Crufts - a breed apart

As you know, as a dog-lover I was thrilled to be asked to become a Crufts Mum.

On Sunday 13th March we got the chance to celebrate all things canine and attend the show at Birmingham NEC.

It was the day after Ruby's birthday, and after a busy day previously in London, she slept in the car on the 2 hour drive there.  She woke up just as we were pulling into the car park which was adorned with huge banners and posters of dogs, one of which for some bizarre reason she was convinced was a rabbit.  We spent quite some time explaining to her on the shuttle bus to the entrance that there were unlikely to be any rabbits at the event - much to the amusement of other passengers on the bus.

Luckily she wasn't disappointed - there were more than enough dogs to capture her imagination, and once we met the other lovely bloggers (Roz from Kin Hodgkins, Fi from Childcare is Fun, Louise from Rock and Roll Baby World and Maria from Mummy's Busy World) and their lovely children, she had new friends to play with and charge around with.

We had a lovely meal courtesy of the Kennel Club, and a chance to chat and get to know all the bloggers that I've been tweeting with for so long.  Then it was off around the show.

So much to see, do and buy!!  There were some slightly, shall we say, unusual sights too.  Now, I love my dog, but I think there is a limit!  We walked past an uber-glam young woman pushing a very covetable funky lime green three-wheeler buggy.  I gave it an admiring backwards glance, but was staggered when I spotted my other half mouthing to me "Oh my God, did you see that??"  Unlike me, he doesn't have a fetish for stylish buggies, so I wondered what on earth he was going on about.  Turns out this lady was not pushing her baby, but her dog in the buggy.  Yes, you heard correctly.   And don't even get me started on the stall that was selling entire outfits for pampered pooches!

Anyway, all that added to the experience, and we did purchase some very sensible (read boring) doggy rocks to put in Ella's water bowl and hopefully eliminate the yellow wee burn from our lawn.

Sadly the agility contest and best in show performances didn't start until 5pm and there was a long queue.  After such a busy day Ruby was not up for standing in line so we didn't get to see that - although we have since watched in online.



All in all, a very nice day out - if incredibly tiring!  Many thanks to the Kennel Club and especially to Holly and Maria who looked after us so well.

Sponsored post - We received tickets to the show, lunch and a goody bag. However, all views are accurate and honest, and are my own opinion.