I prefer cats but just loved Crufts (Crufts)

Member Name: norton501

Product:	Crufts
Date:	11/08/09 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: educational, something different, quite cheap for a day ticket

Disadvantages: Very very tiring. the NEC is HUGE and its in 5 halls +

I'm not really a "Dog" person. I prefer cats if I have to make the choice. But, my husband really wants a Beagle (like Snoopy), so we decided to visit Crufts in March at the Birmingham NEC.

We bought our tickets online and they were a very reasonable £17 for a day ticket. The event is on for four days and each day has a different dog theme- ie Working and pastoral/ Toy and Utility/ Gundogs.

The NEC is huge. Crufts filled around 5 arenas. We could have spent two days just walking around the place (we went early in the morning and left around 7pm) so it makes a long long tiring day. You will walk for miles just walking around the arenas.

When we first walked in we headed straight for the dog sections where each breed of dog has a representative- there are rows and rows of little booths each with a few examples of that breed of dog. This is brilliant to show all the types of dog and the dog handlers are on site to answer breed secific questions. There is a breeders section for people who go to Crufts to make contacts to look at buying digs too.

There are also sections for charities such as Guide Dogs for the Blind, Dogs for the Disabled and Cancer Detection Dogs. They put on displays and have people on hand again to answer queries.

There are trade halls (I counted two full halls) of stalls full of dog attire- from worming remedies to clothing for dog walkers. Everything you could imagine to buy related to or for a dog is here!

All day there are judging events going on. You can walk around and watch the dogs being trotted around small greens of felt and judged in elimination rounds until the breed winners are found that go forward to the Show's final on the Sunday.

We had a walk around the dogs in small pens/ holding areas and I expected the owners/ handlers to be quite "get away from my dog"- but no-one was like that and my husband made a beeline for the beagles and wandered around stroking the dogs.

The facilities are ok-- there are several toilets and although you can expect to queue it is nothing out of the ordinary. The food court areas are expensive and basic. Jacket Potatoes, burgers, chips etc., We went out of the Halls and ate in the Wetherspoons of the NEC itself that only had a limited food choice but the service was quick.

After getting really tired walking around the halls and dogs, we made our way into the quite empty Main Arena (the bit you see on TV) where we found there were displays and things on all day.- ie police dog of the year/ awards ceremonies etc., We also watched the main judging event in the main hall and saw the dog who went on to win Crufts 2009 win in its heat.

Overall- if you like dogs don;t even hesitate to visit crufts. I dont really like dogs and I had a great time and saw lots of adorable dogs like mini sausagedogs... Dogs that are rare and you just will not see them in real life. It is educational and a good day out. But it is VERY tiring. I would suggest taking your own food too.

Summary: Great day out for the whole family as long as you are prepared to walk about 10 miles around it!