Hooli was manning a stand at Crufts yesterday. He was on the Discover Australian Shepherds stand. I asked my daughter to supply more information, and this is what she wrote:
Hooli took part in Discover Dogs, which is basically an exhibit within Crufts. There is a breed stand for every breed recognised by the Kennel Club. Each breed stand contains information on the breed, and breeders/owners and dogs so that the public can meet the breeds and talk to owners about what it is like to own that particular breed. It is important that the dogs are confident and friendly because they are cuddled, kissed and photographed all day.
Hooli was on the breed stand for Saturday afternoon from 1pm to 5:30pm, which is probably one of the busiest times at the show. He took it in his stride and behaved impeccably. He was friendly, outgoing and gentle with children who came and literally threw themselves at him. He performed lots of tricks, the favourite of the crowd was holding a biscuit in his teeth until I said to eat it.
Hooli was a particularly good example because he has a tail, unlike most aussies. But because of the docking ban, most puppies that will be bought in the future will have tails, so people who are considering the breed really got a chance to see what their potential future puppy might look like. The docking ban came in last year, and so more and more aussies with tails are now popping up, but they are still fairly rare in the show ring. No aussies being imported from other countries can be shown if they were docked after the docking ban came into effect in the UK, which will have implications for exhibitors coming over from the States and Europe, of which there are more and more since the Pet Passport Scheme expanded to include the US. Let me know if you need any more info! Or go to www.crufts.org.uk
Isn't he gorgeous!
