We have been asked to take our Canadian Eskimo Dogs to Discovery dogs at Crufts this year (Sunday) and Showing them on the Thursday.I just wondered what to expect from peeps who have done it before.I know it will be busy as its a Sunday and gundog day as well.Handy hints and useful tips would be very useful.Jude.

we do discover dogs I think we are doing Thursday and saturday.
you will be asked lots of questions and people will generlly like to have there photo taken with one of the dogs and like to make a fuss of the dogs.
somtimes it is quite then all the people seam to come in one go and you end up not know which way to turn but most of all remember to enjoy it and have fun it is a great thing to do for your breed.

Discovery dogs :-D

That gave me visions of a pack of dogs in the back of a Landrover Discovery! :-D

I've always felt Discover dogs is a good concept and can be a very positive experience for people who genuinely want to learn more about specific breeds but I also suspect one needs to be prepared for all sorts of 'non-dog-educated people' making demands on your dogs that I personally feel is potentially too stressful for alot of the dogs - even if they are 'seasoned show-dogs'.

The person who knows your dogs best is you - do you feel comfortable allowing people/children to grab and poke them - potentially unsupervised by their parents?

Sorry but not my idea of a fun time.

I dont have dogs to take but have a wonderful time as a doggy owner meeting all the different breeds and dreaming what i will be adding to my two
As for all sorts of questions from people I found myself and one of the ladies on a stand trying very hard to put off two younish working people, seemingly quite "posh" form having a dog they had no idea a teddy bear would have been a better ide. They lived in a flat no outside space and both worked all day couldn't understand why it was unacceptable to leave a dog like that or even two. So yes you will get allsorts to talk to.
I like the landrover visions thats a good one, maybe it should be a logo ! 
The dogs that are taken a soooo well behaved and I haven't seen any that look stressed although by the end of the day you kinda feel they are pleased to be going home. 

It'll be very busy and very hot. How long are you rostered on the stand for? In my breed we don't have to do more than a three-hour stretch, but there are lots of us available; I realise in a minority breed that wouldn't be possible.

You need to be prepared for your dogs to be grabbed and stroked, and need to field some very obscure questions, and have the patience to answer the most basic question over and over again. It's important to emphasise the negative aspects of your breed and not just sing their praises - potential owners need to get a rounded picture!

I hated doing the Sunday because it was clear from my boy's behaviour that people had had in-season bitches at the show and he became very difficult, so be prepared for that too.

We are hoping to share the day with another CED owner,the other 3 days are sorted (ob Thurs we will all be going)but no one else for Sunday yet :(  they are both youngsters,love people and are very affectionate.Kezzie is being shown on Thursday (9 months) and Oggie our lad will be 7 months.They both love their crates so was thinking of allowing them some quiet time covered in thier crates from time to time.Hopefully some one else will volunteer,but like you said with a rare breed their aren't many of us but enough to go around!

I do DD every year and the dogs love it to bits, they are behind the pens with me in there with them or their other owner, we humans and dogs swap.  We cover a full day, minority breed and I have to confess I like having somewhere to sit with the dogs when I need to sit rather than just a few hrs, more to do with my disease than being too anti social ---------- I think lol.

I find if one of us is stationed at the front you can stop the over excited from getting their hands on the dogs until you've calmed them down and explained a few things THEN they can stroke the dogs.  We take 3 dogs who swap as and when they want to as we park their show trolley with crates inside the pen at the back with doors open, public can still see them even if they go to bed.  Having said that our 10 yr old is the one out all day after all the fuss he can get and lays out on the vet bedding we take for his naps he just doesn't care lol.

Good luck and enjoy the experience we do.

Make sure you have someone with you so that you can go to the loo and take some of the dogs to pee, while another stays at the booth, people don't like ti when the boot is unmanned or undogged.

Also you have to be prepared to talk about the dog all day without flagging LOL

> That gave me visions of a pack of dogs in the back of a Landrover Discovery!

Hey you've been spying on us!!! ;)

The dogs will get very tired - last year I took my Yankee and he was the only one there - by the time we got halfway through he was just lying there placidly allowing everyone to stroke him, whereas normally he is jumping up asking for cuddles. He got loads of comments about what a placid breed it was, and I had to hastily explain it wasn't his usual behaviour! As you've got more than one dog, you might want to rotate them on and off the 'public view'.

