Happy Easter!

To me and my humans, Easter Sunday is a day to spend time with family and eat lots- and that is exactly what we did.

This morning, one of my humans took me out on a walk to the big park. This was no different from any other day- until the sky clouded over, less than two minutes after leaving our warm home.

It rained.

And rained some more.

And a bit more.

And then thunder and lightning broke out and the rain continued to pour torrentially.

Admittedly, I am a big fan of rain (a shower of rain is pretty much the same as a swim, yes?) but this downpour was unbelievable. 

Despite the rain, in true dog owner-fashion, my human and I strolled on through, finally returning home completely and utterly drenched.

Now, that's my kinda walk!

 

Following a blow dry from the hairdryer, we all set off to visit family for one delicious Sunday lunch. Sadly, no leftovers for me but I did have some human food later on as it wouldn't be a true Easter if us doggies weren't allowed a bit of lunch...!

The rest of the day consisted of snuggles, snuggles and more snuggles, with the odd head scratch in between. 

As I write this, I'm chilling on the sofa, right next to my humum.

Food, snuggles and rainstorms- that is one good Easter if you ask me! And my humans successfully kept their chocolate away from me- result.

I hope you are all enjoying this four-day weekend!

Talk soon, Jasper x

One Brilliant Day at Crufts 2016!

That's it- the most prestigious competition of them all, Best in Show, has concluded Crufts 2016. Congratulations to little Devon, a West Highland Terrier, and her humum! 

Yesterday, my humans went to experience all the madness of the world's biggest dog show and, man, what a fantastic day they had.

Welcome to Crufts!

Show offers- one of the best things about the dog show. And the main reason why my humans usually come home with many random purchases.

Following the bit of shopping they did pretty much the second they entered the NEC, the humans visited the Dog Activities area to meet the dogs who participate the many dog sports on offer. Look at these gorgeous Gundogs...

Just look at the size of one of the FIVE halls that make up Crufts. Each of the halls are half-full of stands to buy hundreds of doggie things from and half cater for the breed competitions, which gradually whittle down the best of each breed for the Group Judging at the end of the day.

Handler and dog looking very smart as they show the judge what they've got.

My humans are HUGE lovers of heelwork to music so there was not a single chance that they were going to miss the International Freestyle Heelwork to Music competition in the Main Arena. This year's competition was of particularly high standard, with themes ranging from pirates, to golf, to grooving on a hoverboard...!

Whilst England won the competition, my humans thought that the Japanese representatives were equally as deserving of first place. They could not have performed more accurately!

And now for the agility. Always a favourite at Crufts, this year's course proved difficult, with many of the competitors racking up at least five fault points. However, the standard was, again, very high.

The crowd were loving the thrill of agility!

Just when you thought things couldn't get more intense, the flyball semi-finals were held. 

Absolutely crazy.

 It was so unbelievably noisy in the Main Arena- both the humans AND dogs were getting into the full swing of the competition!

The West Midlands Police Dog Team performed an exceptional display of their work.

Special mention to my fellow English Springer Spaniel (below), who also goes by the name of Jasper!

 Believe it or not, the German Shepherd in the picture below is only 11 months old. The puppies are trained from a very young age to become police dogs but they certainly do not hold back in those early stages!

Oh, yes. Following a range of exciting competitions and displays, it was finally time for the magnificent Southern Golden Retriever Display Team. They sure did not disappoint!

 What my humans love the most about this display team is the obvious adoration had by both the handler and dog towards each other. Even if the Goldie starts running laps around the arena (yes, that may have happened...!), the bond between each pair never fades. 

 After a four-hour stint in the Main Arena (my humans are pretty hardcore when it comes to dog shows), the humans went to stretch their legs and came across Clare Balding recording interviews for Crufts' airing on Channel 4. And just look at that Best in Show trophy!

The last photograph the humans took from their day is this one of the final judging of Best in Breed for the Border Collies. Simaro Cold as Ice, shown here, went on to win Best in Breed and then Best in Pastoral Group, earning himself in the Best in Show final. So gorgeous!

My humans had a truly marvellous day at Crufts and we are all devastated that it is nearly over for another year. Feel free to send me any pictures or messages you have from your time at the show- I love looking at them!

Well done to all the competitors from this year- here's to Crufts 2017 and, who knows, maybe an English Springer Spaniel will take home Best in Show...?!

Talk soon, Jasper x

CRUFTS WEEK!

