Dog owners prepare their pets for Crufts show debut

Organised by The Kennel Club, it will staged this year at the NEC in Birmingham between March 9-12 and there are a couple ‘first-timers’ among the many owners who are successful entrants from the Sleaford area, with fascinating stories.

Sally Hurren from Sleaford is at Crufts for the first time, fulfilling her dream with family dog Pepper, a border collie poodle cross breed.

She said: “It is my childhood dream to qualify a dog for Crufts and I am really excited as it is not easy to get in. I still have to pinch myself that he has made my dream come true.”

Sally, 57, a receptionist at a local veterinary surgery, has always loved dogs and used to go to Crufts and a child, later joining obedience dog training classes and getting into dog agility but never quite reached the level to enter the top competition.

Sally explained: “When we first had Pepper, we had a rescue border collie called Tag, who was epileptic and blind. Pepper would warn me when Tag was going to have a fit, he’d even wake me in the night to let me know. It was amazing.

“He would also ‘guide’ Tag on our walks, so if Tag got disoriented, Pepper would go to him and lead him safely back to us. When Tag died, Pepper wouldn’t eat for weeks. He missed his friend so much.”

Sally says that Pepper is aged 14 now but does not seem to know it. “He has been my best friend and rock and the best family dog for my three sons. He is a total sweetheart.”

She entered Pepper into a ‘Scrufts’ show at Newark, the competition for cross breed family dogs.

She said: “I entered the ‘golden oldie’ class and he won through to that section of Crufts.

“He was 12 when he won and that is quite old for a dog and so I have been trying to keep my feet on the ground, but I am chuffed he has kept going and will be with me at Crufts on March 11.”

Pepper is a popular regular in the Barge and Bottle pub in town, often being fed sausages. And he has been a superb role model too, explained single mum Sally. “We have one of Pepper’s puppies and called him Ash. He is from his second litter. We also have Dottie from his first litter.

“We had Ash to be my eldest son’s ‘emotional support dog’. My son Oliver has severe social anxiety and having Ash has changed his life. Ash is very much like Pepper. He adores Oliver and has got Oliver out and about and given him the confidence to talk to other people.”

The pair are inseparable and now Oliver will chat with other dog owners while out walking at Mareham Pastures. “It has been life changing,” said Sally.

Ethan-James Emery of Sleaford will be taking Murdoch as his first ever show dog after owning dogs for 15 years, mainly rescued and non Kennel Club-registered.

A manager at McDonald’s, he is excited to finally be showing at Crufts on Gundog day in the curly coated retrievers puppy and junior dog category after qualifying at a show in Boston in January.

Ethan-James said: “I fell in love with the curly coated retrievers at Discover Dogs at Crufts years ago and after losing my old golden retriever in 2021, I decided to go for it and contact the breed club.”

He picked up Murdoch in August 2022 as a pup, whose kennel name is Foxriever Midsummer Magic.

He said: “Murdoch is such a gentle soul, quite shy, but very friendly and a total goofball who loves to bring his favourite toys to show you when he gets out of bed.

“I started socialising straight away and got in contact with Vicky Moggridge from To The Manor Bourne, a disability-friendly ringcraft group, about getting him started and used to all things show and handling,” he said.

“We started at about four months old. Without this amazing woman and this group of brilliant people, we would not have the confidence or knowledge to have gotten this far so quickly.”

Murdoch would shy away from being touched but now loves fuss and it is paying off in the ring.

“Vicky has been amazing at helping bring my shy boy out and in turn bring me out of myself to,” said Ethan-James, who wears hearing aids and has a neurological condition which affects his co-ordination, causes pain, fatigue and seizures.

“He also struggles with anxiety, but he says the dogs have helped him overcome these issues, with training and showing giving him a new lease of life.

“With my long-term health issues and disabilities, I hadn’t been out as much because of the Covid pandemic and after having Covid twice it has taken its toll on my body.

“Being out with Murdoch, and going to training and seeing him come on leaps and bounds, has made me feel so much better.”