Community and competition the key as Crufts crowds brave the snow for world's biggest dog show

Thousands braced the icy weather for the world's greatest dog show to celebrate everything and anything canine, with around 24,000 dogs expected to attend over the four days.

Competition is an integral part of Crufts and Cannock's own Joanne Horton was thrilled when her Large Munsterlander, Morgan, came first in his category.

"He's our first family dog, and first and foremost was a family pet," Joanne said. "Then I thought I'd quite like to have a go at breeding, so our breeder very kindly supported us and showed us how to go.

"We started off at little open shows and then qualified for Crufts last year and this year. Morgan's done very well. We were lucky, we placed first today."

Speaking about Crufts, Joanne said: "To be here is an honour. This is one of the most prestigious shows and it's always nerve-wracking here.

"It's an honour to compete and it's amazing to win. It's the most fabulous event and I would encourage anybody to do it again."

Lucy Forrester's dog Mattie will be competing in the Australian Cattle Dog category on Friday and was manning the breed's Discover Dogs stand on Thursday.

Crufts is packed with these Discover Dogs stands, enabling people to find out about different breeds and consider if a breed is right for them.

Lucy said: "People can come over and we can speak to them candidly about what that breed is like. Australian Cattle Dogs are very challenging, very independent, and very confident. They like to take charge of any situation.

"When we first got here today she was patrolling the area, trying to keep dogs walking on.

"I'd always wanted an Australian Cattle Dog but it wasn't something we ran into lightly. We waited to find the right time to get one of our own and approached the Kennel Club.

"We also have a Border Collie who had a nice peaceful life until she came along."

She added: "We had a guy walk past who said 'in Australia we use these dogs for security'. They're quite robust as you can see, not like Collies which are nimble and slim. They're stocky and muscular."

The Black Country flag was flying proudly at another of the Discover Dogs stands, thanks to Nicole and Jill Studley from Cannock.

The mother and daughter were running the Staffordshire Bull Terriers stand and have five Staffies between them.

Jill has had Staffies since 1986 and her daughter has known their presence all her life.

"I love their companionship and their friendliness - their loyalty and I suppose the antics too," Jill said.

However, the pair have sadly had to face the negative stereotype that persists around the breed, with many thinking of them as violent.

"People cross the road to get away from us," Jill said, while Nicole added: "It's the deed not the breed."

Emphasising the importance of training, Jill said: "It's definitely all to do with the owners. They're trainable and people need to take the time to train them and socialise them properly. Both children and dogs need training.

"You just need consistency and treat training. They need rewards. You wouldn't go to work if you didn't get paid."

While Crufts is associated largely with breeders, charities were very much a presence at the dog show.

Birmingham Dogs Home, which has a rescue in Wolverhampton, was in attendance at Crufts with the newly adopted Buddy and Betty flying the flag for adoption.

Fiona Harrison, head of fundraising at the charity, said: "Crufts is the world's most prestigious dog show, we've got thousands of dog lovers here and it's an opportunity to promote adoption and rescue, and hopefully raise some money for the homeless dogs."

Giving an insight into the world of rescues, she added: "It's super busy at the moment. Our kennels are overflowing and have been since Christmas. In January, there were 60 dogs that came in as strays, and they just keep coming in.

"A lot of people say they're not able to afford to look after their dogs anymore, which is a real shame. Then there's quite a number of dogs which came in that had got to that boisterous teenage stage and beyond the cute puppy stage.

"I think because people got a lot of puppies in the pandemic and were inexperienced owners, then they didn't have the opportunity to socialise them and they've ended up with dogs that they're finding difficult to handle. That's where rescue comes in."

Another goodhearted organisation at Crufts was Bark and Read, an alliance which is part of The Kennel Club Educational Trust which encourages and empowers children to read.

Ciara Farrell from the initiative said: "Bark and Read is an alliance of lots of different charities that all bring dogs to schools to improve children gain self-confidence and overcome their fears.

"The dogs we have this morning are from Canine Concern and these dogs go to schools around the Midlands and help children who need a little bit of assistance in the classroom.

"It's mostly about making reading fun, keeping calm, concentrating for longer, and being confident in your voice. Reading with a dog and practicing with a dog really helps with that.

"It doesn't matter if the kids make mistakes. They're reading a story out loud and feeling better about themselves. They'll learn over time to be more confident in what they're doing, so it's really really wonderful."

While Crufts has a reputation for being about competition and prestige, what it demonstrated on Thursday was that it is also a community which cares about helping to empower animals and people.