Crufts

[Emmielu]

Ahhh i love Crufts!! All the different breeds of dogs & so amazingly well trained! My parents have a 1 year old Newfoundland & hes our world. We couldnt ask for a better dog! I love the retrievers.

...including the one picked up in the middle of agility ...

Hahaha really?
Bet they have a fabulous gadget for that and some bloke didn't dash on frantically rummaging in his pockets for a poo bag with dog biscuits and half chewed tennis balls being scattered all over the arena.

Disappointingly they just had the bog-standard poo bags like the rest of us. I thought they should be gold-plated or something ...

Was sad when I saw that documentary about the inbreeding that goes on in some of the dogs, and the health problems this causes. Alot of pugs have breathing problems because their faces are so flat. Boxers are prone to kidney problems. I used to like seeing dogs and crufts, but now I see crufts as a bit of a victorian freak show for dogs, with little or no regard for the welfare of the animals. There is a lot of money involved in winning crufts and breeding dogs.

Oooooh dear, please do get your fact straight before posting like that. The winner of crufts receives £150 plus a bit of free dog food if you are willing to be photographed and seen as the name of the brand. There is very little money to be made by reputable breeders. All of the money goes to genetic testing, vet fees etc.

As for the welfare of the dogs at Crufts well they can be seen all day, every day by the general public, vets and other exhibitors. The welfare of the dogs is paramount so really you are talking nonsense.

Finding lol.. well they do find game lol

Gregs I know a breeder who says that they are lucky to break even after breeding a litter after everything they have to pay out.

Done properly and responsibly, there is very little money to be made in breeding dogs.

Stud fee is often the equivalent to the cost of a puppy and good breeders will only breed to keep a pup back for themselves so there's 2 pups that they won't make any money on. Then there's hip scoring (£200+), annual eyes tests or DNA screening which scoul run to another few hundred ££ depending on breed. Fuel costs for travel. Vet fees...routine and in an emergency....a c section can be up to £1K or more if it happens out-of-hours. Premium dog food (easily £50-60 per bag) from pre whelping for the bitch and then weaning until pups leave home...etc. etc.

Also, there is NO money in showing dogs at any level. To qualify to enter Crufts, you have to have won at a number of other shows. There is an entry fee for competitors at all shows and then travel costs on top of that. And then even when you qualify for Crufts, you still have to pay to enter, pay for travel and accommodation (unless you live near Birmingham).

If you're lucky to win Best of Breed at any show, you might get a trophy and a bag of food (usually only if the show has been sponsored by a dog food compay). Some speciality classes may have a cash prize of up to £20...wouldn't even cover most exhibitors' fuel costs for driving there.
It is very safe to say that no-one is into showing dogs for the money. It is an incredibly expensive hobby!

It's only puppy farmers and back yard breeders who invest no time, effort or care in churning out puppies that are able to turn a profit. There aren't many overheads in mating your dog with one down the road without genetic screening etc; or having a shed full of dogs with little heat, lighting, bedding, food, vet care etc.

My best friends parents have 2 Newfies. They are stunning! A bit lazy, but stunning none the less.

We went to the beach with them once and they kept hearding the kids out of the water, it was so funny.

Mine tries to rescue the ducks out of the stream in the local park. She can't understand why the ducks aren't more grateful for her lifesaving efforts

AnEcumenicalMatter - That's amazing! They just cant help themselves can they?

Can any one remember the Crufts coverage from aeons back, like in the 80's, when I'm sure they used to show much more of the other doggy stuff and less of the breed showing aspect.
My most very favourite bit when I watched it as a kid was the smell trial thing with the hankies. I LOVED that. The owner always looked so tense, it was really tense with Peter what's his chops commentating in the back "yes! Yes! That's it, that,s the one..... Noooooooo and he's chosen the wrong one. What a shame" and the audience groans and the owner has that torn expression buggeration but I love you boy.

Haven't seen that on the telly for years.

Or the obedience bit where they had to sit and stand and lie down with the owner giving them the commands from the other end of the arena, and with the stay one dog always got distracted and pottered off, much to the amusement of the crowd.
Does that still happen? Please tell me it does.

There's only so much of clean fluffy dogs with nicely descended testicles I can take. Dogs picking up hankies loads more interesting.

There is still loads of other dig related activities at Crufts including a huge amount of obedience. I'd much rather watch the obedience than agility or flyball but I guess it's cosidered too slow paced to appeal to most viewers and to do justice to the coverage would take hours.

And I remember trying to teach our old Collie how to pick up a scented cloth. Unfortunately, as an 8 year old I didn't grasp the finer details of the exercise and, of course, my scent was all over all the cloths...poor dog just looked confused and understandably so!

Ultimately, Crufts is the biggest dog show in the world which is why the focus is on judging. However, they do only show group judging which is only a tiny percentage of the dogs judged. I personally would line to see red button coverage where you could choose which elements you want to watch and it wouldn't have to take up any 'mainstream' TV time at all.

yy red button would be great. I would happily watch obedience for a few hours. Perfect accompaniment to doing the ironing.

There's videos of pretty much everything up on their Youtube channel including all obedience trials, RAF dog displays, gundog demo, every heat of agility and flyball etc. :)

Ooh I know the lazy thing with newfies! I love how they are so desperate to rescue anyone or anything in the water. My parents newf likes to play bubbles with my DD. He sits in front of her, she blows a bubble & he eats it. Or he'll just watch all the bubbles float away. Very relaxing for him.

Do you think it is a big dog thing? My Mums Leonberger is the most lazy creature I have ever met. He is always lying down sleeping.

Minimuu - please tell - who is the MNetter who was in Champ agility????

There is nothing lazy about my Newfie! She's already ready for action and would walk (and preferably swim) all day given half a chance.

Obviously, I am assuming it was Minimuu.... I missed it. Typical!!!

Can we see it anywhere Minimu?

midori I'm on my phone so I'll try and link

Sorry if those don't work.