Discover Dogs Photos!

Hey there!
I have finally found the charger so here are the photos of my days at Discover Dogs 2011!

All dogs that were invited to the show were required to enter through a special entrance!

I was competing in the Young Kennel Club ring on both Saturday and Sunday!

Every dog competing is allocated a bay that all their stuff can be stored at. Here is me in my bay!

Here's me on the table at the beginning of the Grooming qualifier!

 On the Sunday, I joined my owners in the Main ring to watch the agility and the amazing Southern Golden Retriever Display Team!

Very patient retrievers...

 Waiting for the humans!

Humans and doggies together!

Too excited for posing!

 Exploring Discover Dogs!

Me by the Discover Dogs logo!

I had two really good days at Discover Dogs! The competitions were amazing, there was lots of things to buy (great for doggie Christmas shopping!) and great help and advice! I really do reccommend attending Discover Dogs 2012 as it truly was fantastic! If you can't wait until then, remember that Crufts 2012 is coming up in March!

Talk soon, Jasper x

www.discoverdogs.org.uk/ - for more information about Discover Dogs

www.crufts.org.uk/- for more information about Crufts

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/- for more information on The Kennel Club

www.ykc.org.uk/ - for more information on the Young Kennel Club

I'm on TV!

Hey everyone!
Yesterday, I came home and one of the humans told me that someone had said that I was on TV! They said I was on the Pet Special on Blue Peter! I got very excited, so found the programme and put it on! Sure enough, I was on TV when Barney and Barney were at Discover Dogs! As you may know from my last few blogs, I went to Discover Dogs to compete in a competition and I said that while I was taking part in a Grooming competition, I saw Barney and Barney from Blue Peter, on the Saturday! Well, at the time I had no idea that they were filming me taking part! Click here to watch the clip on the BBC website. I am on at 18:29 in the background, and I am zoomed in on at 18:39! I am also on briefly at 18:42! It is so cool and when I saw myself, my tail started wagging super fast!  As soon as I find the charger for my camera (!) I will upload the photos of Discover Dogs 2011, so talk soon, Jasper x

My time at Discover Dogs: Day 2

Hey everyone,
so it's time for my blog about Discover Dogs: Day 2. If you didn't know already, Discover Dogs is a massive dog show in Earls Court One, London, organised by The Kennel Club. It was on the 12th and 13th November 2011, and has been running for 15 years. Over the two days, Discover Dogs welcomed over 27,500 people from all over the world into its doors! On the Saturday, I competed in a Grooming Competition in the Young Kennel Club arena. On day 2, I was in a Handling Competition in the same ring.

I do not have much experience in Handling, but when my owner found out that there was a qualifier at Discover Dogs, she sent in the entry form and got us a place. As you may know, Handling is where the human is judge on how "invisible" they can become whilst following instructions. I have to be on a thin lead that show dogs wear. I'm not a show dog, and I pull on the lead! How NOT to become a show dog! Just when I was due to enter the arena, I decided that I would prefer to have a quick sniff around, so I charged off, with my owner flying along behind! Once I'd done what I had to do, we ran back, just in time to begin the competition! Then, we were told to trot along into the arena and stand me in a "show" position. The judge had a quick glance and then we were instructed to have a quick trot around the stage. Once we'd been round, I was back into "show" position. In the ring I was number 13 out of 17, which meant I had to wait 12 doggies before I got my time to shine! Man, was that hard. There were lots of little dogs in the same competition, so when they strut their stuff, I kept yanking out at them! Some said hello, some just carried on trotting!

