Fabby!!!! Jen (team manager) more or less ties us to the benches so i will be easy to find!

Well there is no chance Im going that far!! I went to Olympia for the Horses. The NEC is 20 mins from here.

oh yeah I watched a bit of OB last year, but I was trying to cram so much into one day I am glad I've decided to go for two, I can take my time with it and enjoy watching more.

Its really hard, cos im doing the world cup team, i cant just go walk about, gota be there supporting the team (plus Jen ties us to our benches
!!!!!)

Great! ive done 4 days once , KILLED me, 3 days is a nice number. 2 is good.
1 is sh*t, but MONEY saving! no time for shopping

Humm, well I've just read all the way through 34 pages of this and whilst I don't usually bother to reply when the posts start getting to little more than play ground bickering with occasional common sense posts there are a couple of things that I found I wanted to say....

Panting dogs... dogs pant for all sorts of reasons, certainly not just because they are "stressed" or "overheated".... lying behind me is my perfectly fit and healthy show bred (but not shown as he's now over size) castrated spitz..... he's fast asleep.... and still panting..... in fact his nick name is "pants" because he does, constantly, as anyone who has ever met him will tell you. There is no medical reason for this (we thought there might be but we had thyroid tests done and it's not) it's just how he is... the other three dogs are fine and I am freezing......

I do show my dogs (occasionally) because they and I enjoy a day out... however, I am not competative and have been known to just go along with the dog and socialise, without bothering to go in the ring. I like the conversation with like minded people, I like discussing the dogs, breeding plans, lines, history, training ... my dogs like the attention, the walking round the show ground (in Gretchen's case trying to leap into any pram or motor scooter for a lift and a cuddle) of and the chance of stealing someone lunch.

As far as crufts is concerned, yes I like it.... without it I probably would never met the breeds of dog that I now own and love, it is where I was first introduced to my breeds and met the breeders of my first dogs of each breed.

I have shown both the vallhunds and the spitz at crufts in the past and hope to show again in the future. I have more frequently than showing taken my dogs to do discover dogs ..... they love it, they love the attention, they love being stroked, and cuddled and having kids put in the pen with them. And yes they do get tired, but doing discover dogs they are "on duty" for much longer than the competing dogs... yet oddly none of you have suggested that there is anything wrong with this part of crufts you've just slated the facilities provided for show dogs and the surface for the agility....(just before I get slated for being so cruel to mine - i take crates and alternate the dogs to give them time out... though I am sure that some of you would probably have an issue with that just for the sake of arguing)

On the other side the most "hyped up" dogs I have ever seen at crufts are the flyball dogs....... again no one has touched on this at all on this thread... oh hang on, no they are doing an "activity" and they might not be pedigrees so of course they will be much healthier!!

Oh, and I hate the mess that doesn't get picked up, annoys the hell out of me as it does when I am walking my dogs on the local park...... I will quite happily hand out poo bags to those in need...... but again... not all the dogs/owners who don't pick up on the way into crufts are the "exhibitors" dogs... which appear to be the ones singled out for slating yet again!

Not just at Crufts...I would say anywhere. I used to quite like the idea of flyball, but having seen just how hyped up the dogs are on several different ocassions, I just don't think it is natural (well for border collies and probably for no breed). I guess the argument is if you have a hyped up dog, flyball is a good way of releasing the energy, but I'm not at all convinced about it as an activity.

(sorry a bit OT)

I'm not going to bother replying to the main thread as as usual with showing threads it's just been about slagging of show'ers than anything particularly informative.

However I have found your insistence that all dogs who pant are either stressed or hot. Could you please explain to me how both my dearly deceased Woody and current Springer Rossi manage to spend all day every day panting? Woody did and Rossi does do this - it's constant, whether resting in the house, strolling round the garden. The only time it isn't evident is when asleep. I look forward to your explanation.

I also have to say, this thread has been rather sadly, but predictably full of the usual arrogance and ignorance that you seem happy to portray Pidge. You complain that no one wanted to meet you the last time you were at Crufts, but after the bizarre and often offensive posts you've put in this thread do you honestly wonder why? Perhaps it might be worthwhile to consider that just because you disagree with something it doesn't autmatically mean it's wrong, it just means you don't like it.

You are a first time dog owner, I realy do believe that your time would be far better spent trying to learn from those more experienced than yourself, than trying to tell them what idiots they are. Your post about panting just shows to me how inexperienced and ignorant you seem to be.

JMO, no offence intended.

As I remember this well, BD was busy and I went for lunch then went back that way to say Hi.
Sorry if this sounds harsh Em, but like I said I don't know you, its that simple.
The ones I spoke to are ones that I have made a good friendship with over time....thanks to Dogsey.
We never have done that its that simple, no malice, no reflect on you, thats life Im afraid. I make no threats either, I just go about my business and spoke to the people I have already had the priviledge of knowing.
Like I said you were busy, as you said you were, I glanced at you and went about my business, and thats my priviledge to do so, all I said was when I passed you looked as though you were enjoying it......so I would appreciate you not being so personal over a minor detail of me not speaking, its not the end of the world hun

just thought id pop in would just like to say been every year off my life (im 16) well not every year but i wish i did lol and i absolutly love and so do my dogs exspecially when walking past the toy stands (cheeky girls) lol anyway we will be there with our two dogue de bordeauxs on the friday showing and shopping all day sunday so i really cant wait only 42 days to go whoopwhoop