I was so excited about attending the world famous dog show Crufts this year that I had to write a diary about it. For those of you not in the know, Crufts is the biggest dog show of the year in the UK, and it attracts people not just from all over the country but from all over the world! Over four days, owners who have dogs who have qualified in other competitions across the country bring them to Crufts for the ultimate doggy competition, and many dream of taking the glorious 'Best in Show' prize home with them. As well as there being breed competitions, there are also plenty of events going on - like agility and flyball - and the place is crammed full of stalls and stuff where you can buy your faithful friend a treat, or maybe get a thing or two for yourself. All-in-all, it is the ultimate doggy experience! And 2005 was the first time I have ever been.
Saturday 26th February 2005: I've come home for the weekend and, lo-and-behold, look what drops through the post! I've got my latest edition of the YKC (Young Kennel Club) newsletter, a load of forms in case I want to enter my dog in some classes throughout the year (I don't think my Bonnie's going to be doing any of that... besides the fact she's not pedigree, she doesn't understand the word 'stay' never mind 'seesaw'!), but most important of all, here's my Season ticket for Crufts! Wow, it feels good to hold that in my hands! Now all I have to consider is how to get there... The event takes place at Birmingham, so it looks like the train companies are gonna be profiting off me again. Time to dig out the Young Person's Railcard...
Friday 4th March 2005: After a rather nasty bout of flu (or at least the tail-end of it), and a few days off university, I'm now back in Nottingham and sat in the library at a PC. I've done my research and it looks like the best ways of getting to the Birmingham NEC are by train or by coach. I had really wanted to go on the final day, on Sunday, because that's when my favourite breed, the Belgian Shepherd Dog, is being shown, along with other beautiful pastoral and working breeds. Sunday is not a good day for the train service though, so I thought that I may have to change my plans and go on the Saturday instead. But hang about, if one goes through the Kennel Club website and looks at the Crufts section, they've got a link to the National Express coach service, which takes coach-loads of people from select cities in the country straight to the NEC. And it goes from Nottingham! Yes, things are looking up! So I can now go on Sunday. But, I sit there thinking, and there looks to be a lot of interesting stuff going on on the Saturday, too. 'Hell, why not!' I think, 'It's my money I'm wasting', so I decide that I'll go on both Saturday AND Sunday! The trains are good on Saturday, and are much cheaper than coaches, so I book a train journey for the Saturday through the Trainline, and I book me a coach journey for the Sunday. Sorted!
Sunday 6th March 2005: The thought hit me that I don't have a camera to take to the show! I'm not sure what the restrictions are on photography during the event, but I'm sure I'll be able to take a few pictures. I need to commemorate this weekend in as many ways as possible, so I've forked out more cash for a digital camera off eBay. It's a fairly decent one, I think, so I'll be able to take some pictures over the weekend. I just hope it arrives in time!!
Monday 7th March 2005: Crufts is fast approaching and I've picked up both my sets of tickets from the pigeon holes where our mail is stored, at my student halls, today, so at least I have them safe. It'll be interesting to compare travelling there by train on the Saturday and travelling by coach on the Sunday. Travelling by coach is, admittedly, much more expensive (it costs a good 1/3 more than the train journey), but it is one solid journey which goes straight to the NEC, whilst I have to change trains at the Birmingham New Street station and get another to the International one to reach the NEC on the Saturday rail journey. We'll see how it goes. Either way, I'm going to be knackered out of my head by Sunday night! It's a good job I have nothing time-tabled for Monday!
Wednesday 9th March 2005: Three days to go! The digital camera that I ordered arrived, but it's absolute pants... I can't believe how bad it is, actually. You can't turn it off without it losing all the pictures from the memory, but that's no great loss because it takes crappy pictures at the best of times. I'm gonna try and return it because it's still brand-new (I packed it back away in disgust), and I've quickly ordered two good ol' dispoable cameras to take with me instead - I just hope they get here in time!!!
