easier travel with pets in the modern era, as well as "great" Kennel Club marketing and the many qualifiers it stages in many countries.

"Crufts presents itself really well. The green (carpets) and the facility is perfect."