George is Best at Crufts 2012

Look who the Lady Of The House met at Crufts!

It is the very handsome George the Lad who was also reporting from Crufts (like the LOTH).

His report  is much more interesting than HER ramblings. He was also showing everybody what great dogs Welsh Terriers are in the Crufts Discover Dogs hall.

Discover Dogs has a stand for EVERY single UK recognised pedigree breed. So while the show dogs are being judged in the rings during the four days of the dog show, other dogs are specially chosen to represent their breed at Discover Dogs so that visitors can find out more about them and whether the breed is a good match for their family and lifestyle. All very important work, and George was a brilliant ambassador for Welsh Terriers on the final day of the show.

I think he should have his own TV programme.

I'd watch him.

Well, the LOTH said it was all very exciting at Crufts because of all the hoo-ha over independent judge checks being introduced for the first time and six dogs getting disqualified.   


But I was more interested to hear about all the other dogs and people that were there doing stuff apart from judging. There's about 800 companies and charities who have stands there and there's lots of other things happening in the main arena and other rings around the National Exhibition Centre like obedience, agility, heelwork to music, Flyball, Cani-X, and lots of demonstrations. So it's not just for pedigree dogs.

This is Alice, a nine-month-old Sealyham puppy with her friend Gail. They were telling people about the Save Our Sealyhams campaign. Sealyhams were once just about the most popular dog in the world but now they are an endangered breed. They are really friendly fun dogs who love their human pack and are very sensitive to peoples' moods.

This is Yomper, he's a cadet puppy in training to become an assistance dog for the Hounds for Heroes charity.

Holly and Lil make wonderful bespoke collars and leads for all breeds. They have a shop in London that is really popular with tourists (so do call in next time you're in the big city). Pictured above is the boss lady Elaine who designed a collar and lead for Uggie of The Artist fame, for the Oscars.

Rubbish photo here (well done, LOTH) of a lovely lady called Jodie Prenger who is a musical theatre actress and radio presenter. She shot to fame in a reality show to find an unknown to play Nancy in Oliver! She was promoting an important charity called Animal Health Trust which does great work for animals battling illness and injury.

This is TV vet Marc Abraham, pictured on the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home stand promoting their campaign that Staffies (Staffordshire Bull Terriers) are softer than many people think. He is holding 'Stitch' - a toy Staffie.

The LOTH had a good chat with the staff at Battersea. They were her first-ever charity of the year when she started her Lost and Fond website. A new TV documentary is currently being filmed at Battersea which will be going out in the UK at 7pm and introduced by Paul O'Grady. He was at Crufts too doing a spot of dog agility in the arena with a rescue Staffie. They have such a bad reputation in the UK and it's so unfair. There are more Staffies and Staffies crosses in UK rescues than any other type of dog.

Finally, I have saved my favourite until last.

This is a very talented sculptor called Joanne Cooke working on one of her one-off dog sculptures. They are wonderful pieces of work which really capture the personality of each dog. She can create them from pictures. Please pop over to her website Joanne Cooke Sculpture and enjoy some more of her wonderful work.

Look at this one - this is Rory, Joanne's own 12-year-old greyhound. His birthday was on the first day of Crufts. Isn't he beautiful!?!

A grand day out

The Lady Of The House and the Girl Of The House seem to have had a great day out at Crufts.

They told me all about it when they got home and this afternoon we've watched the highlights they recorded on TV last night.

Tonight is the BIG night when Crufts ends with the choosing of the Best In Show. The LOTH tells me she's rooting for a Flat-coated Retriever called Jet who won the Gundog class on Thursday. He's nine-and-a-half years old (striking a blow for we more mature canines) and his family had brought him all the way from his home in Edinburgh to compete. Today they've got to bring him ALL the way back again. Hope he's not too tired.

The LOTH's friend Mandy was in the Discover Dogs section of Crufts with her four Flat-Coats, Scout, Jenson, Liffey and Forrest. Mandy's going back to Crufts tonight to support Jet and his family. The LOTH can't make it sadly, but she'll be catching up on the results when she gets in later tonight.

I don't mind my lack of show awards - especially now because the GOTH kindly brought me back my own little rosette. She said I was the best dog in our house not at Crufts. That's good enough for me. As you can see I took the honour in my usual laid-back way.

The LOTH made a point of saying hello to some lovely examples of many of the breeds of dogs who follow this blog - including GSDs, Scotties, French Bulldogs, Airedales and of course Greyhounds to name but a few.

The nice things about Crufts though is that it's not really all about the breeds. You get to meet lots of cross-breeds too who compete in agility, obedience, Flyball, heelwork to music and freestyle in the arena. Then there are the medical assistance dogs and Pets as Therapy dogs who also show what they can do in the ring and meet show-goers on some of the charity stands.

There are also lots of dogs there who take part in The Kennel Club's Good Citizen Dog Scheme. The LOTH says she might enroll me for that. I think I'm pretty good already but I wouldn't mind winning a certificate with Gromit on it. I love Wallace and Gromit.

It was a LOT of walking, the LOTH said. Crufts covers about 25 acres indoors. That's big. The LOTH says she might go for two days next year as there's just too much to see in one day.

She met some lovely people including Ivor from the Retired Greyhound Trust, Debbie Connolly, an animal behaviourist and TV vet Marc Abraham. He signed a copy of his book to the LOTH AND me. I was very pleased about that.

The LOTH has started reading the book already and says it's really interesting, and funny and informative - a bit like Marc the vet himself.

I also got brought back some presents specially for me, but I'll tell you about them another time.

Woof Factor 2011

All this month there's a competition being run by a charity called The Oldies Club which - as its name suggests - works hard to find forever homes for older dogs who sometimes get overlooked at rescue shelters.

The Oldies Club is running Woof Factor 2011 throughout March 2011. It's a great idea for a fund-raising photo competition for dogs aged seven and older. You pay £2 to The Oldies Club for each photo you enter - and you can enter as many times as you like.

Judging is by a panel of celebrities including TV vet and Oldies Club patron Marc Abraham; Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan; "Doggerel" author Angela Patmore (she sounds nice with a surname like that!) and dog trainer Karen Wild.

The Lady Of The House just couldn't decide which photos of me to enter, but in the end we narrowed it down to just these four.

At the end of the day it's all about raising money for The Oldies Club - so do consider entering your dog (as many times as you want) to help other older dogs find their forever homes.