Oh no :( hope he's ok - keep us updated won't you...

Dolly has been vaccinated against parvo yes? Keep a very close eye on her, I don't want to worry you but you never know. If she's off her food or off colour get her to the vet asap.

Thanks Chloe Dolly has been vaccinated and she's fine, That dog could eat or catch anything and it would still be around to torment me!
I have to phone at 4pm but he won't be home for a few days just sad that we have only had him a for a few days and now this in his little life :(
Let you know in an hour i'm just sat here passing time on anything just waiting for 4pm arrrgh!

(edit) Also Dolly is grounded, she sneaked out after i went to the car for something last night and the slapper was off looking for action on a Saturday night!
I found her at the Railway Pub around the corner looking for their 2 GSD's, people on the way home are looking at me as i'm screaming "You could have been killed you stupid girl" "Anybody could have picked you up"

Hi Sarah ,sorry to hear Pickles is poorly, hope he is back home keeping your lap warm soon ,Take care Sue & Lola & Max xx

Thanks Sue so do i, you get attached to the little boogers quickly, hope Max has settled in!
Dave has gone back so if the M-I-L wants a break i'm sure Dave will have him in his caravan lol.

Hi ,dont want to sound stupid !! but what does ROFLMAO  mean??????? Sue T t xx

rolling on floor laughing my rrrr's off (i take it as a loud laugh as i'm not on the floor at that moment i'd look a bit silly and the dog would jump all over me possibly breaking my ribs) :D

My partner and I have done Discover Dogs for quite a few years now both at Earls Court and Crufts representing the Mastiff. We don't do it for the free lunch, parking etc as suggested by one person on here - we do it because we love the breed and want to promote our breed, it is also bloody hard work. It takes us a couple of hours to arrive at our destination and costs a small fortune in fuel but we don't complain because we love doing it !! Our dogs also love the day out and enjoy all the cuddles, treats etc that they receive not too mention having their photographs taken. We do our utmost too be as friendly as possible and usually come home with a hoarse voice from talking too much. As a result of our hard work, we have welcomed a lot of new people into our breed and receive a lot of correspondence both via email and on the phone. All of that said, we have also experienced a negative side of Discover Dogs as well. There would seem to be a selection of people who are only there to sell puppies, do not have enough knowledge of their breed or are basically not very sociable. However, I also know that getting people to agree to do Discover Dogs is a very hard task for breed club secretary to fulfill as so few people want to do anything if there is nothing in it for them, for example a cc.

We went to the chinese crested stand and had to ask some questions about the powderpuff and the man on the stand was brilliant, he picked up one of his dogs and showed us how far to clipper the face, how best to groom the coat and was very helpfull, when he had finished there was quite a few people there who were just standing and listening to him explain things for me.
so i have no complaints about the chinese crested stand.
Carol

It seems to me that its about 50/50 positive and negative, however, we should remember folk tend to remember negative experiences over positive- in my case the Spinone woman marred the whole experience for me. Personally, I think it should be 100% of breeds represented by knowlegable, friendly, welcoming folk who have had experience in the breed for a few years. Its not supposed to be somewhere that folk take a dog, leave it in the pen, whilst they drink coffee, sitting on deck chairs and wabbing to their mates - because that is not a good PR exercise. Visitors, no matter how annoying, should not be made to feel unwelcome or as if they are being a nuisence - which is how I was made to feel by *some*.

Discover Dogs is the best PR event you can get for a breed. I feel the worst folk are those who clearly think that folk in general are not good enough to own one of their breed of dogs - which really does have a reverse effect and, I am sure, drives folk toward less desirable breeders. Perhaps the KC should look at interviewing and paying folk for their time and expertise, and as such can have some influence over who mans the stands?

LOl at Dolly-slapper sneaking out :D Defnitely grounded, stopped watching TV and no treats for a month! Look on the bright side at least she cant yell " I hate you, its sooo unfair!" and
" Everyone elses owners let them out with their pals on a weekend!" How is Pickles doing?

Thanks Lorelei he has had fluids but still has the runs, no high temp and is comfortable.
Fingers crossed xx
I'm suprised Dolly the slapper hasn't said " I hate you!" lol i've given her the silent treatment all day and i didn't let her off the lead today and she is sulking so i've come on the pc in the other room away from her gob.

