The Main Ring- Discover Dogs 2016!

On 22nd and 23rd October 2016, over 3,000 dogs will be taking to the halls of ExCeL London for the city's largest dog show, Discover Dogs. With over 100 stalls to shop from and a 'Discover Dogs' section to meet some of the 200+ Kennel Club accredited dog breeds in, there is just so much to do at the show.
My humans' favourite part of Discover Dogs is the Main Ring, where displays from top dog handlers and doggies and competitions take place. This year, the Main Ring programme is possibly the best its ever been, with no less than FIVE agility competitions taking place in one day and a wealth of glorious displays to watch.
As you could easily spend hours and hours at the show, I have chosen my five top things in the Main Ring for you to witness...


1) As I go on and on about them every single year, my #1 must-see display is, of course, the Southern Golden Retrievers. Performing in the Main Ring at 14:20 on Saturday and 16:25 on Sunday, there is no way that you can miss the group. Consisting of sixteen golden retrievers and their humums and dads, the group choreograph obedience skills to music. So, so adorable.

2) Certainly not for those with sensitive ears, Flyball is undoubtedly the most exhilarating of dog sports. Teams of four dog and handlers (and substitutes)  compete against one another in a relay-based race. Dogs of all breeds and sizes pound down a row of jumps to get a tennis ball and must successfully return back down the course for the next dog to be sent on his way. Warning: there will be lots of barking. 15:15 on Saturday and 13:00 on Sunday- be there!

3) The queen of heelwork to music is taking to Discover Dogs 2016... Mary Ray is back. Having introduced doggie dancing to the UK 27 years ago, Mary Ray and her gorgeous dogs are performing in the Main Ring on Saturday at 15:10 and 11:30 on Sunday. With costumes and tricks executed to perfection, if you want to see how dancing is really done, make sure you head to see Mary Ray. The handler is also doing a demonstration in the Main Ring on how to train your dog obedience skills is at 12:35 on Saturday and 13:50 on Sunday so if her display inspires you to get involved, do not miss it.

4) My favourite sport of all doggie activities is arguably canine's most famous: agility. Hurdling over jumps, climbing up ramps and crawling through tunnels, this fast-paced sport really does entertain everyone, whether they're human or dog. I used to train in this sport myself and even now, at nearly 11 years old, do I jump over poles or fences at every opportunity (even when my humans tell me not to). There are loads of agility competitions taking place across the weekend but the Crufts ABC (All But Collies) semi-finals are at 15:35 on Saturday and 14:40 on Sunday. You could be watching a future Crufts champion!

5) There are not many occasions where you get to see for yourself the training that police dogs undertake prior to getting out in the field but at Discover Dogs the Metropolitan Police are in the Main Ring showing exactly what it takes. The display team put dogs through their paces in a number of tasks, which all prepare them for life as a police dog. There are likely be dogs of all different levels and breeds in the Ring, from puppies that have just begun training to police dogs with years of experience. An intense display but always incredible to see.

Discover Dogs is now 19 days away and I simply cannot wait.

I hope to see you there!

Talk soon, Jasper x

REMEMBER: You could WIN your way into Discover Dogs by entering into my competition here

Deadline: this Friday 7th October

For more information on Eukanuba Discover Dogs, visit http://discoverdogs.org.uk/

To purchase tickets to the show (and remember under 12s get FREE entry), click here

COMPETITION TIME: WIN TICKETS TO DISCOVER DOGS 2016!

Back in its 21st year, London's biggest dog show is taking to the halls of ExCeL London on 22nd and 23rd October 2016 and YOU could be winning your way through the doors.

That's right- I am giving away a pair of tickets to Discover Dogs 2016 and they could be yours!

To be in with a chance of winning the tickets, all you need to do is answer the following question correctly:

The largest youth organisation for dog activities in the UK has its own area at Discover Dogs, but what is the organisation's name?

A) Young Kennel Club

B) Young Dog Lovers

C) The Youth Handlers' Organisation

Simply, email the correct answer along with your name and address to jasperthedoggie@hotmail.co.uk and you could be at Discover Dogs 2016!
If you're struggling with the answer, check out this blog post for a hint...

