DOGS are being prepped and preemed in time for next month’s prestigious Crufts competition.

A whopping 37 of the region’s four-legged friends have been entered into the Kennel Club’s Best in Show at the NEC in Birmingham from March 6-9.

There are 14 entries from Carnforth alone, four from Askam-in-Furness, three from Ulverston and three from Grange-over-Sands.

There are single entries from Kendal, Grasmere, Sedbergh, Milnthrope, plus two each from Windermere, Burton-in-Kendal, Appleby and Kirkby Stephen.

Springer spaniels, rottweilers, terriers, collies, dachshunds, pointers, retrievers and many more are set to put one paw in front of the other to compete.

Dog owner Susan Lanson, 64, from Milnthorpe, has been attending the show for 25 years and this year is taking her papillons, four-year-old Reilly and 17-month-old Darcey.

“I’ve been going for 25 years and if my dogs enjoy going to the show, I take them,” she said. “It’s a bug, I love the social events and the dogs can socialise too.”

Cynthia Bailey, 80, and her partner Sheila Tickle, 75, from Dent, have entered their five-year-old greater Swiss mountain dog Donnie and his puppy eight-month-old Hannah.

Mrs Bailey said: “We’re looking forward to it, this will be Donnie’s second time and Hannah’s first in what will be the second year of the Imported Register Class.

“They need to be trained for it, have plenty of exercise, good food and lots of tender loving care.”

Janet Johnson, 59, from Askam, entered her prized pup Xara, a one-year-old Japanese shiba inu, for the first time.

Ms Johnson said: “This is my fourth time at Crufts, and I’ve come second in classes before.

“I’m feeling excited, we’ve been walking, training in Pennington, and we’ll bath her the night before we go down.”

Dog trainer Ingrid Grayling, from Crosby Ravensworth, said the dogs from Cumbria were all of a ‘very high standard’ which is why they were eligible to go to Crufts.

“I think to get so far and qualify for Crufts they all have a fair chance."