Friday 10th March 2005: *squeals* ONE DAY TO GO!!! I can't believe it - this time tomorrow I shall have been to my first ever Crufts, and this time on Sunday, I shall have been to it twice! (All things going smoothly, that is.) I'm really looking forward to this, even if it means that I'm gonna get so far behind on my work I'll have to work till I drop on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (I've got two 2000 word essays due Thursday - eep!). My two disposable cameras arrived, so that's one thing - I've practised with one of them (and taken a photo of myself in the mirror! LOL) just to get the feeling of them and all, and so I know how to take a picture when the time comes tomorrow. In the meantime, I've made my room nice and tidy (we have room inspections from Monday, so this was my last chance, really...) and have topped-up my purse with some cash, ready to spend on things that I don't really need. ^_~ All there is now is the evening to kill, the night to pass, and the journey to take (starting with a 6:06am bus!). And then the adventure begins!!!
Saturday 12th March: Here we go, here we go, here we go!
I have one of the worst nights on record, being unable to get to sleep until late, and am woken up throughout the night by a party in the flat across the hall, and by some twat kicking a football around our corridor at 3:30am. So I wake up a little tired but still excited - nothing matters in the face of going to Crufts! I get up at 4:30am and leave the flat at 5:40am, having checked my bag three or four times over to make sure I have my train tickets, Crufts tickets, money, camera, and what-not.
It’s still dark when I reach the bus stop, and a bit chilly, but the Dog Star is shining bright in the sky, which can only be a good omen. Whilst I wait for the bus, I see a little mouse scamper across the pavement and down the kerb to fetch a piece of fruit left by the roadside. He sits and eats this for a while until a passing lorry scares him off.
The bus is late, and I’m getting anxious - I can’t afford to miss my train!! It arrives about ten minutes after it should but, I find, as soon as I get on, I don’t have to pay my fare! There’s been problems with the buses, hence its tardiness, and the driver can’t give out normal tickets, only day returns (which I don’t need), so he says “Don’t worry about it” and I get a free ride into town! Not a bad start, I must say…
The bus is cold, but we get into town quickly, and I scamper into the train station and, with my unused bus fare, buy a nice, hot spicy apple drink in the station foyer and sit drinking that whilst I wait for my train. There are quite a few people in the station, but not too many, and when we board the train, there are hardly any people in my carriage, which is fine by me. There was also a Japanese Spitz present, which put me in a doggy mood straight away; “They must be going to Crufts, too” I thought.
We travelled through country that was quite strange to me on the way to Birmingham - it’s not a place I’ve properly visited before. We go through Beeston (boo, hiss - Trent University’s archenemies live there - the people of the Nottingham Uni’!), then Long Eaton, where my penpal Becky lives, and then on until we reach Derby. Here the train stops then goes back in the other direction and on to Birmingham. I read some of Dickens’ Hard Times on the journey - I’ve read it before, but I’m supposed to be writing an essay on it this week, so a bit of re-familiarisation might be a good idea. The journey lasts over an hour but it doesn’t feel like it, and we get into Birmingham New Street station in good time.
My God... Having come from little Lincoln, which has 6 tiny platforms in one diminutive train station, and seems to have no direct services to anywhere of importance, Birmingham New Street seems like a gigantic metropolis of a station in comparison! As I follow everyone up the stairs from the platform into the main hall of the station, I look around in terror and confusion at this place - it's bewilderingly big! I soon find, however, that it is, in fact, a lot easier to find where you’re meant to be here than it is back at home - the loudspeaker is very LOUD and clear, and there are computer screens everywhere telling you when trains are due, where they are headed, and what platform they leave from. After a couple of minutes, I find where my train to Birmingham International Station is leaving from (this being the station right next to the NEC) and then go off to the toilet whilst I have time on my hands. It seems that one has to pay to answer the call of nature here so it’s a good job I have a collection of twenty-pence-pieces. As I came out of the toilets, I saw a lady with two Akitas walk by and smiled - it has to be a Crufts day!
