According to the Irish Kennel Club (IKC), demand for boxers . . . not a conventionally handsome breed . . . is at an alltime high, with other large breeds like labradors and Italian greyhounds loping not far behind. "Boxers are soaring up, " said the IKC's Wendy Jackson. "On the show scene, they always attract huge interest, but that doesn't always translate into popularity outside. But dogs do go in and out of fashion, and boxers are definitely in fashion now."

While the big dogs are baring their teeth from the top of the canine catwalk, some small breeds have also become increasingly popular in recent years. The most recent registrations from the Irish Kennel Club indicate that the short-haired West Highland terrier . . . "white; they must be white" said Jackson . . . has become hugely popular, while registrations of Cavalier King Charles spaniels rose from 73 in November last year to 249 in March. Even allowing for the breeding season . . . registrations are always significantly higher in spring . . . it's a notable increase.

The pages of Buy & Sellmagazine confirm the popularity of both small breeds, with dozens of ads offering westies and cavalier puppies for sale. But buyer beware: "We've had awful stories of people buying dogs from Buy and Sell, " says Jackson, "dogs that haven't been cared for, or they don't have their papers or they haven't been registered properly."

While the trend towards dressing small dogs . . . as practised by the Paris Hilton and Britney Spears brigades . . . is being increasingly serviced here by major shops offering miniature costumes for canines, the number of toy dogs in Ireland has not increased significantly.

Some toy breeds are more in demand than others, however . . . bichon friezes are very popular, as are the unfortunately named but mercifully spelt shih tzus.

Another small breed enjoying some time in the sun is the miniature dachshund. Jackson, who breeds dachshunds of a less challenged stature, says she is getting up to 12 enquiries a day for miniature, smooth-haired dogs.

"There's been a huge increase in demand in the last year or two. They all want miniature smooths. They think there's money to be made from them.

But there isn't, unless you're breeding on a large scale and you're very, very lucky."