HE IS one stylish dog – Bernie the miniature dachshund has caught the attention of thousands of people with his impeccable sense of style.

The ‘sausage dog’ from Basingstoke was selected as a finalist in a national competition and has nearly 10,000 followers on social media site Instagram using the name @Bernie.mini.dax.

Wearing a cute pair of pyjamas, the 10-month-old competed against other welldressed dogs in the UK’s Best Dressed Dog contest, but lost out on the top spot to Spud the Boxer in a Donald Trump fancy dress costume.

Bernie’s owner Shannen, from Sherborne St John, said her puppy attracts attention when out and about walking around the town.

The 24-year-old teacher added: “He’s a little daredevil.

“He has a lot of outfits and we get lots of free things in the post for him to try out.”

She set up the Instagram account so as not to inundate her Facebook friends with hundreds of pictures of her new pet, and said Bernie’s followers have steadily grown ever since.

Shannen said Bernie has also been selected to appear in a charity calender for Hounds for Heroes, which provides specially-trained assistance dogs to injured and disabled men and women from the UK armed forces and emergency services.

Alex Grace, managing director at Banana Moon clothing, which ran the UK’s Best Dressed Dog competition, said: “Although being dressed up might not be enjoyable for all dogs, there are plenty of pooches who love it, our office dogs included.

“The UK’s Best Dressed Dog competition attracted 82 fabulous entries, all of which were worthy winners.”

You can see all the finalist for the Best Dressed Dog here