Little dogs, nestled in couture carry-ons, are frequent guests at New York social events. But when the Westminster Kennel Club Annual Dog Show comes to town, dogs of all sizes take over the party scenes, with their human owners playing arm candy.

The most sophisticated pooches pass the time appreciating art. So it was Sunday morning, when dogs headed to the small Upper East Side auction house Doyle New York for its seventh annual “Dogs in Art” brunch (most had started with a morning constitution around and through “The Gates”). Pausing occasionally for water – sipped from pink plastic dishes – the dogs perused paintings, sculptures, and other dog-related objects, all of which go on the auction block this morning.

One of the auction highlights is a double portrait by Percival Leonard Rosseau, valued at $50,000-70,000. Rosseau became intimate with the affluent hunting world he portrayed thanks to Percy Rockefeller, who built a studio for him on his estate in North Carolina and made him a member of his hunting club.

The senior vice president of paintings at Doyle, Alan Fausel, who put together the show, said buyers often are interested in paintings whose subject bears a resemblance to their pet. Some of the hunting images are less popular: “Half of a dog’s job was getting rid of vermin – but no one wants a painting of a rat,” Mr. Fausel said.

Later, the canine crowd enjoyed afternoon tea at the Frost & Reed Gallery, which is exhibiting “Working Dogs, Sporting Dogs and Other Faithful Companions.” This London-based gallery is well known for its exhibits of equestrian sporting art at Saratoga Springs.

No four-legged art tour would be complete without a stop at the premier doghouse of art, the William Secord Gallery, near the Carlyle Hotel. Mr. Secord founded the gallery in 1990 and has authored three books on dog painting. He is also the founding director of the Dog Museum of America, which started in New York but is now located in St. Louis.

Mr. Secord said business increases “exponentially” during the Westminster dog show, though dogs are welcome year-round, “as long as they’re well-behaved.” He plies them with biscuits and water.

Can dogs be true connoisseurs? “Dogs are more interested in the three-dimensional objects. They sniff and sometimes growl at them,” Mr. Secord said. (This was confirmed at the brunch at Doyle, where two whippets, Riva and Chase, became enamored with a pair of bisque porcelain whippets.)

This week the Secord Gallery is showing portraits by 19th century British painter Arthur Wardle. The breeds depicted include wire fox terrier, Airedale terrier, Brussels Griffon, bull terrier, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, English setter, and French bulldog. Don’t expect to find too many fine Englishmen in the paintings – people tend to devalue dog portraits. “The man makes it a particular portrait of a particular man and time period. A portrait of a dog without a man is timeless, and a lot more people can relate to it,” Mr. Secord said.

Also, the attractiveness of the dog makes a difference, just as it does with human subjects. “There’s really no demand for paintings of German shepherds,” Mr. Secord said, “whereas English setters can fetch $50,000.”

Dog portraits generally fall into three categories: purebred, sporting, and pet. “The purebred dog portrait is very straightforward, with the tail at 12 o’clock, like a horse portrait – to show off how the dog as a standard for the breed,” Mr. Secord explained.

There’s more variety in pet portraits. “They can be anything, on pillows, in the yard – the pet portrait is really all about the relationship of dog and owner,” Mr. Secord said.

Although Mr. Secord once worked at the American Folk Art Museum, he does not carry folk-art depictions of dogs. “My market is essentially an academic, realistic market,” Mr. Secord said.

His foray into cat paintings was unsuccessful. As he put it, “Cats don’t work for me.”