© Anastasia Vetkovskaya

This year’s title was awarded to Anastasia Vetkovskaya, a veterinary surgeon from Moscow, Russia.

‘This particular image was taken during dog training one early autumn morning,’ said Anastasia whose image of Sheldon, an English springer spaniel, won the ‘Dogs at Work’ category.

Anastasia says she has devoted all her free time to photography since her husband gave her an SLR in 2007.

‘My speciality is pets and I am inspired most by dogs and horses,’ she explained.
Tom Lowe, from North Tyneside came top in the Dogs at Play category with a photo of his pet Westie called Baxter.

Other UK winners included Jamie Morgan from Maidstone, Kent who won the ‘Dog Portrait’ section; and Fiona Sami from Bristol who claimed first place in ‘Man’s Best Friend’.

Rosemary Smart, chief executive of competition organiser, the Kennel Club, said : ‘Each of the winning photographers beautifully captured the essence of their canine subjects on camera, demonstrating how important dogs are to us in every walk of life.
‘The winners showed great technical skill and we look forward to seeing more work from them in the future.’

The best photos are on show at the Kennel Club in Mayfair, London, until 12 September.

To view all the winning images visit www.dogphotographeroftheyear.org.uk