I’ve been to Crufts on many occasions, sometimes in my capacity as a TV vet, filming for various TV programs, and sometimes to promote Pets’ Kitchen, and I have very mixed feelings about the event. Part of me loves seeing all the dogs and enthusiastic owners who are obviously absolutely passionate about their pets, and I love wandering around seeing all the different stands which sell everything related to dogs that you could possibly imagine, from the obvious such as leads, collars and food, to downright bizarre – bottled water for dogs costing more than Evian, nappies for puppies, diamond studded collars and even pink prams to carry toy dogs in when they get tired of walking!

There is another side to Crufts that I’m not as keen on though and that’s the extreme end of the competitive showing aspect of the event. To my mind dogs should be companions who share our lives and not trophies to be paraded and assessed. Too many of the dogs at big shows like Crufts are bred specifically to win competitions based on their appearance and their role as loving family companions is often lost in the highly competitive world of championship dog shows. And not only are many of these dogs treated more like trophies than companions, many of them are also consigned to a life of physical problems directly related to the very nature of their physical appearance that wins them their prizes. This is an issue that has become much more prominent in recent years, and led to the BBC giving up their coverage of the event after many years – and in fact a film I was due to make about the event for The One Show was cancelled a couple of years ago after the broadcast of the Panorama documentary ‘Pedigree Dogs Exposed’. I know that the vast majority of owners of show dogs are very dedicated and passionate about their dogs – but there are still some who seem to prioritise winning a show over their dog’s wellbeing, and that makes me very uncomfortable.

So I always feel a bit conflicted when I’m at Crufts – I want to enjoy the whole crazy doggie atmosphere, but I hate seeing dogs as trophies so I can never really properly enjoy the show. This year I have just been for one day, as I wasn’t involved in any filming at the show and we weren’t exhibiting their either. It was good to spend some time there, chatting to all the people I know if the dog world – and I also had a nice surprising, bumping into a woman who I knew as our new Healthy Digestion supplement had really helped her dog Izzy and was one of the main reasons she was able to attend the show and collect an obedience award. So that was a very nice surprise – and as you can see Izzy was keen to give me a lick of gratitude herself! – but I was still pleased to leave at the end of the day and overall I’m very glad it comes round just once a year.

Let me know what you think – I know lots of people have very strong opinions both ways so leave a comment if you want to make your point.