Rover's return - the dog show was cancelled in 2001 but is now revived

The show has not taken place since the agricultural show was cancelled in 2001 because of the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Understood to be Wales' biggest dog show, it will be held in conjunction with the Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden Festival.

Last summer, organisers were criticised for banning dogs from the showground at Llanelwedd, near Builth Wells.

We are making every effort to publicise the show and it will be the biggest open dog show in Wales Dog show assistant secretary, Julie Howells

They said the dog ban - excluding guide dogs - was made on health and safety grounds as unleashed pets had caused "chaos" in animal sheds.

The event between 15-16 May will be run under the rules of the Kennel Club and it is expected to feature 222 classes.

Held over two days, the sporting breeds will be judged on the first day and non-sporting dogs on the second day.

"The prize money is not large but the real prize is the honour of winning at such a prestigious event," said the show assistant secretary, Julie Howells.

There will be 222 classes at the dog show

"We are making every effort to publicise the show and it will be the biggest open dog show in Wales.

"We are expecting at least 1,000 entries.

"They are already coming in and we still have quite some time to go before the closing date on 19 April.

There had been cases when visitors had been bitten during the Royal Welsh, the premier agricultural event in Wales which regularly attracts crowds of more than 200,000.