The Kennel Club, the organisation behind Crufts, has launched an online dog show to bring people and their dogs together and celebrate canine companionship during lockdown.
Highlighting every dog’s potential to be a winner, the competition includes classes for both pedigree and crossbreed dogs, as well as different age groups.
The virtual show, which began on Easter Monday and has already attracted over 11,000 entries, is open to all dog owners with access to social media.
Entries for each class open in the morning across the Kennel Club’s social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for owners to share a picture or video of their dogs as their entry. Entries are judged by the Kennel Club with winners announced at the end of the same day.
The upcoming classes open to all owners and dogs are:
Thursday 23rd April – Best Puppy Dog Eyes
Friday 24th April – Golden Oldie (7 years+)
Saturday 25th April – Best Rescue
Sunday 26th April – Best Dog Doppleganger (you and your dog)
Monday 27th April – Best Canine Colleague
Tuesday 28th April – Best At Home Agility
Wednesday 29th April – Best at Home Heelwork to Music (including Freestyle)
Thursday 30th April – Best at Home Obedience
Friday 1st May – Best At Home Handling (circle, triangle or straight up and down)
Saturday 2nd May – Best at Home Trick
Sunday 3rd May – Best At Home Dog and Owner Workout
The ‘top dogs’ which have won classes in the virtual show so far include Shadow, a Labrador Retriever from Reeth, North Yorkshire who won Best Gundog class on 13th April.
Shadow has competed in Crufts twice and is also a regular blood and tissue donor, helping to save lives of other dogs.
Ziggy, a Bichon Frise from Northamptonshire won the Best Toy title on 14th April, while a Cain Terrier called Fudge was awarded the Best Terrier on 15th April. Two-year old Fudge has become a beloved family pet to his owner Annabel Readman and her family, despite a difficult start to life when he was abandoned at Christmas when he was just five months old.
Annabel said: “Fudge has the best temperament of all the dogs I have ever had. He’s very curious, loves to learn and enjoys agility as well as trick training.”
Other winners from the first week of the show are: a show dog, Dior the Dalmatian who won the Best Utility class on 16th April, a five-year old St Bernard, Queenie winning the Best Working class on 17th April, a retired police dog Pharaoh (German Shepherd Dog) who won the Best Pastoral category on 18th April and Maximus the Otterhound, crowned the Best Hound on 19th April.
Aruba the Chesapeake Bay Retriever was crowned the Cutest Puppy on 20th April, opening the second week of the show.
The Kennel Club online dog show will continue over the next two weeks for dogs of all ages and categories.
For more information about the show and how to enter, visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk.