We've manned our breed stand for the last 3 years and am at Crufts all day on the Saturday, after exhibiting on the Thursday.

We try to have at least 3-4 dogs with us, as they get very tired after the initial excitement has worn off.We also get there about an hour before Crufts opens so that the dogs can be exercised and get used to the surroundings.

We always take a covered crate so that the dogs can have a break.

I know that my dogs are good with children, as they live with 4, but you do have to keep a close eye on the public as little fingers are poked through the enclosure. There are always lots of photographs taken and ,in my breed, it's lovely when foreign owners come to visit. Although my Swedish is non-existant!

Make sure you take plenty of drink/food as the NEC prices are expensive and the beverage vouchers provided don't go very far!

We always really enjoy the day but it is a long day.

do you feel comfortable allowing people/children to grab and poke them - potentially unsupervised by their parents?

That simply cannot happen unless the dogs are NOT in the allocated pen. That's the good thing about it, a pen is provided, and so the dogs CHOOSE if they want to say hello or not, and can easily walk away and not be reached. Small children cannot reach over so poke fingers through the bars , so again they can't touch unless the dog chooses to stay put. Some breeds tend to have a dog or two outside the pen as well, but then presumably they pick dogs they KNOW will put up with anything. I have mine in the pen so they always have a choice, and I bring a big tub of treats for visitors to give them. The dogs LOVE it. Absolutely love it. And when they feel tired they go and lay down and cannot be touched.

Don't worry,can talk Eskie and Mals for hours LOL.My Husband AKA the big bald one will be going and maybe my teenage daughter (depends if she has had enough after Thursday).
Also planned to rotate the Woos,but more than likely they will just want to be together all day.Probabaly be me that will flag with all that heat and crowds.Showed our Mals last year on A sunday and was it was heaving.
Any one going on Sunday please say Hi.Jude x

I do it every year at Crufts and at Earls Court. You do get asked the most basic questions over & over so be prepared for that, but I always enjoy it and my dogs love it. It is tiring for them so always good to have a couple there so they can be rested. If I ever have a puppy at the time of Discover Dogs I always take them along as it is a great socialisation exercise.

I have been to discover Dogs as a visitor several times. I have great admiration for those of you that allow your dogs to be petted and handled by so many...
It is a fantastic day and I would like to say "thanks" to you who have shown your dogs.....and well done to your dogs :-)

Sorry Cornish Mals hope I did not  hi jack thread  :-)

Jude, we did the Mally stand a few years ago now. It was a loooong day! We took a crate with us and put it in the far corner with a blanket over it. That gave us the chance to rotate the pooches and give each one "time out" away from the crowds. We had 4 with us and there was ample chance for people to pet the dogs and yet we still had people asking if they could see the "one in the cage". The dogs loved it but I do feel the quiet times were also appreciated :-)
I thought Hubby would hate it but he was a star! He talked all day non stop, it was me that ended up taking the pooches for wees (no mean feat! It can take 30 minutes to walk 100 yards!).

Thanks Joan.We will take a crate and cover,partly to give them a rest from visitors and a break from each other!!

Good luck.  Hope you manage to enjoy it.  Wish I could go to pet your dogs and mither you to death with endless questions LOL

I do Discover Dogs with a rare breed.  Most important is to take 2 or more dogs with you and a crate.  I do hour and a half shifts giving the dog lots of time away from prying eyes and hands.  My dogs are very friendly, but how many thousand visitors come to Crufts?  No dog can do that without flagging!  All our dogs par two that do DD all show so will have a full show day on Sunday, and 8 are in the breeders stakes, so another full day on Friday.  The cage to get out the way and multiple dogs to take shifts are very important.
As for questions, well I have to pronounce my breed name approximately every 5 minutes over 8 hours without sounding annoyed, and the best questions come from the kids!

One other thing to bear in mind. A certain person is known to get friends to visit the stands and observe what's being said about their dogs.
An article was written after Discover Dogs in November. I make sure that I always mention health testing when asked about my breed.
As a more unusual breed we don't have a byb/ puppyfarm problem but I still give advice on getting a puppy through the proper channels. 

We thought this was brilliant :-)
We found lots of really helpful breeders happy to talk about their dogs and were pleasantly suprised when it came to some breeds. I have to say though that I admire those of you who take your dogs everyone was really patient even when some very rude people were mauling their dogs and shoving cameras in their face :-(