Just came home from my first crufts, took a friend who wanted to check out some breeds at DD....Ignorant, unfriendly, dull, grumpy oh and did i mention ignorant ;)  If they dont want to be there why do they go!
Sarah

Am so glad everyone else feels the same - I was starting to get paranoid that I had forgotten my deodorant or something :D :D I am going to mail the KC again tomorrow to make sure they come and check out this thread ;)

Whilst I can understand the frustration of visitors met with unhelpful DD stand helpers, I dont know what the KC can do?  Demand that the breed clubs only let charming, friendly people on the stands?  they are manned by volunteers, and I am fairly sure that quite a lot of breeds have problems getting people, with dogs who will not be upset, to volunteer to cover for 4 days.  I was pleased that my own breed has new DD helpers this year, and they made a real effort to make the stand attractive and informative.  I know on a previous year I visited the stand to find a party going on among the helpers, totally ignoring the visitors, and a couple of Cavaliers in the pen (it was not a Cavalier Stand;)  another year there were leaflets on display for someones printing service, and the club received complaints that on of the helpers was handing out her own cards for puppy enquirers. 

None of these people have been invovled in the stand this year, and I know the organiser has tried to appoint helpers who like talking to people, but you cant guarantee someone isnt having a bad day, hasnt just had a row, or just been dumped in their class!  Any of these things can slightly colour your normally firendly approach to talking to total strangers.  To echo waht someone wrote above somewhere, perhaps a polite letter to the breed clubs who were most idsappointing might be a more fruitful approach?
bye
Gwen

Hi Gwen

My point is that the KC are ultimately responsible for DD. They might not be able to force folk to be pleasant, but surely this amount of bad feedback should be noted and looked into - because perhaps they should start paying folk for their time and inconvenience, on the basis that they are suitable ambassadors for their breed.

But that in itself might be counter productive - people would offer to do it only for the payment!  It must be very hard to say to someone who has offered time/travel/dogs "your attitude sucks".  Make the breed clubs aware that on whichever day you found the helpers unpleasant and not a credit to the breed, it might mean they can find a reason not to accept their help next year.  You could hardly have KC  staff touring DD and chucking out the helpers they did not consider came up to scratch!

I do understand your point, and I completely agree that all DD helpers should be friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.  I just dont know how far you can legislate for this.  Not all breeds have a pool of such people offering services!  And you have toremember that not all breed club officers (who normally organise the stands) have these qualities themselves, so their standards might not meet yours!  then, what criteria should they use to pick, assuming they have a choice - someone who is chatty but has little knowledge, someone taciturn but  a fount of breed wisdom?  Or just the best they can get to give as complete cover as possible and keep fingers crossed. 

I dont know about other breeds, but certainly in mine it is not the most knowledgeable, talented breeders who are manning the stand.  I hope our folk were frienldy and helpful this year (I only visited on Thrusday and the visitors certainly seemed happy) but I dont know if every day you cold have spoken to someone with great breed knowledge.
bye
Gwen

I went to visit the Rottweiler booth on Saturday and found the people their very friendly and helpful. It was run by the breed's Welfare organisation.  There was a lady and a young girl of about 7 years with two adult dogs. The lady was very approachable and the young girl very chatty telling us all about the dogs - their names and ages. The dogs just wanted to be cuddled and kissed.  If people running other breed booths were selling their stock they should be reported to the KC since the aim of Discover Dogs is not for that purpose.

Hi

Did anyone visit the Eurasier stand at DD and what day did you visit, Also how did you find the people manning it and the dogs?

chilli i found the eurasier people very helpful, not pushy at all, --one dog was a touch shy and the other was asleep. --why ???

