Could the UK's ugliest dog be in Sussex? Owners invited to enter 'visually challenging' pets into nationwide contest

The competition, run by photography company ParrotPrint.com, gives Britain’s ugliest dogs the chance to win a professional doggie makeover and a before-and-after photo session.

While the competition has received many entries, founder of ParrotPrint.com Matt Dahan has had to step in to ask owners to stop entering pictures of dogs that are ‘too cute’.

He said: “We love dogs and it’s great that so many owners are willing to put their beloved pets forward for our competition but we need to be clear, this is a contest to find the ugliest dog in Britain.

“We have had a strong response but so far 90 per cent of entries have been cute dogs.

“While it’s great that so many people want to be involved, we need to ask people not to send in pictures unless they honestly consider their dog to be one of the ugliest in the land.

“We are looking for dogs who make your eyes hurt when you look at them. This definitely isn’t a competition for cute dogs or pretty pets."

A spokesman for the company specified that judges are looking for dogs ‘you would cross the street to avoid’ and who ‘look so ugly their owners feel they have to apologise for owning them’.

He said: “We are talking about the pug ugly mutts who are truly difficult to look at. There are some awful looking dogs out there but we wanted to give all of them the chance to shine.

“There have been a number of TV shows where humans get tarted-up and given a makeover so we thought it would be fun to do the same thing for a dog."

If you believe your dog could be the ugliest in Britain, you can enter by visiting: www.parrotprint.com/blog/ugly-dog.

The contest closes on December, 31, and 12 shortlisted dogs will be announced in the New Year ahead of the selection of an overall winner.