It’s nearing 9am now, and it seems odd that it’s still so early and I’ve come so far from home (or my home-from-home, at least). On the platform, waiting for the train to Birmingham Int’l, it is heaving with people - many must be headed for Crufts, I think. There weren’t many seats available on the train when it arrived, but there were enough. To my chagrin, there were a lot of that irritating class of people on the train who either took up the seat next to them with their bags and/or with their feet, or sat on the seat nearest the isle so to prevent anyone else taking the seat by the window. I hate these kind of people - they’re so damn rude, and I’d like to reverse positions and see them be equally annoyed when they can’t find a seat. Technically, my seat on the train is reserved, but someone’s taken it already, so, rather than make a fuss, I sit by a lady in a seat nearby, and shrug it off.
She seems really nice, this lady, which is a strange thing to find in a British railway travellers. We start talking when I explain I’m going to Crufts and how petrified I was by the sheer size of the New Street station, seeing as I’d never travelled this way before. She told me she was going to the airport to catch a flight to the Isle of Man, opting to take a train there rather than brave the traffic (which you can imagine would be horrendous on a Crufts day). Her niece, coincidentally, went to the Nottingham University (Trent enemies, as I’ve said, but I didn’t mention this) and is doing some fancy degree I can’t even remember the name of, but it sounded complicated. Anyway, this girl, also from the Isle of Man (I think this lady was going to visit her and her sister, the niece’s mother) had been quite shy, and had lived on the Isle all her life, so her aunt - said lady - had helped ‘open her eyes’ to the world, she said, by encouraging her to go away to the Nottingham University. She took her niece to Australia, too, to show her other cultures. I related to this, saying that I’m a timid person myself and going away to uni’ has helped me fend for myself a little more - hence why I was now travelling alone to Crufts. If you want to do something, I’ve found that you should just do it.
As we left the train, the lady told me I was probably better off looking round Crufts alone - it was a big place, and other people can slow you down. She asked me if I had a favourite dog, too, and I told her it was the Belgian Shepherd, and how I almost forfeited university for a dog - but I had to do something with my life or I don’t know what I’d do. She concurred and said I’d have plenty of time for a dog. Believe me, I’d still like a dog now… but I don’t think dropping out of uni’ is gonna help me in any way.
This kind lady further offered to point me in the direction of the NEC, and so she did, and we then departed. And all this before I’d even reached the dog show!
When I got to the entrance, I bought a show guide and then, flashing my season ticket, walked on in, and smiled. This was heaven! Right in front of me was the YKC ring - I’d entered at Hall 3, one of the five halls occupied by the dogs, stands and what-not over the four days of Crufts - and they were running a Flyball competition. The dogs were very excited and barking like crazy as they played this game, but it was great to watch and I grabbed a photo almost instantly of this. I then walked off, amazed by the scale of the place, and wandered into the stalls of Hall 2.
There was so much all around me that I would happily have bought, if I’d had the money - clothes, ornaments, books, doggy accessories, you name it! - and I started my purchases with two beanies off the Pal dog food stand which I was to give to my sisters. I then wandered round the stalls for a little longer and saw my first few show rings where, it being Gundog day, the spaniels, pointers, setters and retrievers were on display! I saw English Setters, Irish Setters, Pointers and Field Spaniels, and I stopped by the Pointer ring for a bit and had a little chat with a young lady who was waiting to run her dog before the judge. Her Pointer came to say hello, and was called Boris. I told her he was beautiful, and she replied with a smile that he wasn’t, that he was a horror - which most dogs can be, don’t we know? She let me take a photo of him (“if he will stand still” she added) and I wished her luck and watched the dogs for a while longer. I then walked on and took a snap of a pair of glum-looking Gordon Setters, who were sat on their benches forlornly, before I returned to the crazy-throng of stalls. I soon found myself taking a plushy-dog named ‘Max’ home with me, as well as a chunky-mug with several puppies and the words ‘I Love Dogs’ printed on it.
In Hall 4, more gundogs were on show, and here I first caught sight of what has to be the most odd addition to my favourite breed list: enter the Italian Spinone. I’ve never in my life, when I’ve looked at pictures of these dogs, ever felt attracted to them, or even felt an interest in them, yet, as I watched the Gamekeeper’s classes and saw a few of these on show, I was overcome with a liking for the breed. Sometimes you have to see the dogs in the flesh to really understand what their breed constitutes, and seeing these Spinones had a real affect on me. They weren’t particularly elegant or pretty, but they had gorgeous eyes, a stunning if strange coat, and a wonderfully friendly disposition.