Alternatively, use the contact form on the right-side of the blog.


Closing date: Friday 7th October 

Good luck!

Talk soon, Jasper x

Of course, if you can't wait to get your tickets,or luck out in this competition, visit this webpage to purchase tickets to Discover Dogs.
For more information on the dog show, visit http://www.discoverdogs.org.uk/
And, remember, under 12s get free entry!

DISCOVER DOGS IS BACK!

One of the best weekends of the canine calendar is approaching...

Discover Dogs is back!

Mary Ray at Discover Dogs 2015

In its 21st year, London's biggest dog show is taking to ExCeL London on 22nd and 23rd October 2016 for two days of doggie madness. More than 3,000 dogs will be entering the halls to compete in a variety of competitions, participate in displays or to represent their breed as one of the 200 certified by the Kennel Club in the 'Discover Dogs' section. Make sure you visit the English Springers!

The show offers a number of spectacles across the weekend. On Saturday 22nd alone, there are three whole hours of glorious doggie display teams, from the Staffordshire Bull Terrier team to my ultimate favourites the gorgeous Southern Golden Retrievers and even the queen of Heelwork to Music, Mary Ray, shows exactly how dog dancing is done.

Fast-paced agility and flyball competitions are also taking place on both days of the dog show in the Main Ring, alongside many other exhilarating sports. The Kennel Club's youth organisation, the Young Kennel Club, will also have its own zone, with competitions for the next top dog handlers!

Additionally, there are shops everywhere for getting Christmas gifts for both dogs and humans-  though, of course, you could always just treat yourself (like my humans do every year!).

My humans and I simply cannot wait for Eukanuba Discover Dogs; one of my humans is even travelling four hours south for the show! We look forward to seeing you there!

To read about my trip to last year's Discover Dogs, click here

Talk soon, Jasper x

To purchase tickets to the show, click here and, remember, under 12s get free entry!

For more details about Discover Dogs, visit http://discoverdogs.org.uk/

EXCITING NEWS: I will be running a competition for a pair of tickets to Eukanuba Discover Dogs very soon... Keep checking the blog to find out more!

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

Spotlight On... Flyball at Crufts!

Most dog sports involve one dog and one handler competing against other dog-and-human duos. Flyball is unique in the fact that it is a team sport, made up of four dogs and four humans per team. Two teams race against each other to see who can complete the flyball run the quickest: four jumps up to a tennis ball box, release the ball and jump back again. Agility jumps and tennis balls- my favourite.

I have actually tried flyball and it is a lot, lot harder than it seems. One week, we turned up to a London flyball club, expecting that, as a slightly tennis ball- obsessed dog, I'd be up for running to grab the ball. Ah, well... No. My humans had this crazed idea that I would follow their instructions- er, who do you think I am? One jump and no more, tennis ball or no tennis ball. Now, my humans watch the flyball competitions in awe of their skill.

Flyball was introduced to Crufts in 1990, after the sport grew rapidly in popularity in the USA. The sport is similar to a human relay- the dog must complete their run back and forth before the next dog can do his run. If a dog doesn't bring back the ball or misses a jump, he must re-run, potentially adding time that could result in a loss. The first team to have all four dogs complete the run successfully win and this is repeated up to three times. At Crufts, the winning team goes through to the next heat, until the final. 

If you happen to be visiting Crifts when flyball is going on, I definitely recommend giving it a watch. It's loud, quick and pretty wild, making it a very exciting event indeed. Make sure you check out The Kennel Club website for more information on how you can get involved in flyball.

COMPETITION NOTICE: the competition to win one of two pairs of tickets to the world's biggest dog show, Crufts, on 10-13th March is now closed. The winners have been selected so entrants should keep checking the post to see if they were one of the lucky winners... I truly do wish that you could have all been winners - thank you for your entries!

Less than two weeks until Crufts now...!

Talk soon, Jasper x

For more information about Crufts, visit www.crufts.org.uk.

