Like owner, like dog: how alike are we?

Lorelle Goodman believes the saying is true - owners do start to turn into their dogs after a while.

She even thinks people start to look like their dogs.

"Just look at the boxer owners and you can see it is true," she laughed.

The Hibiscus Coast woman was one of the hundreds of dog lovers who turned out in Taupo over the weekend for the Northern Classic Dog Show. She said dogs and owners' personalities often matched.

Both she and Sailor, the miniature shetland sheepdog, shared the same outgoing personality, she said.

"If a person is neurotic often the dog becomes neurotic too."

About 2000 dogs packed into the Taupo Events Centre for the four-day show and were primped and preened for hours before strutting their stuff in the ring.

Mrs Goodman had been busy grooming Sailor for two hours and said there was a lot more to dog showing than what people thought.

"It's not just about going in the ring and looking pretty," she said.

"The dog has to be calm and has got to be really showy."

However, presentation did count and Mrs Goodman was planning to wear a colour that complimented Sailor's rusty brown fur to help catch the judge's eye in the ring.

This is the first time the classic show has been held in eight years and the first time it has been held in Taupo.

New Zealand Kennel Club president Lesley Chalmers said the popularity of dog shows had dropped over the past few years but after the Auckland show they decided to restart the classic.

She said Taupo was the perfect spot because of the facilities.

"Things have been going incredibly well," she said.

Dogs were put through their paces in the agility and obedience section with sizes ranging from the miniature bichon frise and chihuahuas to the giant newfoundlands and great danes.

Mrs Goodman has been showing dogs for 19 years and breeding shetland sheepdogs for the past three. She said she had always loved pedigree dogs and had fallen in love with the shetland breed.

The Northern Classic Dog Show started on Saturday and will finish today.