There are fine performances in the movie from both the dogs and the humans, although in the end the humans steal the show. One of the most hilarious performances is by Fred Willard as Buck Laughlin, the crude and idiotic commentator who knows nothing about dogs, yet still refuses to shut up.
The dog-owners themselves, however, are the main attraction.
There is Harlan Pepper, played by Guest himself, the earnest bloodhound owner and aspiring ventriloquist who lives in the town of Pine Nut and has a penchant for "namin' nuts."
On the other side of the economic spectrum is Sherri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge), a buxom, vapid blonde with a wealthy geriatric husband and a lesbian "enforcer" who trains Sherri's standard poodle, Rhapsody in White. Sherri Ann says of her pet: "We have a lot in common. We both love soup and snow peas, talking and not talking. We could talk or not talk forever, and still have things to not talk about."
Michael Huffman and Parker Posey post the finest performances as the despicable yuppie couple, Hamilton and Meg Swan. The couple share a love for fancy coffee, J. Crew catalogs and Beatrice, their temperamental Weimaraner. Although neither character utters singularly distinctive lines, their delightfully neurotic depth draws the audience in. They are simultaneously nasty, funny, mean and pathetic.
The film's charm lies in how it pokes fun at its characters without losing sight of their humanity. The characters take themselves seriously in spite of their absurdity. When Harlan Pepper says, "I don't believe that there is a better dog on the planet of Earth," he is utterly convincing. The audience never has to suspend belief as it takes in the dazzling array of dogs and owners.