To gettickets to the dog show, click here. 

Remember: all children under the age of 12 get in FREE!

10 Reasons Why You Won't Want to Miss Crufts 2016!

With just over one month until Crufts takes place at the NEC, Birmingham, it is time to get organised. Of course, you can just turn up to the show and decide what you want to see and do there and then but, in my house, we plan which events we want to watch as soon as the schedules are made available. For example, our whole Crufts experience evolves around the Southern Golden Retriever Display Team, who are taking centre stage on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th March in the Main Arena (don't miss them!).

Here are ten reasons why this year's Crufts is a must-go-to event in the dog calendar- see you there!

1. It's Crufts' Birthday: this year, celebrations will be going all out as we commemorate 125 years of Crufts dog show. It promises to be a very special year...
2. I've mentioned them already in this post, and this certainly won't be the last you hear of them this year, but the Southern Goldies Display Team are always the highlight of the Main Arena for me. A bunch of happy retrievers trotting along to pop music, whilst performing obedience tricks. Amazing.
3. The shopping. Oh my paws. If you're one of the many people who prefers buying things for their dogs than themselves, you will love the array of stalls at Crufts. Halls and halls of dog beds, dog jewellery, dog treats and dog toys... Oh, I love Crufts.
4. There are a number of display rings at Crufts and one of my favourites is the Young Kennel Club ring. Watching young dog handlers and their beloved pets compete against one another in the same exciting sports as the adults is truly inspiring and always great to view.
5. The Discover Dogs zone welcomes over 200 different breeds of dog for you to meet and greet. From the popular English Springer Spaniel (ah, yes, that's me) to the rare Hungarian Puli, try and have a snuggle with as many varieties of dogs as possible!
   
6. On Day 2 of Crufts (Friday 11th March), the Vulnerable Breeds competition takes place in the Main Arena to raise awareness of the breeds that are currently in decline in terms of ownership.  Often, the breeds in the competition will be of a surprise: some you may never have even heard of, and some you may never have expected to be a vulnerable will take part.
7. You have the chance to meet celebrity dogs. Remember Harvey from the Dogs Trust advert? My humans have met him at Crufts- and you could too! Many famous dogs from the Internet, the small screen and big screen all flock to the world's biggest dog show to meet their adoring fans. They might even give you their pawtograph (if you're lucky...!)
8. Free stuff: every year, my humans scavenge around every stall in the NEC for complimentary samples, magazines and even the odd free toy. Last year, when I went, I joined in, finding every dog bowl of food on the floor- so good.
9. It's international: in 2015, 2,995 dogs FLEW to Crufts to compete. Ever wanted to meet an actual Australian Kelpie, a truly Siberian Husky or a Chinese Pekingnese? Well, there's no place more likely than Crufts (apart from the original country of the breed, perhaps)!
10. Want to be able to say that you've been to the biggest dog show on the planet? I thought so. Each year, Crufts welcomes tens of thousands of visitors from across the globe into the mad world of dogs- and one of them could be you.

My humans are attending the show on Saturday 12th March and can't wait to see you there!

Talk soon, 

Jasper x

If you would like more information on Crufts 2016, visit www.crufts.org.uk

To buy tickets to the show, click here and, remember, under 12s get into Crufts for FREE!

DISCOVER DOGS 2015!

"What a lot of dogs," exclaims one of the thousands passing through the doors of ExCeL London. Well, there's only one reason to blame for those many dogs: Discover Dogs 2015 had arrived!

Although I did not attend the show myself this year, two of my humans were there to report back to me about London's biggest dog event and, from what I've heard, I missed out BIG TIME by not being there. Fortunately, they did take a few pictures (erm, 494...) of the scenes to share with me...

Where better to start your trip to the dog show than the "Discover Dogs" section itself? Over two hundred breeds had a stand at the show, just so we could take photos of them and have many a snuggle.

