The Mount Gambier and District Kennel Club has got its nose to the ground in preparation for its renowned Easter Dogfest show.

The championship show was cancelled last year due to border closures meaning a majority of entries that usually attend from Victoria were unable to do so.

Club president Kerry McKay said the show would be held over the Easter long weekend.

Mrs McKay said last years event was the first in Mount Gambier that had been cancelled in 135 years.

“Even during the war, it kept going so it was a big decision to cancel, but there was no way we could have put it on,” she said.

“Without the exhibitors we do not have a show, we rely on those people to come and they always say they enjoy it and provide positive feedback.”

The closure also shut out the range of judges from all over the nation including Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

“When they put up the borders, we could not get our judges,” Mrs McKay said.

“We swapped the judges but then the other borders closed too so it was really hard to do it.”

The local club was able to put on its smaller October show last year, however only being able to hold one show in two years has impacted it financially.

“We have not been able to do any fundraising,” Mrs McKay said.

“It has been a struggle keeping us afloat because the bills do not stop coming in and we rely on our shows to get enough money for the next one.

“We would also like to thank our sponsors Tye’s Plumbing, Blue Lake Motel, Pet Network, Cocky’s Autopro, 13cabs, Eddies Furniture, JB Irrigation and CleanEasy.”

Mrs McKay said she expected quite a good turnout for the upcoming event.

“At the moment we have a very good judging panel.

“It is just a matter of what happens with COVID-19 restrictions and we hope it settles down,” she said.

The judging panel is set to include world renowned names in the dog showing scene with the likes of Lance Wright, John Burgess, Don Mahoney, Lyn Niemann, Kim Tosi and Steve Warren.