Held from November 8 - 12, the World Dog Show is the place to be for dog fanatics. During the show, dogs will compete in various sports events at the Leipzig Trade Fair and will be spoiled by numerous culinary choices — with 185 pet food stands altogether.
Read more: Sony revives discontinued robo-dog
While agility, obedience, junior handler, conformation and other demonstrations and parades will take place over the five days of the event, the schedule also includes rather controversial categories such as the "Dog Dancing World Championship."
The dogs who win in any category are awarded the title "World Champion."
Overall, the exhibition, which was first held in 1971 in Budapest, expects to welcome more than 30,000 dogs from 73 nation this year. It is the seventh time the show takes place in Germany.
Many dog breeds have actually originated in the country. Discover which ones in the gallery above. The gallery below revisits some of the most iconic dogs of pop culture.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
Dogs are often better than human beings
"Man's best friend" lives in about seven million German households. The arts have provided more than a few iconic canines to remember while the World Dog Show takes place in Leipzig from November 8-12. This smartly dressed blue dog in the painting "Wendy and Me," created by George Rodrique, is so popular that it was once stolen from an art gallery.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
Straight from hell
Humans' ties to dogs dates all the way back to ancient Greece. However, they weren't man's best friend back then. With his three heads, the mythological Cerberus was a horrific sight. He guarded the entrance to the underworld. Heroic Heracles, pictured here, managed to overcome the beast.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
The sound of music
Nipper, the mascot of the music label EMI Electrola, became famous at the end of the 19th century. He loved the gramophone that belonged to his owner, Francis Barraud. He was a painter and captured the moment in which Nipper got caught up in the music and simply forgot the world around him.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
A dog at play
Painter Franz Marc loved his Siberian husky, Russi. He painted him in 1911, as he was getting up close as personal with the freezing landscape around him. It became one of his most famous works and can now be seen in Frankfurt's Städelmuseum.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
The epitome of faithfulness
This faithful dog Hachikō was not a piece of fiction. In the 1920s in Japan, he waited everyday for his master to come pick him up at the end of the day. When his owner passed away, the dog continued to wait - for nearly a decade. In 1934, a memorial was built to Hachikō and in 2009, his story was turned into a movied starring Richard Gere.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
Cinema star
Lassie first appeared in a short story in 1938, but her big break came five years later with the film "Lassie Come Home." It was the beginning of unparalleled stardom, even culminating in a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Her star can be found right next to those of the famed German Shepherd Strongheart and comic dog Rantanplan.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
First kiss
Schmaltzy violin music, spaghetti on checkered table cloths and romantic love scenes – "The Lady and the Tramp" (1955) stars two of the most famous animated dogs of all time. They're not the only hounds that Disney has catapulted to stardom, however. In "101 Dalmatians" (1961), just as many spotted puppies take to the screen and "The Fox and the Hound" (1981) features an unusual animal friendship.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
Slobbering star
In the 1989 Hollywood comedy, Hooch the dog turns police offer Scott Turner's life upside down. The slobbering Dogue de Bordeaux is the only witness in a murder and the cop, played by Tom Hanks, has to give him refuge in his own apartment. It takes a while for the two to get used to each other, which is evident in the film's most famous line: "This is not your room."
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
Small but smart
Dogmatix is Obelix's loyal companion in the "Asterix" comic series. He follows his beloved obese Obelix around wherever he goes. He doesn't need any magic potions; his canine instincts are enough to save his master from a variety of tricky situations. Just the thought of a dog bone once helped the whole troop out of an Egyptian tomb.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
Ready for adventure
In the world of comic dogs, size isn't a measure of intelligence. Snowy is the clever fox terrier who accompanies reporter Tintin on his exciting journeys around the world. The duo was first created by Belgian illustrator Georges Remi, alias Hergé, in 1929.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
Classy canines
French artist Thierry Poncelet portrayed people, but with a catch: He gave them dogs' heads. He came up with the idea while painting a wealthy lady whose face was so ugly that Poncelet thought he'd rather paint his dog. While she likely wasn't thrilled, it was the beginning of his artistic trademark.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
The hound of the Baskervilles
A spooky hound kills one person after another in the Baskerville family. Is it a curse? Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on the case in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel. A relative is after the family's inheritance and has a motive for getting rid of the whole clan. He starved and tortured the poor dog, which made his appearance so eerie. The book was named one of the best-loved novels in the UK.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
What dogs do...
"Otto's Pug" was created by Austrian poet Ernst Jandl in 1963. He wrote a short poem about master Otto who sends his pug away, only to miss him terribly. The dog returns and does what dogs do: He pukes. The poem is required reading in many German schools and has entertained children for decades.
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Pop culture's most iconic canines
Only the best
A noble dog needs a noble environment. Photographer William Wegman is famous for capturing his Weimaraners in the most luxurious of poses. His images are sold as books and posters.
Author: Silke Wünsch / kbm