After waiting for 11 doggies, I decided to have a quick sniff around while the 12th dog was being judged. I think I chose the wrong time to do this! I looked up and WOOPS, there was the judge, waiting for me and my owner! So over we went. My owner got me to stand in my "show" position and was asked to show my teeth. I liked this so I rolled over while the judge examined! I then realised this wasn't the time, so up I got. We were told to do a triangle shape and then to run up and down the ring, back to the judge. The judge moves as you trot round, so my owner tried to avoid blocking her view of me. After, we were told to run back to the end of the line. PHEW! The tension was over! We then got back into position and waited for the last few to strut their stuff. It was then time for the judge to pick her top 5. Up and down the queue she went, giving us all a good look. Then she pointed at her top 5 and the rest left the ring. We didn't get into the top 5, but it isn't all about the winning; it's the taking part that counts!

Well done to all the winners (doggies and humans)! Sunday was another great day, and I really do reccommend attending Discover Dogs 2012, as it is such a brilliant day out! I will upload pictures of the day very soon, so keep checking! Talk soon, Jasper x

My time at Discover Dogs: Day 1

Hey everyone, sorry for not blogging for a while, I have been so busy!
Last weekend, I went to Discover Dogs in Earls Court One, London. One of my owners is a member of the Young Kennel Club, which is a part of The Kennel Club that is for people aged 6-25. The Young Kennel Club holds qualifiers for Crufts (a big dog show in the NEC, Birmingham) and I was taking part in two at Discover Dogs! You may remember me blogging about a Dogstable qualifier, well this was the same thing but in two different activities: Grooming and Handling. My owner has groomed me before, but not in a big competition! I was in the Clip/Strip and Trim class, which is where the human is allowed to cut my hair, not just brush me.
 On the Saturday, at 8am, my owners packed the car and left for Earls Court. I was very excited because I have never been to a BIG dog show like Discover Dogs before! When we arrived, I saw lots of other doggies who were all brushed and looking their best. I said hello to a few and introduced myself and then we went inside. It was massive! There was hundreds of dogs with hundreds of humans and lots and lots of things to buy and watch. It smelt good so I had a good sniff around while we found our bay. The Young Kennel Club had reserved a special place for us to put all our stuff, like my crate and grooming table.
At 10am, it was time for me to enter the YKC arena and begin the competition! A grooming competition is where the human grooms their dog in whatever way is allowed in their category for two hours. Two hours may sound a long time, but trust me, it flew by! A judge watches you being groomed and judges you by the way you are being handled and how you look before the makeover, and after. My owner started brushing out my coat. It felt nice so I kept rolling over! She then went onto trimming my ears- making sure the hair was an even length- and trimming my tail. After that, she started clipping my coat and then back to trimming behind my legs and around my paws. Whilst this was happening, loads of photographers took photos of us and I even saw Barney and Barney from Blue Peter! Once the two hours had whizzed by, my owner was asked to stop grooming and the judge inspected me.
At 2:15pm, the results were announced! All the competitors lined up and our name was called out as we entered the arena once again. They announced who qualified and then we had our photo taken all together. We didn't win our way into Crufts but it was a great day and such a great experience! I would definitely do it again! Talk soon, Jasper x

Bark & Read Foundation

Hi everyone,
I would just like to congratulate the winner of the Discover Dogs competition who won a pair of tickets to the event this weekend! Well done! This year at Discover Dogs, The Kennel Club is launching a charitable foundation that will help to bring dogs to children as reading companions, in a bid to halt the staggering decline in child literacy.

Zoe Wanamaker is the first celebrity to support the Kennel Club’s new Bark & Read Foundation, which is being launched after figures revealed that one in five children leave school unable to read or to write. This new project will help to support the network of dogs that can be taken in classrooms, libraries and other places of learning to help children develop confidence about reading out loud to a non-judgemental companion.

The project will be officially launched at the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event, taking place on 12-13 November at Earls Court. Children, who if under 12 go free to the event, will be able to read to dogs in a dedicated reading corner. The Kennel Club will also be hosting reading days at its library based in Piccadilly, which holds the largest collection of dog literature in Europe. This is a great campaign and if there are any children under 12 you know who you think will enjoy reading to dogs, then come along this Saturday or Sunday the 12th and 13th November to Earls Court in London! Talk soon, Jasper x