Director Christopher Guest made the rock comedy in 1984 and has now turned to lampooning the American dog show circuit.

We join the bizarre pooch-centered lives of a host of crazy couples as they lovingly prepare their dogs for the Mayflower Kennel Club Show.

But for some it's all too much. Yuppie lawyers Hamilton (Michael HItchcock) and Meg Swan (Parker Posey) are in therapy with their their 'child', a pure-bred Weimaraner called Beatrice.

Another, a voluptuous blonde lesbian, uses her elderly husband's millions to fund her prizewinning poodle and suspiciously masculine dog trainer.

It's all affectionate satire - more chucklesome than side-splitting - but acutely observed.

Great turns are provided by a flambouyant gay couple who enter their beloved shih-tzu.

Some of the funniest lines come from the dog show's commentators, a hilarious coupling of an American sports presenter and a stuck-up English canine expert.