Crufts - the world's largest dog show

I was really happy to discover last year that Miss G is as into dogs as much as I am - today we spent almost our entire train trip discussing Astro (her lab) and Radley (our mini schnauzer). Not surprisingly, this was brought on by our trip to Birmingham to Crufts, which I've been looking forward to since November when we went to the Discover Dogs day to pet our favourite breeds.



I love that people in the UK (except for Londoners it seems) are so into their dogs, cats, horses and animals in general and that there are so many animal charities - of which the RSPCA is but one. The size of the dog show today was incredible - several different halls, a main arena, and more dogs in one place than you could ever expect to see in your life. There was also Discover Dogs section showcasing the breeds - me and Mr T made a beeline for the mini schnauzers and beagles (no surprises there).



Show-wise, my favourite events to watch are flyball and agility; wish Radley was smart enough to do all of those things! I think it did definitely highlight the differences in what we perceive to be intelligence between the breeds - flyball and agility champs all tended to be collies in the large dog class, while the small dogs tended to be poodles and jack russells - there wasn't a beagle or a mini schnauzer in sight for these events!



There was also a gun dog display  which made Miss G particularly happy since there were labs everywhere. It was really interesting to see how the dogs were so well trained that they each did what they were individually told and didn't run off all at once, despite being sat in a group together. Take note of Secret the small black puppy; she did her best to keep up with the other dogs and was super cute.



The guide dog display certainly gave the heartstrings a bit of a tug; if I had the capacity I'd be a puppy walker in a flash (one of those people who raises the puppy until around 14 months before formal training). I was surprised to hear that they receive no government funding despite the work they do which has such tangible and obvious benefits to society - but I suppose this is the case with many charities.



Finally, this was the wonderfully impressive agility display, with the really good dogs were clocking times under 38 seconds. I looked up border collies later but alas they aren't really suitable as a house pet unless they have a lot of mental stimulation as well as exercise, and aren't bred to cope well with noise or change --> I think I'll be sticking with Radley and mini schnauzers (though Mr T is partial to West Highland Terriers and moodles as well....)



All in all, a wonderful day for any animal lover and I think I just fell in love with dogs all over again; can't wait till the day I see my beloved Radley (date unknown at this stage).

Till next time,