Show animals fitted with dyed hair and "false" testicles as Australian owners chase glory

Owners of show animals in Australia have undertaken exhaustive and extreme measures to win judging contests, according to industry insiders.

The Royal Melbourne Show, one of Australia's oldest agricultural festivals, began on Friday last week and Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday that owners were pushing the boundaries in the preparation of their animals, and quest for ribbons.

In the most extreme cases recorded, owners have "installed" fake testicles in dogs as well as false teeth, which costs thousands of dollars, to gain unfair advantage.

Other instances involved dyeing animals coat or fur, pumping up cows' udders, putting braces on dogs' teeth and sedating horses.

"Some people do go to extremes to win a blue ribbon, and it's very, very sad," a volunteer steward at the show since 1990, Marilyn Warren, told Fairfax Media on Tuesday.

"You can look at a dog one week and it's a different color the next week."

Warren said the dyeing craze was "very rife" across all breeds of dogs, and was against the rules.

The Royal Melbourne Show, which began in 1848, attracts 500,000 people over 11 days each year.

The competition allows for dog owner's to make a complaint if they suspect cheating but such a course of action cost 180 U.S dollars.

An anonymous exhibitor at the show said the fee was good as it discouraged unfounded accusations.

"There's so much nastiness out there in the dog world," the exhibitor said.

"(Without a fee) people would be complaining left, right and center." Endi