Forget all those fancy and exotic foreign dog breeds. If you want to be cool, get a British or Irish dog breed and preferably one of the really really rare ones which are in danger of disappearing.

Take for example the Sealyham Terrier, winner of last year's coveted Best in Show award at Crufts. This is a breed which was once much loved by Hollywood with owners including Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock and Betty Grable and Royalty – Princess Margaret owned two. In 2009 there were just 47 Sealyham puppies born. Compare this to the 45,000 Labradors per annum – that is 125 Lab pups every day.

Last year, the worlds second most important dog show, Westminster Kennel Club in New York, USA, was won by a Sussex Spaniel, a breed which can
barely manage 60 puppies a year.

However, enthusiasts of Britain’s very rarest indigenous dog breeds have decided it’s time to fight back.

This Saturday, 20 of Great Britain and Irelands' rarest dog breeds will be led into the Arena at Crufts by their handlers; all dressed to impress. To drive home the importance that these breeds have in Britain and Irelands' history, each handler will dress as a heritage character associated with their breed. So expect Dukes & Queens, Army Captains and Victorian Police Officers, Station Masters, Farmers and Gamekeepers, even an Irish Leprechaun and 'Nipper' the HMV dog!

This band of slightly eccentric canine enthusiasts feel this is something they have to do to promote Britain's 'Cinderella' breeds and bring them back from
obscurity.

"It’s time to fight back," says British Heritage Dog Breeds co-founder, Paul Keevil. "For the last 25 years many of us have watched these wonderful national breeds, some of our oldest and most historic, continue to decline in popularity with the trend for designer cross breeds and ‘exotic’ imported breeds. We are saying – hey – step back for a moment and take a fresh look at the wonderful British breeds we have here in the UK which are inextricably linked to our heritage."