Discover Dogs aims to raise awareness of what it takes to make a dog happy and healthy so it is always sad to hear from the volunteers at charities such as English Springer Spaniel Welfare who have witnessed cases of animal cruelty. This young Spaniel did not have the best start to his life but has fortunately since been rehomed and is now lot, lot happier- yippee!

Agility. Oh, how I miss agility. My humans decided to reminisce about our agility days by watching it in the Main Ring- but with a twist. Instead of the standard, individual categories, there was a competition between major rescue homes, with relay teams made up of past rescue dogs at each centre. Some of the adorable dogs competing had even featured on Paul O'Grady's "For the Love of Dogs". And look at the smile on that proud human's face!

As readers have probably gathered from the past few years on this blog, my humans love the Southern Golden Retriever Display Team. So, of course, when they checked their programmes to see what was on and noticed that the Goldies were performing, they raced over to the Training & Display Ring to see the group. 

They were brilliant- so brilliant that I've included two pictures of the seventy taken from their display!

Following the displays and competitions, my humans returned to the Discover Dogs zone, where they snuggled with yet more dogs (I try not to feel too offended). This lovely Field Spaniel seemed pretty chilled modelling the stunning qualities of his breed. He never left that bed the whole time my humans were there.

Without doubt, the noisiest dog sport of them all, it was time to watch some Flyball. Man, those dogs were showing some speed- almost too quick for the camera!

Those competitors were certainly raring to go.

What is fantastic about dog shows is that there is always something new to see, whether that be a new sport, shop or display. A new demonstration for my humans today was once performed by the Royal Air Force, who demonstrated just how strong their canines have to be to work out on the field. This determined dog managed to jump from the ground to the very top of the blue axle. Incredible.

Another "Discover Dogs" treat: a meet and greet with a gigantic St. Bernard. It's not every day that you come across one of these huge dogs- look at the size of those paws!

Puppy alert! Yep, the Metropolitan Police treated visitors to Discover Dogs to a viewing of the police dogs of the future, these German Shepherds. These puppies certainly have very exciting prospects ahead of them.

Wherever there is a puppy, there is a crowd.

After a spree in the shopping area of the dog show, it was sadly time for my humans to bid Discover Dogs farewell. My humans can honestly say that this year was one of, if not, the best dog shows they have been to in London and cannot wait to find out what is in store for next year's show. 

Next stop: Crufts 2016!

Talk soon, Jasper x

For more information on Discover Dogs, visit www.discoverdogs,org.uk

My AMAZING Day at Crufts 2015!

So, that's it. Crufts 2015 is over. And what a weekend it was!

Saturday 7th March. The day I stepped inside the halls of The NEC as a guest to Crufts 2015.
When I woke up, I noticed that something was up. Usually, I'm the first one to wake up but yesterday all my humans were hustling and bustling about. What on earth was going on?! Well, after our two hour journey, it finally occurred to me that this trip was no normal trip.
Barks? Check.
Lots of things to sniff? Check.
Thousands of dog-mad humans? Check.
This could only mean one thing. I was at CRUFTS 2015!
The first exciting event of the day was trying to find the right entrance to go through. When your visiting as a canine, you have to enter through a special dog door- I felt like a V.I.D (Very Important Dog, that is)!

Obviously, it was then time to have photos with the Crufts logo... 

 Bench picture! Every competitor and display dog is given one of these benches so I had to pose with one like a proper show dog.

They may be far away but there are Great Danes in this picture. Yes, GREAT DANES. 

Crufts Crufts Crufts Crufts

At the sides of the show rings, my humans had to try and hide me from the competitors so that I didn't distract them. I mean, as if I would ever distract the gorgeous Wheaten Terriers...!

The first event we watched in the Main Arena was one that my humans watch every year: the International Freestyle Heelwork to Music competition! Every routine was original and there were some seriously impressive moves from these dogs. Definitely know which tricks I'm going to be working on now...! 

My human was a silly sausage and forgot her zoom lens... But here is a picture of a hilarious routine based on magic. At one point, the dog pushed the lid down over their human who was laying down inside the box and then pushed a (pretend) sword back and and forth. So clever!