To add to this excitement, I soon caught sight of my first BSDs, who were passing through the stalls with their owner. They were a fine pair of Tervuerens, and I almost cried! They were just so beautiful and, though not particularly large, were elegant and everything I’d hoped them to be. It was later on, though, in the Discover Dogs section of the show where I really got up close-and-personal to the Belgians...
The Discover Dogs section was basically a group of 180-odd stalls, each of which contained one of the many breeds of dog for you to come and see, and to talk with the owners about the breed. The first one I actually took a look in was the Beauceron stall. There aren’t yet many of these in Britain, but I had heard about them. They are a big and bulky dog with the colours of the Dobermann, yet more the look of a floppy-eared hound. I was amazed by its size - I had been given to think it smaller, more like a Dobe - and I also thought that it had pricked ears, but it obviously doesn’t - clearly, they crop them on the continent. Upon enquirey, I was told that they make very good family pets, despite their size and appearance, and I confess that I like the breed very much.
I took a quick look at the Manchester Terrier, which is a fine breed that I’d settle for if I could never have a larger dog, but as to the Finnish Lapphund, which a pet website told me would be my perfect dog… Well, let’s just say seeing them in three-dimensions put me off completely. They were yappy. I don’t do yappy dogs. I’m sure they’re fine creatures, but sometimes you just know, when you see some breeds in the flesh, whether they’re for you or not. The Lapphund was definitely not for me…
I went on to see the Ibizan Hound, and its smaller cousins the Pharaoh Hounds, both of which had a positive effect on me, the Ibizan in particular, who looked at me with his amber eyes and leant dotingly into my hand as I stroked him. I heard from the owner that Ibizans were dogs that never grew up - they always like to play - and despite the silence of the dog on show, they were also very noisy - but still very beautiful dogs.
Nearby was the BIGGEST bull terrier I have ever seen! I’ve seen Bull terriers before, but this one blew me away, he was so massive! They are gentle creatures, though, and I gave this one a good stroke before moving on to the Black and Tan Terrier, and then on to my beautiful Belgians.
The BSDs took up four separate stalls, so one of each variety was on display, and I went from one to the other, talking to the owners, all of whom - the Laekenois and the Groenendael owners in particular - were very friendly and helpful. I learned that BSDs are lapdogs, that love attention, and are eager to please. You don’t
have to be experienced to train them, you just have to socialise them early and take them to obedience classes. They make excellent pets, though. I loved the Malinois - the two in that stall were very sociable animals - and the two Laekenois next door were even more so. I told the lady that I had my heart set on a BSD, but I didn’t know which type I’d choose. She told me that there are very few Laekenois in the country, and only about 3 breeding bitches, which is a pity, so I’d be hard-pressed to find one of them, if I wanted the curly-coated one. The Laekenois required hand-stripping, however, especially for shows, which takes up a lot of time. In turn, the Groenendael and the Tervueren need daily brushing to prevent their long coats getting tangled, but what’s an hour or so a day lost if you love your dog and enjoy looking after him?
The male Groenendael on display was a really friendly dog, who jumped right into his owner’s lap on the word ‘cuddles!’ and who was as gentle as gentle could be. It surprised me how light the Belgians were in build, and how they seemed to walk on air, so fluidly did they move. I’m glad I went to Crufts, even if it was just for this, just to reach out and feel a real live BSD and see how they were in the flesh, not just on the page of a book. All my hopes about the breed were confirmed - they were the perfect dog for me, whenever the time came for me to have one.
This experience reluctantly departed from, I went on to see the Irish Red and White Setter, which was apparently the original Irish Setter, having existed before the now more common Red. The dog in the stall was a sweet one, albeit rather nosiy, but, when I asked his owner about doing obedience with this breed, he replied that they often go deaf to you, and require a patient trainer. They are a lovely breed, but I don’t think a Setter’s for me.