Hi Dizzy

Just wanted some feed back really as people were saying that they found the people manning alot of the DD stands were rude etc but no-one had mentioned the Eurasier stand and as I was on there Fri, Sat & Sun wondered what people thought of us :0)

Hi All
           Having read the posts about discover dogs  it got me thinking, I suspect that there are two different reasons why people go to look at the dogs in the discover dogs section.
First there are the people who just want to see the different breeds as a general interest while walking around the show, and second, those who take a more serious interest i.e possibility of obtaining a particular breed for a pet or show. Generally, and I am guessing here, those just wandering around for something to do, ask "silly" questions, and go touch the dogs without asking first and don't actually have any interest in the breed. In this case I can quite understand the dog owners not being very keen to take much interest in them , I would call them "time wasters".
But there are those that are serious in finding out more about a particular breed,possibly future owners, they can I assume be spotted by the more in depth type questions asked, then I would hope the owners of that breed would put themselves out to explain about the nature -character etc. of that breed.
The other point I should like to make is whatever the attitude of the owners of dogs in the discover dogs section, they have put themselves out to give their time freely and and pass on their knowledge about their breed,it is understandable if after a long day they get tired of answering the same questions and maybe like to have a chat with those doing the same job.
So I would like to thank all those involved, not that I could make Crufts, for trying to enlighten and help promote the welfare of dogs whatever the breed.     
WELL DONE
Bazza

Erm, I was there at 12 o'clock on day 1 - so they can't have much tolerence if there were already fed up. I'd like to say WELL DONE to those who were chatty to EVERYONE - not just the ones THEY assumed wanted to buy a puppy. How can you ask indepth questions if they can't even be bothered to acknowledge you? I could talk about my breed all day - and I wouldn't be so arrogant as to term someone browsing as a "timewaster" - they could just be shy! :)

I agree with Chloe here. I've manned the DD stand on several occasions, and I expect I'll be doing it again next year. Yes, it is very tiring for both people and dogs. Yes, it is hot. Yes, you do get fed up with answering the same questions over and over again. But that is what you are there for - to answer people's questions! When I have been to look at other breeds (some years ago I recall the cocker spaniel stand in particular) there were several people with their name badges chatting to each other while visitors (including me) were trying to get a word in edgeways to ask about the dogs. I never did get to talk to them, and came away feeling very disgruntled.

So every time I man the stand I remember those people, and strive not to be like them.
:)

Well I went round DD yesterday to specifically find the Italian Spinone as after seeing them on Thursday I am seriously considering one after my current pack gets smaller.  I had also visited the GB Spinone club website on Saturday and read about temperment/health checks etc.  All the questions I asked were answered in line with the web site and they went into great detail about the health checks, care of the coat etc If this is the response I get from Spinone people manning DD on one of the busiest days then I would have no hesitation on contacting breeders in the future for more information even though the prospect of purchasing a puppy is years away.

On another note and maybe I should start a seperate thread about this I think the NEC should answer some questions as well.  As I only live in Solihull and the NEC is 10 mins away I visit there quite often for various exhibitions/concerts etc.  Why did the parking charge suddenly go up to £6.00 during crufts and also the cost of food seemed considerably higher than normal.  I don't recall spending as much on parking and entrance fees (Although I know the KC set the entrance fee) for the Horse of the Year Show.

The NEC car parking charge has been £6 for the recent concerts I've been to ...

I thought this was one of the first years they hadn't put it up or something mind, the food we got there wasn't much cop, and there is always a lack of seating. I particularly enjoyed eating my lunch next to the dalmatian exercise area (only place we could find a seat)

Did you notice though the boards displaying the charge had £5.00 on the other side so they are obviously changing the charge dependant on the show/exhibition or concert as I remember only paying £5 not too recently.

I paid £6 parking for the LKA in december?

Well I arrived at 9.15am to start discover dogs on Saturday.  There were quite a few people already milling around and taking interest.  On the whole things went well, with most people asking before they touched, and asking permission before taking photographs etc..  However there were several instances which I can only describe as downright rude and unnacceptable.

The first was a boy aged about 9 or 10 letting himself into the pen DESPITE being asked not to by myself and his mother and then proceeded to try to open cages where dogs were resting.

Secondly, people wrapping their arms around strange dogs without asking if it was ok first, and people allowing toddlers to grab at dogs assuming it was ok too.

Thirdly, as my dog was lying on top of his cage, he was hoisted up by his collar into somebody's arms because "thats what he did with his dog!" but hey, thats what they are there for!!!!!!

There are also the questions that can get on your nerves, such as "How long do they live?" well how long is a piece of string??!!  It can get tiring, but as I have said before there is no need to be rude.