The effort that had gone into some of the costumes was unbelievable. Just look at that!

And the winner is...  Slovakia! This poignant routine has the most adorable (and heartbreaking) ending. Watch the full routine here!

The Main Arena is seriously impressive. What a place to do doggie sports!

Me, posing with one of the many rings where the top dogs in each breed battle it out for their chance to win Best in Show. 

The judging of the lovely Airedale Terrier. 

My favourite photo of the day goes to... This gorgeous Standard Poodle, poking his head out of his crate! What a dude.

Fun fact: Crufts stretches across over 25 acres of the The NEC's halls. That's a lot of shopping to be done!

The tens of thousands of visitors that visit Crufts every year...

Woooo! A picture of me having a GREAT time!

 In the Dog Activities area of Crufts, you can learn about all the different things dogs can get up to, with typical breeds from each option available to meet and greet. My humans were particularly taken by this stunning Bloodhound. Just look at that sit!

A group of happy Retrievers!

One of my humans' favourite sections at Crufts is the Discover Dogs area, where visitors are able to learn about more than 200 breeds. Obviously, we had to take a trip to the Gundogs section, where I met some more of my breed- the English Springer Spaniels! Check out this stunning Spaniel.

I was probably the cheeriest dog in the world on Saturday!

So much to see and dog- come on, humans!

The irresistible Hungarian Puli. Man, I have serious hair-envy over their coats... So impressive!

Later, we visited the Young Kennel Club ring, which demonstrates the work of the next generation of dog handlers. The ring involves many of the same competitions that are held in the Main Arena, but for people that are from six years of age up to twenty-five. The work this organisation does to help young dog lovers is fantastic. 

After a look round all the stalls and rings, it was time to head back to the Main Arena to see everyone's favourite Goldies: the Southern Golden Retriever Display Team. Following their amazing display, every single Retriever in the team headed back into the arena to film something very special... Saturday Night Takeaway came to Crufts! The winner of Take Home the Ads was selected on the screen in the arena, whilst the Goldies ran, jumped and climbed around the ring. An extremely entertaining sight!

 It was then time for the Large International Agility Finals! As an Agility dog myself, this event is adored by my humans, and it did not fail to impress.

The course proved particularly difficult, with only TWO out of the fourteen competitors completing it with no faults. 

 The judge of this competition was an ex-YKC member, just proving what you can do within the organisation. The most challenging part of this course seemed to be where the tunnel and the dog walk are lined up beside each other, with quite a few of the dogs taking the tunnel instead of the climb!

All the competitors did a fantastic job- well done to all!

 Our final viewing of the day: the Flyball Team Finals! Every year, this sport excites the audience beyond belief and this year was no different. Spot the Springer in the bottom right-hand corner of this picture...

 After an excruciatingly-close final, the Dream Team South-East took home the trophy for the flyball, thanks to their incredibly rapid Pointer, who ran last. Go team!

 On the way out, my humans had time to check out the filming set for the Crufts coverage on Channel 4, which had a very special feature...

The Crufts 2015 Best in Show trophy!

On the final day of Crufts 2015, the seven finalists from each of the groups came together for the prestigious final of Best in Show. There was no clear guess as to who the winner was going to be as all the dogs were just THAT good so the judge had a very difficult to decision to make. After some deliberation, he awarded the title of Best in Show to Knopa, the first Scottish Terrier to take home the title since 1929! Owned by Rebecca Cross, Knopa was bred in the U.S and won Best of Breed two years ago at Crufts. Reserve Best in Show was awarded to the Dublin, the Flat-coated Retriever with an extremely waggy tail, from Sweden. 

Congratulations go to all the winners from across the weekend- you all did a fantastic job!

This year's Crufts was, for me, the most special as I was able to attend myself and I truly did have an incredible day. 

Talk soon,

 Jasper x

For more information on the show, visit www.crufts.org.uk

To watch highlights from the show, click here  to be taken 

to the Official Crufts YouTube Page

Me, licking my lips at the number of the treats we brought home... Yum!