I really didn’t eat enough during the day - I bought one apple Danish pastry, which was nice, but that was it. It was getting to the point where you could hardly get your hands on food, anyway, because it was just so busy and the queues for every restaurant, bar and food-stall were so long, but I just wasn’t hungry as it was - my mind was on too many other things!
I bought Bonnie a new collar, as I’d promised myself to, and then wound up watching the RAF dog display team in the ‘Good Citizen’ Dog ring, before I went back to the YKC ring, where I watched the agility trials. There were a few no-goes, and one girl’s Swedish Vallhund stopped to defecate in the ring, which was embarrassing for her, but otherwise there were some very impressive dogs out there. The course wasn’t complex, though there was a tight corner around which many dogs slipped, but it really made me want to be a part of it all even more so than ever before!
After staying to see the senior (19-20 years old) handling competition, I decided to leave. My legs were tired, there being very few places to sit down (even most of the floor was taken up by people!), and I had a headache coming on because I was so tired. (I’d been awake a good 12 hours by then as it was, and I don't want to think about how many miles I walked throughout the day...) I left and sat in the train station for a while, awaiting my return train to Birmingham Int’l, then, once there, I had to wait a while longer before my train to Nottingham came in. This train was absolutely heaving with people, it was awful, so I was grateful that I’d reserved my seat. By the time we got into Nottingham my head was pounding and I felt a little sick. It probably had something to do with being sat in the sun most of the way home, but it had been a thoroughly tiring day regardless, so it was half expected. After leaving the train station, I waited for a bus by the stop nearby for another 20 minutes or so, and finally reached home gone 7pm-ish.
I was so tired and felt so ill by now that I could hardly be bothered to cook any tea, but I knew I had to eat something, lest I wanted to be ill for tomorrow. Forcing some pasta and burgers down me, I then went into my room, had a shower and wrote down some notes on the day - to write up into this later on - before I went to bed, well before 9am, and was asleep very soon afterwards with my plushy Max in my arms...
Sunday 13th March: I wake up at 4:30am. God knows why… but I can hear the sound of cutlery against a plate from Sinead’s room (across the hall from me in our student flat) so she must have had another late night, or something. How that woke me up, I’ll never know, but I pretty much remain in a dozy-but-awake state until 6:30am, when one of Sinead’s friends comes into the flat and knocks on her door. (Don’t ask - it’s a student life.) Rather than let my alarm go off, I decide just to get up and prepare for my second Crufts outing. My legs still ache from the day before, and I have a few traces of migraine still floating round my head but, that aside, I’m still excited about going again, and am partially glad that it doesn’t involve any train journeys… Though I do wonder where, exactly, I’m supposed to get my coach from in the Nottingham Broadmarsh bus station…
So I get ready, have my bowl of golden-syrup-flavoured porridge and check that I’ve got what I need for the excursion: my Crufts programme, money (rather important), coach tickets (very important) and my Crufts ticket (vital!), amongst other bits-n-bobs. This having been done over several times, I then walk out to catch the 7:55am bus (not quite so early as yesterday).
Whilst sitting in the bus stop, I’m joined by an elderly gentleman who starts speaking to me. He asks me if I’m going to work or something. I tell him I’m going to the dog show in Birmingham. “Ah, you like dogs do you?” he asks me and I say I love them, to which he says, “I bet you do.” He was a very friendly man, and he told me about how long he’d lived on Clifton, asked me when we broke up for Easter, and said how he was going swimming with his friends this early Sunday morning. All the best to him. The bus cut short our brief conversation, anyhow, actually being on time, and I was then on the way to the city centre.
As is always the case, my bus arrived a long time before my coach was due, so I had a good 50 minutes to kill in Nottingham city centre, which is no easy feat on a Sunday morning before nine. So I got some cash out of the cash machine (being a bit short after yesterday) and then just waited in the bus garage, getting cold. The coach arrived in good time (others having passed through, going to the likes of Penzance, Glasgow and Bradford), and I boarded with several other people before I was, for the second time in only two days, on my way to Birmingham and its NEC.
