The world's premier dog show, Crufts 1999, which took place at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, on the 11th to 14th of March, welcomed an international audience to the largest celebration of dogs on earth.

Innocence Abroad: Our First Crufts
By H. Cavanaugh

Additional Events

One of our favorite events at Crufts was the duck herding demonstrations. A handler with three Border Collies showed off what the dogs could do with a small herd of ducks, a herd of sheep being somewhat difficult to manage at such a big show. Along with hand signals, one dog received its commands in English, a second in Welch, and a third in Gaelic so that they dogs were not confused. Following the handler's commands, the dogs moved the ducks around in a large enclosure, up and down farm equipment, into and around various obstacles, finally bringing them back to their pen. The dogs fixed their gaze on the ducks exactly as they would a herd of sheep and worked together as an amazingly well-trained team.

Another demonstration was of hearing-assistant dogs, which are trained and presented free to anyone in Britain needing such an animal. These are often rescue dogs salvaged from humane organizations and taught to hear in a variety of home situations and signal their owners that a phone or a kitchen timer is ringing, someone is at the door, a baby is crying, or a smoke detector is going off.Probably one of the more spectacular events I witnessed was a performance of heel work to music, a dance routine performed by a handler and a dog, usually a Border Collie. The degree of precision reached by dog and human is impressive to say the least. Mary Ray, the paramount heel-dancing trainer in England, spun her Border around the big ring to "Saturday Night Fever" in an incredible display. She has been featured at Crufts with her heel-dancing dogs since 1990, but this year she performed with two dogs, each precisely mirroring the other's movements. Events such as gun dog trials, agility trials and fly ball competitions are extremely popular at Crufts. Some fly-ball and agility teams have avid fans that follow them to their various meets in the same way as sports fans, and competition is just as fierce as at any soccer game. Other demonstrations of dog obedience and dog service were given every day to full audiences. Canine Good Citizen demonstrations showed off their special talents as well.

More from "Innocence Abroad" ...

Judging
The Exhibitors
Spays and Neuters
Facilities and Amenities
Discover Dogs
Additional Events
Spectators
Cell Phones
Gleaming Brass Horns
Photographers
Final Thoughts
History of Crufts