Crufts

Blog 7 – 2.6 Challenge – 26 blog posts over 26 days…

Crufts. A celebration of dogs. Back in March myself, my partner and new Guide Dog Riley attended Crufts. The plan was to leave Riley behind as I knew it would be like taking a sugar filled child to Disneyland at Christmas. However, Riley ensured his place by accidently injuring big brother Calvin days before by playing a little bit to energetically. This meant the boys needed to be kept apart to ensure Calvin could recover. So my parents were unable to dog-sit both boys.

I learnt that Riley was actually an annual Crufts attendee. He had volunteered on the Guide Dogs stand the year before with his Puppy Walker and I was assured he was well behaved. Unlike Riley it was my first time at Crufts. I didn’t really know what to expect. I had seen bits of it on TV over the years, but it never particularly interested me. It is easy to assume it is all about the dog show. It is so much more.

My motive for going was to do some essential dog shopping. Since the arrival of Riley the boys had successfully destroyed every soft toy available through tug. The toy box was looking very empty. I heard that there would be hundreds of stalls at the event which makes sense when you think about it.

On arrival at the NEC in Birmingham we first visited the Guide Dogs stand that was handily positioned near the entrance. Riley was reunited with his Puppy Walker who was volunteering for Guide Dogs again. Despite spending his first year of life with his Puppy Walker who raised him into a respectable Labrador cross retriever, Riley showed no hint of recognition. I was personally disappointed for her after all of the time and effort she would have put in. Nevertheless I could see how proud she was of Riley in his Guide Dog harness. He had made it. When Riley saw his old playmate Harrison on the other hand the pup couldn’t contain his excitement. It would have been about a year since Riley and Harrison had played last. The long lost friends greeted each other exuberantly causing hearts to melt all around.

I think until you visit Crufts it is impossible to appreciate the size of the event. It is simply enormous. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of stalls not even all dog related. Prepare for achy feet and body as you spend hours exploring. We were quite surprised not to find some weird and wonderful products though. For example like the Mud Daddy we have to clean the dogs after a muddy walk or after Calvin has rolled in something he shouldn’t. I did make some purchases including a deluxe licky mat, licky mat sprinkles, a Chuckit tug toy, a knots Kong bear, a stuffingless Kong monkey and a Mighty kangaroo. The boys have wrecked every last one of the products that all claim to be super durable. I feel like they need to be volunteer testers. Calvin and Riley still enjoy playing with the toys in their sorry looking states which is something.

One great part of Crufts is the Discover Dogs section. Sadly we didn’t discover the section until late afternoon meaning many dogs had already left. It is where you can meet over 200 different breeds of dog. I had the pleasure of stroking a variety of dogs and chatting to their friendly owners. There were dogs of all different shapes and sizes. From long hair to short hair it was fascinating. One of the highlights was stroking a Great Dane and we fell in love with the Norwegian Buhund.

After 7 tiring but thoroughly enjoyable hours it was time to leave. My shoulder was aching somewhat from Riley pulling on the lead. To be fair he behaved remarkably considering being in doggy heaven. We had a novel chippy lunch on a double decker bus and didn’t even get a chance to see any of the dog shows. It was a fun day. We plan to return next year and aim to arrive early, take lots of breaks, spend more time interacting with the dogs, check out some of the shows and no doubt buy more toys for the boys to destroy!

I am taking part in the 2.6 Challenge to help save our UK charities. If you enjoyed my blog post or are feeling generous please consider donating as little as £1 to support my chosen charities: The Norrie Disease Foundation, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Look UK, RNIB and Girl Guiding UK. You can find my fundraising page by clicking here

Thank you and stay safe x