The journey lasted just over an hour, but it seemed less. I was expecting giant queues of traffic outside Birmingham, but there were none, and we smoothly found a parking space none too far from the NEC’s front door, to which the coach driver directed us and reminded us clearly that it we weren’t back on the coach by 5:30pm, he would leave without us. With this in mind, I toddled off with everyone else and scampered as fast as I could back to the NEC. Today was Working & Pastoral Group day - today the Belgian Shepherds were to make a full appearance!
It was about 10:20am, I reckon, when I got inside. I rushed straight through the ticket booths with my Season ticket and, with only one thing in mind, began to make my way to Hall 2 where the BSDs were being shown. Weaving through the stalls (and trying not to look at things I knew I shouldn’t be buying) I reached Ring 13a and 13b (grabbing a quick-pic of the Briard ring along the way) and beheld my beautiful Belgian Shepherds in all their glory! Ring 13a was playing host to the Tervueren type, the BSD variety with the most entries at Crufts this year, and just across the other side of the mat, in ring 13b, the Groenendaels were being shown. I couldn’t at first find a space into the seats surrounding the Groenendael ring, so I made do with the Tervuerens for now. It was obvious that the lot I first laid eyes on were dogs and not bitches, for they were grand-looking creatures, almost lion-like, with scruffs like manes and thick coats of a beautiful fawn colouring. I sat and watched these for a few minutes then, when this class was over and more Tervuerens stepped into the ring, I shifted across to watch the Groenendaels which, I cannot deny, I was smitten with. It was bitches in this group at the moment, and how stunning they were… They looked markedly feminine, with their elegant little bodies and finely-chiselled visages, and they were oh-so friendly. I took a few photos as the handlers put their dogs through their paces, but what really sticks in my mind was when one of the bitches, who was stood waiting near me with her owner whilst another handler ran her dog, turned to me to say hello, and as I stroked her and told her she was a beautiful girl, she put her head in my lap. I just wanted to take her home with me! I think then I knew that this is what I wanted: this is the kind of dog I’m really longing for.
My bitch went on her way, and I sat there for God knows how long just watching group after group of Groenendael bitches prance and perform before me, each group being dwindled down to a few, then these sorted into order of what the judge - a Mrs. Salt - thought was best representative of the BSD breed standard.
It wasn’t until midday, maybe after, that I thought about moving and got up to wander for a bit. I thought I’d go and check out the GSDs across in the nearby Ring 9, a breed that’s an undoubted old favourite of mine… Getting near the ring was a challenge in itself though. As everyone knows, the GSD is an incredibly popular breed (though it may surprise people that more Rottweilers and Border Collies were entered than GSDs this year), and this showed in the amount of people gathered to watch them around the ring. It took me several minutes before I even got a decent glimpse of what was going on, and even longer before I could snatch a barely decent photograph of one of the classes being stacked.
One thing really struck me about the GSD today, though. Having just seen the elegant and light BSD, the GSDs I were seeing now looked heavy, stocky and burly creatures. There was a particularly gargantuan dog stood near me with his owner, waiting to go into the ring, or maybe having just been in; he had giant paws and a heavily-boned frame, and I wondered then how anyone could possibly mistake a Belgian Shepherd for one of these. I love GSDs, don’t get me wrong (though the slanting-backs do concern me), but they just don’t ignite the same spark in me as my belovèd Belgians now do.
