For Crufts sake!

Last week I made possibly the most brave decision of my life so far.  No, unlike the friends I was talking to the previous weekend, I didn't jet off to Australia alone for months or decide to use the deposit for my house in order to leave work and travel the world.  I booked myself a train ticket to Birmingham.

Uh oh...she's packing!

If you ask Google to define 'brave' this is what it will tell you:
Brave (adj) ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage.

If you had to pick an adjective to describe me, it wouldn't be 'brave'.  Perhaps 'anxious'.  My dad used to call me 'windy' but I had to stop him because I was worried that people might take that the wrong way.  Worried.  Always worried about something or other.

One of my many phobias....bees!

For most people jumping on a train to somewhere a few hours away may seem like a walk in the park but for me it required bravery.  Firstly, I'm not a keen lover of trains.  That, though, is the least of my troubles.  I'm also worried about travelling alone and I don't much like getting in taxis alone either.

However, one of my worst fears is missing out on something amazing because I was too frightened to do it.  And this was the reason I boarded a train, alone, one evening at 5:05pm.  The train would arrive at Birmingham over 3 hours later and from there I would climb aboard a smaller train to Birmingham International Airport.

Thankfully, the reason for this was not because I needed to catch a plane - perhaps I'm not yet brave enough to go that far and certainly not alone.  The reason was that, for the first time in my life, I was going to Crufts.  And, I was going with some online friends from the lovely Staffies R Us.

Nearly ended up with another dog after this little angel jumped up to give me a kiss!

There's something about being a member of a close-knit forum.  It feels like meeting some kind of extended family.  People who you feel extremely connected to but, at first, you're not exactly sure who is who.  I ended up finding myself asking "what's your dog called?" in order to recognise each person.  Caesar got a few smiles and his blog was mentioned too.

By the morning of the show, I was thrilled that I had made the trip and could not wait to begin exploring.  For anyone who has somehow managed to avoid ever hearing about Crufts; it's the world's largest dog show.  And, around the hotel there were many nationalities of people and dogs staying to attend.  I'd watched the show on television since being a child when dad and I would tune in just in time to see the weekend showings and I'd always wondered what it would be like to attend.

The show itself was amazing and I couldn't believe that it only cost £18 to enter!  It's impossible not to spend the first few hours in absolute bewilderment.  I've never seen so many dog products and stalls or breeds of dog or dog sports all in one place.  There were so many rings and halls and stalls that getting lost was virtually inevitable but it was like being lost in an dog lovers Disney Land.  I was gobsmacked by the crowds of people and some of the amazing sights that could be seen around the National Exhibition Centre.

...And I thought they were called 'sheep!' 

By 4 o'clock, I had just about stopped gawping and got into some serious shopping.  Here are Caesar's goodies:

Sheep fleece!

Union Jack Polar Collar

Leather Staffordshire Knot Collar

Who has been to Crufts?  Share your experience in the comments section.

Softening the edges

Initial reactions to Caesar vary dramatically, from comments about his good looks and handsome face to people lifting their children from the ground close to him or crossing the road.  Some people get angry that others can be so narrow minded towards certain breeds but I feel sorry for them.  I remember one mum taking her son by the hand as he pointed at Caesar and chorused "doggy, mummy, doggy!"  I smiled at her as she told him, "yes, but we don't just go and stroke doggies."  Sensible advice if you ask me and I agree entirely.  What upset me was that, a little further along the street stood a man with two border collies.  "Go and stroke those doggies instead," she advised, pushing her son in the direction of the dogs.  "They're beautiful," she said to the owner, as the dogs bustled around her little boy.  Caesar sat calmly by my feet never moving an inch but something about him had warned her away.  I looked down, seeing only his floppy ears and wide brown eyes.  I saw nothing in him that looked at all unnerving.

As I drove home, I suddenly remembered the first picture that I ever saw of Caesar.  I remembered how I felt intimidated by the aloof looking dog in the photo.  I remember how my parents had questioned my motives for choosing 'that dog' when I showed his picture to them.  I remembered how I'd asked myself the same question.  His nature had won me over almost instantly and from that moment, his looks didn't worry me too much at all.  In fact, the longer I know him, the more I see a placid, gentle and friendly face and it's hard to see anything else.

Part of Caesar's problem is that he has an extreme reaction to other dogs and it takes him a long time to calm himself after he has seen an unknown dog, particularly if it is off the lead.  His noise level and energy draw the attention of passers by who generally move as far away as possible Recently, we visited a town where a dog had been left tied outside a shop at one end of the high street.  As we walked towards said dog, Caesar literally parted the crowds who walked at either side while we walked through the middle.  It's embarrassing!

I set about softening Caesar's edges fairly soon after his adoption.  I began by replacing his thick black head collar with an electric blue head collar with bright yellow puppies on.  But I did not stop there.  I also bought Caesar an electric blue Superman collar to match.  'It's impossible to look intimidating when you're wearing a Superman Collar'  I thought.  Of course, being Caesar, the Superman collar lasted around three days before he'd scratched it so much that the ink came off, leaving white marks all over Superman's face but in the first 72 hours of owning it, we got at least a few 'aww's.  Next, we purchased a red spotted dickey-bow and matching  fabric collar thus converting him into the perfect gentleman.  This had a more pronounced effect and people stopped to ask me where we got it and spent a minute fussing him, even when he was being noisy.  By Christmas, Caesar had a further "Ho Ho Ho" collar featuring a small sledge and reindeer, a reindeer jumper and matching red leg warmers.  Could people possibly find him intimidating in this?  Surely if the dog that is coming towards you screeching and yelling, is wearing a reindeer jumper and leg warmers then that makes them at least half as intimidating.  Doesn't it?

Now, Caesar has an array of 'edge softening' paraphernalia including:

• A batman collar
• A superman collar
• Two dickey-bow ties
• A "Ho ho ho" Christmas collar
• A Scooby Doo collar
• A set of leg warmers
• A few t-shirts including "Best pal" 
• A blue bone fleece
• A fleece hoodie with friendly looking dog bones on

I refer to him by his collar bound name when he begins to play up in public, lightening my tone with phrases such as "Come on Scoobs" or "Let's go Rudolph!"  People smile so I suppose it must work.  Either that or they think I'm totally mad...

I'd love to hear you thoughts on dog accessories.  Do you agree, disagree or are you neither for nor against.  Let me know with a comment.

Thanks to Brown Bee Collars and Classet Comfort Pet Designs for the beautiful collars.