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!

Spotlight On... Heelwork to Music at Crufts!

Possibly the most entertaining competition at Crufts for me (and my humans) is Heelwork to Music. The name gives a good idea of what this doggie activity entails: one dog and one human boogie away to some music. Though, admittedly, it is a tad more involved in that, as I have experienced myself quite a while back...

At Crufts, competitors must perform technically complex, rhythmic and varied choreography to music for up to four minutes in length. Each act is judged on programme content (the difficulty and range of movements), accuracy and execution of movement (how well performed it is) and music interpretation (how it fits with the music).

 There are four competitions centred around Heelwork to Music: Heelwork, Freestyle, International Heelwork and International Freestyle. The main difference between Heelwork and Freestyle is the content that must be put into a dance routine. To be entered into the Heelwork category, a minimum of two-thirds of the performance must include heelwork whereas, for the Freestyle category, a maximum of one-third  of heelwork is permitted. The International categories are the same, but with a competitor representing countries around the world- these in particular get very competitive!

Heelwork to Music was first brought to Crufts by doggie-dancing expert Mary Ray back in 1992, and the sport has grown in popularity ever since. Not just one but TWO dog-and-human duos have won ITV talent contest Britain's Got Talent since the show began; Ashleigh and Pudsey in 2012 and Jules O'Dwyer and Matisse last year. My humans were lucky enough to catch the former pair competing at Crufts before they won the content, taking first place in one of the Young Kennel Club competitions- they truly were brilliant.

From my (humans') many years of attending Crufts, there has been one Heelwork to Music routine that I simply cannot forget. Although Linda de Smet from Belgian did not win the International Freestyle in 2011 with this routine (I still think they should have!), their routine was charming, original and had the BEST finale... Give it a watch below!

Heelwork to Music is always a great watch at Crufts, and I highly recommend visiting either the Main Arena or the Young Kennel Club ring to see one of the competitions! More information on how to get involved in the sport can be found here.

REMINDER: the competition for tickets to Crufts 2016 closes on Friday 26th February so make sure you don't miss out on your chance to win your way into the doors of the NEC on 10-13th March. You can enter here!

Talk soon, 

Jasper x

For more information about Crufts 2016, visit www.crufts.org.uk

To buy tickets to the show, click here

WIN TICKETS TO CRUFTS 2016!

It's competition time!

Oh yes- the Kennel Club have kindly given me not one, but TWO pairs of tickets to Crufts dog show to give away to a couple of you out there! With children under the age of twelve getting free entry, you could be treating the whole family to a doggy day out.

The first Crufts was held in 1891, in London. Now, the show takes place across five halls of the NEC, Bimingham and over four days- from Thursday 10th- Sunday 13th March 2016.

To be in with the chance of winning a pair of tickets to the world's biggest dog show, all you need to do is answer the following question correctly:

What birthday does Crufts celebrate this year?

A) 50th Birthday

B) 100th Birthday

C) 125th Birthday

Send your name, address and answer to jasperthedoggie@hotmail.co.uk or using the contact form  on the right side of the page and you could be making your way to Birmingham!

The deadline for entries is Friday 26th February.

But don't worry if you don't come out as one of the lucky two winners- tickets to the show can be bought here

To find out more about the show, visit www.crufts.org.uk

Good luck, and I can't wait to see you there!

Jasper x

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!

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!

IT'S CRUFTS WEEK!

Maaaaaan, I cannot believe it. How has Crufts 2015 come around so fast?! It seems like it was only yesterday that my humans bid me farewell before travelling up to The NEC for Crufts 2014. Fortunately, the pain of knowing that they were going to have a brilliant day without me will be non-existent this year as, obviously, me, myself, and I will actually be attending... Eeeeek!

Just to make you all even more excited, here's a clip giving you a glimpse into the largest dog show in the world...

It looks incredible, right?! Who knows, maybe I'll be able to sneak my way on to the video for Crufts 2016 when I go to the show...

CRUFTS TV COVERAGE

Whether you're planning on heading to the show or are just looking forward to see the pictures online, make sure you tune into More4 at 6:30pm tomorrow for the first of four days' Crufts coverage! As Crufts kicks off with Gundog Day, fans of Springers like me should definitely not be missing the show as the first place in the Best in Show final will be awarded to one of the top dogs of the day. Agility, heelwork to music... All the best bits from the show will be programmed, so don;t miss it!

CRUFTS COMPETITION UPDATE
Just to let entrants into my competition to win two Crufts tickets know, the winner has been chosen and it is... Janet from Staffordshire! I hope Janet has a fantastic time at the show. Thank you all so much for entering- I wish I could give ALL of you lovely people (and dogs!) a pair of tickets to the show!

If you're heading to the show this year, I hope you have an incredible day! I would love to see some of your pictures from the day and hear your highlights from Crufts so make sure you either tweet me @Jasperthedoggie or just send me leave a comment below. If you sadly can't make it to The NEC for 2015, do not fret: each and every day, there is a livestream at https://www.youtube.com/crufts showing every second of what's going on in the Main Arena, so you can watch from 8:30am to 8pm if you so desire!