I walked back to the BSD rings and bought a necklace with a Tervueren or Groenendael pendant (I can’t tell because it’s gold-plated all over…) hanging from it off the “Belgian Shepherd Dog Association of Britain” stand (it was an extortionate £10, but hey… you don’t see one of them every day). I then mooched off in another direction and caught a glimpse of the diminutive Shetland Sheepdogs being stacked in their ring, and I walked past the (very yappy) Samoyed dog benches and had another wander round the shops, out of Hall 2 and into Hall 3, the main hall. I just cut straight through here and ended up, quite quickly, in Hall 4, where I opted to hang around for a bit. I saw the Pembroke and Cardigan Corgis being shown in the first ring I came across - the Cardigans look beautiful with their fine, long tails - and I took a snap of these. I then walked around and saw a lot of BIG dogs about; think of several Pyrean Mountain dogs in a very small space, nearby the Neapolitan & the normal Mastiffs and what-not. I had a look in the Pyrean Mountain Dog ring and took a pic of them, and stroked a couple outside the ring, too - they really are gentle giants. I then checked out the noble Dobes. There was quite a crowd around the dog ring, so I looked at the bitches. They were all very elegant and fine, with slender legs and smooth bodies - most beautiful creatures. I took my next photo then decided, after watching these for quite a while, to see what else was on offer. The giant Mastiffs next caught my eyes, and I snapped two laying about on the ground with my camera, then checked out the Hungarian Pulis, which seemed to bring a smile to everyone’s faces. (Seeing what can only be called small, brown mops with legs does that to one, I suppose, if one’s unaccustomed to them.) I soon caught a glimpse at what I think is the Puli’s larger cousin, too, the enormous, white Komondor, the biggest mop-with-legs you have ever laid eyes on! There were only eight entered at Crufts this year, which is a pity, but they were beautiful dogs, and surprisingly soft to the touch. I liked them very much, though they are not a dog I'd ever own.
A passing Malamute soon took my attention away to the farthest ring in Hall 4, and there, after peeping over the many heads gathered round the ring (very much like at the GSD ring), I saw a fine selection of Alaskan Malamutes. Wow - that’s about the best word I can use for these beauties, and they were big beauties at that - I never realised how large Malamutes were in comparison to the smaller Siberian Huskies. The dogs in particular were huge! I got a couple of pics of these glorious creatures, then went off to find something to eat before I starved.
After being ripped off £4 for a chicken-tikka baguette, but not caring (how often does one get the chance to be exploited at a world famous dog show…?), I took another few looks at the Puli classes, queued too long for the toilet, then went on my way. The speakers had announced that the Belgian Malinois was to go on show in ten minutes back in Hall 2, so I tried to rush back - the vast quantities of people (nothing compared to the likes of Saturday, but still enough) slowed me down, but I still got back to Ring 13b in time to see the straggling-end of the tiny Laekenois class being judged before the short-coated Malinois took the ring. I stayed and watched these beauties perform until all their classes were done, and I then thought it was time to return to Discover Dogs to catch up with the breeds I hadn’t had chance to see yesterday, or that I wanted to see again.
I stopped by the Manchester Terrier for a second time, as well as the lovely German Pinscher (who sounds like a promising candidate for a pet if I can’t have a BSD) and I decided to call upon the attractive Finnish Spitz, which is a beautiful creature. Unfortunately, when I asked, I was told that it didn’t do agility or obedience - it was a ratter at heart and not very adaptable; it made a great pet, though. It was a shame really, because it might have been another small dog I’d be willing to have otherwise, it was so gorgeous (and more appealing to me than the Finnish Lapphunds of yesterday had been...).
Moving on, I worked round the Bull Terriers, the Ibizan Hound and Pharaoh Hounds again, and then stopped at the Min-Pin pen. My mum had expressed an interest in Miniature Pinschers, so I had a little look at them, only to find that, as I heard their owner talking about them with another person, they were named after Formula 1 racing drivers, of all things... My mum loves F1, so that seemed a bit of a strange coincidence. I took a pic of the little devils and went on to see the gigantic but beautiful Irish Wolfhounds, and then was unable to stop myself from stopping by the Italian Spinone pen. I openly admitted to myself that I had fallen in love with the Spinone - I don’t really know why, but since seeing them in the flesh the day before, I'd grown remarkably fond of them. Their coats, though wiry, weren’t as tough to feel as I thought they might be, though they weren’t exactly soft to the touch either, but, in disposition, they were friendly and forward dogs, and the three in the pen were loving every minute of the fuss they were getting from the crowds. I talked a little to their owner and asked him about their grooming, to which he told me they needed to be hand-stripped every so often and what-not. In other words, you really needed to like grooming to have one of these. Another lady asked about the ease of training them, and he said that it all depended on the dog, but that they rarely matured until three years old, and even then were very lively.
