Best in Show line up....

What a great line up for the Best In Show tonight. I'm delighted that Elizabeth the Lhasa Apso won, but I am biased as I owned one for 15 years.
The Newfi was also gorgeous. In fact they all were but what do you think about the Old English Sheepdog's back-combed hair do? They have wonderful coats, so why back-comb them which made it look really odd in my opinion.
Great TV coverage and I for one am sorry that it is over for another year

yeah its coat was too much for me - i hated it when the commentator said 'there has been loads of backcombing and hairspray used here'
WTH does a sheepdog need hairspray and backcombing for??

Difficult to tell anything with the Lhasa but I do wish combs were banned from the ring, if a dog cant look good for 5 min without being brushed then there is something wrong.

I was really sad when the pom did a massive yawn and licked her nose loads and the commentators were laughing - dont they even know about stress signals or anything, she recovered but she was a bit stressed running around

and the water dog - I have hated watching that woman jerking it around the ring in the group judging as well - cmon can they not just train the dog to walk on a loose lead??

I wanted the newfie to win, thought it was a fantastic dog.

Prefer Lhasas with the puppy type cut we see on the streets - couldn't really see the dog under all that hair .

The OES looked very, very strange - so much backcombing that his head looked very odd.

Loved the newfie and owner's reaction when they were awarded the reserve - pleasure to see

Backcombing an OES? Now see I would have thought that sort of thing would not be allowed. Why not perm them and colour them too? Why stop at backcombing and hairspray!

It was truly an International show this year with more overseas exhibitors than ever before, thanks to the changes in the pet passport and quarantine rules.

But I was delighted when the Lhasa won - not my choice in the line-up - but I remember watching the Eukanuba World Challenge live streaming from Orlando, Florida a few months ago, and seeing a Lhasa Apso from the UK getting very highly placed in the Final - yep, it was this one!

So while we are open to overseas exhibitors coming in, we also now have the freedom to show anywhere in the world, and this was clearly a genuine world class dog.

I wanted the Pom to win - what a cracking little dog!

Not sure what to make of the Lhasa Apso really, but then they are not my kind of dog.

The Newfie was gorgeous and I also really liked the Norwich.

I thought the OES looked odd and the IWS did nothing for me nor did the Borzoi.

Personally, we wanted any dog but the Lhaso to win we actually yelled "No!" at the screen when the judge walked towards it I'm sure it's a great example of the breed, but on personal preference, it wasn't the breed for us. Didn't like the backcombed OES look either

We were rooting for the Newfi! Glad it got second but we wanted it to win. The Norwich was really sweet too.

We naturally 'lean' towards our preferred breed of dog to win. A Lhasa won Best in Show in 1984 called Saxonsprings Hackensack and it was that dog that made me decided to get one myself. My Lhasa was his granddaughter and although not a breed for some they are really fun, bold little dogs although their coats are a nightmare to keep looking good!! When she died, I went for the Tibetan Terrier which is 'the next size up'.

I totally agree with Ben Mcfuzzylugs' comment, that combs should be banned in the ring. The winner's owner drove me mad combing poor dog every few minutes - EVEN when she must have known that the judge and cameras were looking What a patient dog!

Well none of those in the ring were breeds I know much about, never mind on my 'wish list'!

But I really liked the Norwich and his character shined through. I knew a Norwich and his owners many years ago, he was always a funny little person, full of personality.

The Borzoi looked quite stunning and its curls seemed to glisten like ruched satin in the ring under those lights.

I DID like the Newfie BUT I could see it had been groomed and trimmed extensively... I'm not well up on Newfies but I always thought they are shown a bit more 'naturally' in the UK.

OES - well that is grooming gone beyond aesthetics. I would rather see them groomed flat and flowing like the Dulux dog or an oversized Beardie, coat like silk, than that puffed up Jedward styleeee

Already said my piece about the Lhasa.... and the Pom was, well, a Pom...a nice one but no star quality to my mind.... hey I am not a Pom expert by any means! If they are all meant to look like fluffy giant Jaffa oranges with a little dog face and clockwork legs, then I will gladly review my opinion.Maybe I need to spend some time with Poms, what do you think?

IWS did very well to win group but I was never sure it had what it takes to go all the way, as lovely as the breed may be, and I have no problem with seeing bouncy bouncy happy happy in the show ring even at that level... it's the breed's personality.

Ah well, those are the points from MerlinsMum judges... over and out