I’ve been wanting to visit Crufts for years,so this year Phoebe and I caught the ridiculously early train and set off to Birmingham.
I knew that Crufts was a large show, but I had no idea it was so huge. To give you an idea we didn’t even find the main arena until the very end of the day when we were getting ready to leave at 4pm and then there was a 2 hour queue to get into the arena at that point!
If you are going to attend Crufts and get the most out of it, you need a couple of days. Now I know why the show is four days long...
When we arrived we headed straight for the Discover Dogs section to check out all of the breed, this was a real highlight for me as it was so lovely to meet all of the breeds I've drawn over the years and find out more about their character. It's also a great way to find out about a breed if you are thinking of getting a dog.
I was really excited to meet the Brussels Griffon as I'd only recently discovered this breed when a customer requested it be added to our range (you can find it here)
Another highlight were the Beddlington Terriers, another breed we've recently added (you can see them here)
Some of the stands had so many people around them it was impossible to get a good look, but it was really nice to see that this section was one of the busiest at the show.
We had asked on Facebook if anyone was there with their pet wearing a Hoobynoo tag so we could say Hi. We were told about Sonny who was on the Arden food stand, we popped along and completely by chance arrived at the right time for the demonstration from Stuntdogs and Animals, who train animals for film and TV.
There was Sonny, wearing our pet tag, and he just so happened to be the pug superstar from The Kingsman!
I got to have my photo taken with him at the end, he was so adorable.
We decided to have a wander after the display and check out some of the stalls, that's when we realised we hadn't even left the first hall yet. We bought a program and discovered there were 5 halls in total!
It was a little overwhelming as walking around is quite tiring, so I would say definitely have a clear idea of what you would like from Crufts before you attend. It was quite difficult to get near the displays as Phoebe and I are both short and there were big crowds, if we had wanted to spend some time watching some of the judging or displays I think we would have needed to plan this in advance.
In all we had a great day and my favourite part was definitely meeting all of the dogs, including the ones that were walking around with their owners. I would love to go back again next year with a clearer plan of what I wanted to see and do.
