Hey, fellow pet lovers!!

As some of you may already know this week is the start of Crufts which is named the world’s greatest dog show and celebrates each and every aspect of the diverse roles that our canine companions play in our lives.

Let’s jump straight into today’s post and learn all about Crufts and how it came to be?

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Crufts, 2019

Crufts is set to begin this Thursday the 7th of March and will finish on Sunday the 10th of March, however, this well-known show has been around for many years and is a much-loved canine event amongst dog owners, trainers and pet lovers worldwide.

But how did it all start?

Crufts dog show actually didn’t become Crufts as we know it until 1891 as this was the first year, Charles Cruft the founder applied his name to the show. Before this Charles Cruft worked for Spratt’s which was the first ever dog biscuit company to produce dog treats on a mass scale and went on to be the starting full for the multi-billion dollar pet food industry which we all know so well today.

I plan on writing an informative post all about the history of the pet food industry this month so stick around for that in the next few weeks, as Charles Cruft played a large role in the success of Spratt’s Patent Ltd before he created the Crufts dog show. Charles Cruft started at Spratt’s as an apprentice in the Spratt Holborn shop in London.

However, Mr Cruft was an ambitious man and didn’t stay as an office boy for very long and quickly convinced Mr Spratt to find a new boy to work in the shop so he could find the time to secure new orders of dog biscuits from gamekeepers and promoters of dog shows. His new role meant he had to travel across the UK and Europe and it was in 1878 in Paris that he was invited to organise the promotion of the canine section of the Paris Exhibition.

After successfully organising the canine section of the Paris Exhibition Charles Cruft took up the management of the Allied Terrier Club Show at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster. His first dog show was in March 1886 and this show was strictly just for terrier breeds only, the show ran for a few years.

The first Crufts dog show was held in 1891 at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington and the show was the first to allow all dog breeds. Over 2000 dogs showed up and they had over 2,500 entries that year. Unfortunately, Charles Cruft passed away in 1931 which meant his widow Emma Cruft then had to run the show for four years until she felt like it was too much to keep up with due to the ever-increasing demand and therefore, she sold it to The Kennel Club in 1942. Ever since then Crufts has been a much-loved show for dog lovers worldwide and it is considered to be the worlds greatest dog show ever.

To learn more about Charles Cruft then simply follow the link, Charles Cruft.

I could go on and on talking about Crufts rich history but I don’t want today’s blog post to be incredibly long so If you would like to learn more then watch this super short but highly informative video that the Kennel Club put together all about the long history of Crufts. 

Crufts Breakdown

Crufts is four days of four-legged fun and there is a lot that takes place within such a short amount of time. Below I am going to briefly breakdown each day so you know what to tune in for and can keep up to date with everything you want to watch.

Below is the Arena Programme for this year’s show but remember that there is always the possibility for delays and it’s likely that everything will not run on time.

Day 1, Thursday 7th March

Below you can see the schedule for day one, Thursday the 7th of March and this day starts with Agility. Tune in from 8.45am and watch various canine activities all the way until 8.40pm.

Day 2, Friday 8th of March

Day 2, again kicks off with Agility and I’m really looking forward to watching the Rescue Dog Agility at 1.35pm and the programme will finish at 8.20pm.

Day 3, Saturday 9th March

Day 3 is a fun-filled day with plenty of canine activities to tune in for as well as the Scruffs Final which I will definitely be watching. You can watch the show from 8.30am all the way up until 8.20pm.

Day 4, Sunday the 10th of March

Sunday the 10th of March marks the final day of Crufts and we’ll see who takes home that special Best in Show Trophy. To end the final day there is a massive mix of events such as Flyball, Agility and the Best in Show presentation, don’t forget you can tune in from 9.10am and the show will finish at 9pm.

All timetables are taken from the Crufts website, to see more simply follow the link, What’s On? 

Crufts Tickets

There are many different ticket options available and If you’re wanting to get tickets for Crufts then head over to The Kennel Clubs website where you can order yours today, Crufts tickets.

To learn more about the various tickets on offer, as well as the special Hospitality package which gives you access to an exclusive hospitality area and a first-class catering and drinks service simply head over to the Crufts Ticket Office for more information.

Crufts Awards

Crufts has various awards for the many competitions that they put on every year but we all know that the big award is the Best in Show. Crufts is not an open competition which means the dogs that are competing have already qualified throughout previous years and various Kennel Club competitions.

Our canine companions can qualify for Crufts by coming first, second or third place in the relevant class at a Kennel Club affiliated Championship Show, where they will be awarded Challenge Certificates, or by achieving Best in Show, Reserve Best in Show or Best Puppy in Show at a Kennel Club affiliated Open or General show.

There have been many Best in Show winners up to date but the breed that has taken home the trophy the most is the much-loved Cocker Spaniel with seven wins, closely followed by the Irish Setter, Poodle and Welsh Terrier. The first ever breed to win the Best in Show title was a GreyHound called Primley Sceptre in 1928.

Crufts Activities

There are many activities that take place at Crufts each year as you can see from the arena programme above but below I have listed the activities that take place each year.

• Agility

• Canicross

• Dog Showing

• Field Trails and Working Gundogs

• Flyball

• Heelwork to music

• Obedience

• Rally

• Working Trials

As well as these common activities they also have special competitions in which children and crossbreds can take place.

• International Junior Handling

• Junior Warrant Competition

• Scruffts – Best Competition

• Breeders’ Competition

• KCAI Trainer of the year

• Eukanuba World Challenge

• Eukanuba Puppy Final

• Eukanuba Champion Stakes Final

• Kennel Club Friends for Life

To learn more simply head over to the Crufts website.

Where can you watch Crufts?

If you’re wanting to tune in and watch Crufts over the four days it’s airing you can do so by tuning into Channel 4 and More 4 if you live in the UK, as they will be broadcasting Crufts live. However, if you don’t live in the UK but still want to watch this great event then you can head over to Crufts YouTube Channel and tune in to watch the show live.

Don’t forget to check out Crufts Podcast where you can hear interviews with competition winners and much more, simply follow the link to learn more, Crufts Podcast.

I hope you’re all looking forward to Crufts this year, I know I am which is odd as I don’t normally tune in to watch the show, but this year with having the epoch.pet It’s definitely something I plan on keeping up to date with. If you are too then let me know in the comments below or if you’re competing use our hashtag #epochdotpet to help raise awareness about epoch.pet

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Thanks for reading today’s post and I hope you all enjoyed learning about Crufts, the greatest dog show ever!! There is so much history to this much-loved canine event and Charles Cruft would be incredibly happy to know that his appreciation for our canine companions still lives on in his widely popular dog show, each and every year.

I’m going to be keeping up to date with the show and am looking forward to seeing who is going to be the Best in Show winner this year. If you liked today’s post then let me know by hitting that like button or giving it a share so other pet lovers can learn all about Crufts and join our pet loving community.

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