The Best Dog Pictures Of The Year

The Kennel Club released the hounds this week. London's governing body for all things canine selected the best Dog Photographer of the Year in their annual competition, and the results are, predictably, adorable.

Out of 8,000 submissions, Roger Sjolstad from Norway won the overall "Man's Best Friend" category. He took a snapshot of his ten-year-old daughter Tea and the family dog Robbie running through a lake near their home in Oslo (at right).

"This photo was absolutely not planned," Sjolstad told The Kennel Club, "My young Dane had never been near water before this evening, so I was quite surprised when he took off into the water and he just ran, ran, ran!"

As part of his winnings, Sjolstad will have his Great Dane's photo transformed into a regal oil painting by renowned U.K. artist Sara Abbot.

Other dogs took home top honors for portraits, dogs at play, dogs at work, puppies and "I love dogs because," for contestants 16 and younger. Click through to see some of the runners-up and category winners.