Here's to a fantastic Crufts 2015 (and hopefully a Springer winner!)

Talk soon, 

Jasper x

For more information on Crufts 2015, visit www.crufts.org.uk 

Tickets to the show can now only be bought on the door- have a marvellous day!

Water Everywhere!

Recently, as you will have probably gathered from the news, there have been some pretty major floods across Britain. I happen to be a HUGE fan of water so, when the humans said they were off to investigate the floods in our local area, I jumped at opportunity of going along.
I don't think any of us had predicted the water level to be so high...

This is one of the many roads completely covered by water...

              

                          

     One of my parks is submerged in water so it is now a lake- woop woop! 

I most definitely made the most of this, you can be sure of that... 

 Spot the Springer...!

Anyone want a seat?

Looks like someone's going to have to swim... Lucky them!

As you can imagine, my humans took a LOT of photos of the flooding but, for once, I wasn't the focus... Don't you worry though, I'm sure I'll be back in the limelight soon enough!

Talk soon, Jasper x

P.S If you've got any snaps of the floods, be sure to tweet me them as I'd love to have a look!

December Already?!

Woah, this year has flown by.
It's already December!
December marks the beginning of winter which-I hope- means that snow is on its way. Snow is my favourite type of weather as it's basically water that the humans can't keep me away from! It also means that I can open my brand-new advent calendar and receive one delicious treat per day. On the first day of advent, the humans had to help me realise how incredible advent calendars are. At first, I thought it was just a box but, as soon as I gave it a good sniffing over, my tail started wagging one million times a minute!
Here's a clip of me opening Day 1 of my doggie advent calendar:

Man, it was fun!
Talk soon, Jasper x

Bye Crufts 2013!

That's it everyone, Crufts 2013 is over. I don't know about you but my family and I are very sad about this. This year, all of them went (I didn't...) and all of them had an incredible time. 2 of my humans were even fortunate enough to get tickets to Best in Show! More about that, later...
After an extremely relaxing night (without me) in a hotel near Birmingham, my humans set off for their second day at Crufts. Before the big finale in the evening, my humans went shopping to, obviously, get me lots and lots of treats and toys! As you can see from the photo below, the dog show is HUGE; shown below is just ONE of FIVE halls to explore!

On the humans' way round, they made sure that they took loads and loads of photos of the main attraction- dogs!

 

At 2:30pm, it was time for Samsung to hand over a check to Blue Cross after running the Help-A-Dog-A-Thon app which aimed to help 2,000 rescue dogs. My humans visited Samsung's amazing stand again and took a seat on the awesome paw sofas- we still want one at home! Visitors from all around the world captured this monumental event on every gadget possible and there was also time to give the gorgeous Blue Cross rescue dog a snuggle.

 After some more shopping, it was finally time for the humans to take their seats in the Main Arena for the prestigious Best in Show judging! However, before the event itself, there were displays and other awards to be held. Firstly, the West Midlands Police showed the stages dogs go through to become fully-trained police dogs which was followed by the Presentation of the Police Dog Team Operational and Humanitarian Action of the Year.

 

 

 

After Young Kennel Club Stakes, the group winners were chosen for the Working and Pastoral groups. My humans were delighted when this beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog won their group!

In the Pastoral judging, my humans wanted either of these two adorable breeds to get through; look at those coats!

The second group winner, however,  was a lovely Australian Shepherd dog who was very popular with the crowd.
My humans were then treated to a very special performance by the one and only Mary Ray, accompanied by Richard Curtis and both of their dogs!

 

 It was amazing! Man, I wish I were as good as those dogs at HTM...

Following this was the Friends For Life presentation of which 7-year-old Owen and Haatchi, an Anatolian Shepherd Dog, won- congratulations!

 

 And then it was time for the event everyone had been waiting for... The judging for Best in Show had arrived. As the 6 group winners entered, the arena fell silent. Everyone was very excited!

 

 

Individually, the doggies were examined by the judge and were applauded as they completed a circle round the arena. My humans especially cheered for their favourite, the Bernese Mountain Dog!

 

 Once they had all finished, the judge decided who he wanted to win.

 

The winner's table had been set and the winner's prizes (including a magnificent Samsung gadget!) were waiting to be given to their new owner. Who was going to win?

The winner was... Jilly, a Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen!

Ok, so my humans favourite hadn't won but Jilly was indeed VERY cute and VERY smiley- well done Jilly! The Labrador, Romeo, was awarded 2nd place and a snuggle from his human.

 

Well done to everyone who competed at Crufts 2013 and a special congratulation to all those who won a competition at the show. I'm so pleased for you all!

In total, nearly 149,500 people took to the NEC, Birmingham to attend Crufts, a 3% increase on last year.

An average of 1.7 million tuned in on TV to watch Jilly crowned Best in Show- that's a LOT of people! My humans are so grateful for getting tickets and still can't believe that they were there.

Bring on Crufts 2014!

Talk soon, Jasper x