Wagger.co.uk

Crufts is such a big show you really need a sense of purpose and a plan of action to get around efficiently.  I was based in hall 2 and it seemed to take an eternity to get over to hall 5 when the Yorkies were being judged (yorkie fan that I am!).   For actual Crufts results you can pick up endless details and commentary elsewhere so I won’t bore you on such things.  The really amazing thing for me about Crufts is the sheer varieties of breeds on show.  No other animal on the planet has so many variations as the dog and if you need any convincing then a day or so at the NEC will clarify this fact for you.  One thing was certain, the TV coverage on More4 was vastly inferior to the Beeb, the Kennel club was streaming video on its website but you had to pay for that.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Young Kennel Club ring with agility demonstrations and dance routines.  Although some dance routines went so badly wrong that you wonder if the young owners had actually deleuded themselves that their dogs could actually perform.  It was all done with warmth and humour and the commentator was quite ‘woganesque’ in his treatment of total performance disasters.

Stands seemed to be doing brisk business and obviously the dog-owning community was taking the recession in its stride.  I was based next to a doggie matress supplier and they were doing a roaring trade as was a company selling dog sculptures on the opposite aisle.  I do worry about someone paying 200 quid for a sculpted head of their favourite breed, personally I’ve never been more extreme than a yorkie coffee mug.   I think what strikes me most is the actual lack of dogs moving around outside the judging ring.  If you didnt stroll around the rings and the breeeders benches you wouldnt have noticed you were at a dogshow!   Wagger is a very dog-centric site and I think dogshows should be visited by dogs bringing their owners for a day out.  I guess I connect more with ‘Companion’ and ‘Rescue’ shows.  But Dogs were judged, pups were sold and reputations were made and lost.

One final word on the hotel rip-offs at the NEC.  I stayed at the Holiday Inn express which inhabits a parallel universe where a featureless slab of concrete can have a listed room rate of £225.   They they pop it on the web for £85 in the hope that someone might think they had a bargain - I didnt!   Next time I’ll bring my own kennel!!!

On a week when all canine interest should be directed to the upcoming Crufts show in Birmingham the media have drawn attention to ‘weapon’ dogs instead of ’show dogs’.   I believe that there must be more control on dangerous dogs, every year children are killed and maimed by dogs who have been bred as vicious rather then as loving companions.  Of course, the sort of people who breed and own ‘weapon’ dogs are not going to read blog posts on wagger or anywhere else,  I suppose they have their own ‘fighting dogs’ blogs tucked away in cyber space.  These dogs are traded in the grey pet market and marketed by word of mouth.  I think that compulsory chipping is a step in the right direction since dogs can be traced back to the owner.  Better would be a tougher implementation of the original dangerous dogs act and heavy fines and punishment for thugs who teach dogs to be vicious.    

I look forward to bringing Crufts news later this week and assure you that we will campaign vigorously for outlawing these ‘weapon’ dogs.