I used my last photo up on these dogs before I then pulled myself away from a breed that had become the latest addition to my fave breeds list. I then checked out the not-yet-KC-recognised, but still present at the show ‘Bracco Italiano’, a bloodhound-esque dog from the continent, and also had a chat with the man in the Dobe stall, who had a gorgeous five-year-old dog with him. I asked him if they required an experienced trainer, but he told me that it’s no so much that they need an experienced trainer, but that the owner needs to be trained in how to train a Dobe - so basically, wherever you go to train your Dobermann, the classes need to be breed-specific and not treat every dog in the same way; the trainer needs to understand Dobermanns. "How do you find a good training class?" I then asked, so he came out of the pen with his Dobe to talk and asked me if I was getting a Dobe. I replied I didn’t know - I was looking at several breeds. He then asked me where I came from, and I said Lincoln. “There’s not much there, really, is there?” he said after some thought, and I conceded - Lincoln seems to be an isolated little bubble of a place, so I’m really unfortunate in where I live… There’s gotta be somewhere nearby that trains dogs, though, hasn’t there? He advised me to go along to some local classes without a dog and see what I think before I made a choice of where to train a dog, so I thanked him and went on my way.
I next watched a demonstration on dog training and then stayed on to watch the following parade of Bloodhounds, which were huge dogs - I'd never really believed they were so big before! This took me on till about 3:30pm, after which I went to see the stakes classes being held at the YKC ring - which, I‘m happy to say, were won by a Dobe and a Belgian Terv’ in the Working and Pastoral Groups respectively, before I decided to call it a day and, the time getting on for just gone five, made my way out of the NEC.
I at first couldn’t find the right way out, but found that all the exits led to the same one in the end, and I then paced back to my coach and, boarding in good time, awaited the trip home. I think we actually had to leave some people behind (you sit on the coach and smile a little when you realise some people are gonna get stranded because they didn’t heed the driver’s warning and it’s gone 5:30pm, but I’d hate it to be me… I don’t know what I’d do if I was left alone at the NEC!), so God knows what happened to them… I guess they’d just have to try their luck with a train.
And that’s about all I need to tell. I did realise that, throughout this day, I’d never once stepped into Hall 5, but there really is too much to see at Crufts, and you just can’t fit it all in. I’ve not had such a fun (nor such a tiring!) weekend in a long time, though, if ever. It tested my endurance, but it was all been worth it, because I have now seen for myself some of the finest examples of each breed of the dog world, and have seen how they are showed and what methods handlers use with them. I’ve also seen the YKC in action, an area to which I hope to one day contribute before Ireach my 24th birthday, and I’ve also had the opportunity to talk to dog owners and have seen their dogs in the “Discover Dogs” area.
On top of all that, I spent a lot of money there that I technically shouldn't have parted with, but that’s nothing new… ^_~
Though, if Crufts were still on tomorrow, I doubt that I'd have the pace to go through with it all over again, I must say that I now hope to go every year from now on. The lesson I have learnt is never to go on a Saturday, however, unless it’s absolutely vital. ^_~ *shudders* All that’s left is to find out who won Best in Show, which I’ll do in the morning.
Monday 14th March: I slept in - or tried to - this morning. I still managed to wake up stupidly early, but I lazed in bed for as long as possible with my new plushy dog, Max, by my side. I admit to waking up with dogs on the brain and I know that it’s gonna be a real challenge to get back into the habit of working after such an enthralling couple of days. My two essays are due Thursday, so I oughta get a move on with them. My old boss rang me up this morning to give me some Easter shifts over the next week or so, so that’s something sorted - it should help pay back what I've spent on the past two days! I'm looking forward to going back to work, regardless - I quite miss it sometimes.
I'm thinking of going into the city this week to get my photos developed - I'm not sure how much it'll cost, but I'm dying to see my pictures, and I really hope they come out okay. I'll be rather upset if they don't. I'm not expecting much from disposable cameras, just something to show I've been to Crufts.
Wednesday 13th April: This update's a bit belated, but I've been all over the place in my head. A Norfolk Terrier called Coco from the US won the "Best in Show" at Crufts, bless him. My photos have been developed but unfortunately didn't come out very well, so that's a bit of bad luck, really. I'll try and post a few here sometime soon.