The time is now, the week is here. Crufts is turning 125!

By now, competitors across the globe will be carrying out their final preparations: heelwork to music routines are being practised, obedience skills are being perfected and there's a lot of coat grooming to be done. 

As for us members of the general public, we simply have to empty the cupboards to make sure that there's enough space for future Crufts purchases, writing lists of the things we want to fill those cupboards with and planning what we want to see and do, when we're not relentlessly shopping.

There are HUGE amounts of displays, competitions and talks to be watched; so much, in fact, that things can get a little overwhelming. 

But, don't fret: 

I introduce my day-by-day breakdown of what I think you simply MUST see when you come to the NEC this week...!

Thursday 10th March: Toy & Utility Day

• 11:05- East Anglian Staffordshire Bull Terrier Display Team- despite so many campaigns to end the stereotype, Staffies are a breed that continue to get a bad portrayal in the media. This display team show exactly why their image is so, so wrong. Such a happy sight to see.
• 12:15- Freestyle Heelwork to Music competition- never does heelwork to music disappoint. Freestyle has more options for the competitors, which means some very creative ideas come through. Some of the most talented dogs performing effortlessly to music- amazing!
• 17:15- Young Kennel Club Agility Dog of the Year- across the weekend, the next generation of dog experts compete in the YKC Ring at Crufts, which I highly recommend giving a visit. However, for one of the YKC's biggest competitions, the agility finalists take to the Main Arena to give it their all. 

Friday 11th March: Gundog Day

• 13:40- Rescue Dog Agility- what I love about Crufts is that it is an opportunity for all dogs to get their moment under the limelight. Rescue dogs are often unfairly considered as "difficult" dogs but this competition shows how far from the truth this is.
• 15:10- Agility- Large Novice and Medium ABC Final- Collies are known to be the most common breed to partake in agility so the Anything But Collies competitions give other breeds the opportunity to take centre stage. Who knows, the whole competition might be made up of Springers and just imagine how great that would be...!
• 17:55- Gundog Display (Philippa Williams)- well, if you're visiting on Gundog Day at Crufts, you simply have to see Gundogs doing what they do best- sniffing and fetching! Even I, as a very, very intelligent English Springer Spaniel, has to admit that what these Gundogs do is pretty impressive!

Saturday 12th March: Working & Pastoral Day

• 12:10- Dog Activities Display- always an insightful viewing, this display gives short examples of the sort of activities you could get involved in with your dog, from heelwork to music to obedience. 
• 13:00- Heelwork to Music- Freestyle International Competition: as mentioned in the previous post, this competition involves the very best of freestyle doggie dancers from the around the world, with one dog-and-human duo representing the countries involved. The diverse celebration of cultures through dancing dogs is just exceptional so I definitely recommend!
• 16:40- Southern Golden Retriever Display Team- well, if I hadn't made this clear enough already, this group is my ultimate MUST-SEE across the four days. They have displays on other days as well so don't worry if you're not heading to the NEC on Saturday!

Sunday 13th March: Terrier & Hound and Best in Show Day

• 12:20- Flyball Team Finals- thoroughly entertaining, the loudest of all dog sports has its finals on the last day of Crufts, so don't miss out on seeing who is crowned the winning flyball team from across the weekend!
• 12:40- West Midlands Police Dog Display- before watching this display, I had never witnessed the full extent of what is involved in the hound side of policing but the West Midlands team changed this. 
•  From 15:30, only Best in Show ticket holders are permitted to entry the Main Arena so bear this in mind when purchasing tickets to the show. For the lucky ticket holders, at 17:45, the one and only Mary Ray performs what promises to be a magnificent heelwork to music routine and then at 20:30 the biggest competition of the week comes to a close with the Best in Show final! Come on you Spaniels!

Full itineraries for the four days can be found here.

Of course, these are just a few of the hundreds of competitions going on at the NEC on 10-13th March and there is undoubtedly something for everyone at Crufts. Not only are there the shows in the Main Arena but there are many other rings for you to explore, as well as over four hundred stands so that you can shop for your pooches.

I hope everyone, including the competition winners Vaughan and Andrea, has a brilliant time at the show and I can't wait to see all your pictures!

Happy 125th Birthday, Crufts!

Talk soon, Jasper x

For more information on Crufts dog show, visit http://www.crufts.org.uk

To buy tickets to the show, click here or tickets can be bought on the door. Remember, under 12s get in free!