There is no doubt that discover dogs is a very popular part of Crufts and I do enjoy it, but the sheer volume of people can mean people cannot speak to everyone at the same time, and perhaps genuine enquiries (NOT PUPPY SALES) maybe taken more serious than the average person just looking at the different breeds of dog.
Dawn.

It seems to boil down to faults on both sides, doesn't it? Some of the public are just as rude as some of the people manning the stands. Others are fine. But it's the rude ones you remember more ...
:)

I agree there, if you have a good experience you tell a few, if you have a bad one, tell the world!
Dawn.

<Secondly, people wrapping their arms around strange dogs without asking if it was ok first, and people allowing toddlers to grab at dogs assuming it was ok too.>

Oh Dawn B I identify sooooo much with that. 2 years ago I went to Crufts with my 11 month old Beardie to be part of the Good Citizens Display and since we were to be there on the Pastoral day I contacted the breed club and asked if they needed any help on the DD stand. My boy was everybody's friend a typical outgoing Beardie, we were on DD and he was up on the table at the front of the stand enjoying a cuddle with a woman when suddenly a man came up from behind and grabbed him round the body and shouted Hello Son. I jumped the woman jumped and poor Cava nearly fell off the table. He was from that moment wary of men he doesn't know I tried ignoring it but he will never get over it completely I think. If only that man had come round and approached from the front :(  
                      Anne

Dawn B i don't think that question should get on your nerves "How long do they live" it's a very good question, mine being a short lived breed it helps you to prepare.
If i didn't know the answer and all of a sudden my dog goes downhill at 8yrs old i think i'd be truely devastated as i'd expect the 'norm' to be 10yrs and above.
:)

Briefly back to car parking (didnt do discover dogs this year as we went to earls court in November )...... I got my moneys worth, it took us 1hr 45 mins to get out of the car park on Friday :D :D :D

Yeah and when I said approx 13yrs, I got shouted at and told by somebody that they live for 16yrs!  ANYTHING happens, thats why I would NEVER tell anyone how long dogs live.
Dawn.

When asked that, I say the breed average (for my breed) is 12 years, but my first died of cancer at 8, and my last one was 15 when she died. That gives people a fair idea of what to expect.

Its always the first question that folk ask about Danes - most people seem to expect them to fall off the perch by 6 years old. Its a good opportunity to enlighten them on exercise, feeding and management in order to try to prolong their lives ;)

Hello all,

I found Discover dogs to be a real mixture this year.  We went of Friday and spent a lot of the afternoon visiting the various breeds, some I'm interested in possibly owning at some point, some we visited just to say hello.  I'm pleased to say that a few breed clubs that we felt were possibly a bit dissapointing last year were so much better this year.  I have been a big fan of the Hamiltonstovare's for a few years and it was lovely to see that the bred club had brought a couple of much younger dogs this year, as well as the adults to see. The Pug people were also very friendly and also the Neopolitan mastiff chaps.
I would also like to commend the Howavart stand.  I suppose that I'm biased as the lady in question, Margaret, goes to my club with Finn, her dog.  She is very knowledgable about her breed, works very hard with his training and I think, was very honoured to be there on Friday, representing her breed. Well done Margaret....good job.
Ali :)

If its any consolation to all of you annoyed by all the people touching, stroking, throwing arms around etc. the same thing happened to mine on Sunday - and they were being exhibited! Being unfortunate enough to be benched in a "wide aisle" beside a ring, you cant imagine how many times we had to grit our teeth as we were trying to groom our long coated dogs for their classes only to have someone come along and ruffle them again. And then the same would happen ringside whilst waiting to go in.

Happened to us all the time!  We had to cope with the usual horde of overseas visitors who wanted details, pedigrees & phtotos, all of whom we were pleased to see, but some of the conversations were a bit difficult due to language differences, people who have our pups as pets, who we are also delighted to see, and then total strangers , amy of whom are eating and dromp crumgs and sticky finbgers on the dogs prepared coats!  Talking to the people we knew/were expecting, giving details to those just visiting, and trying to make sure the great general public kept their hands off the dogs drove me distracted!  yes, it does take a lot of work to get an American cocker in full coat looking like that, and no it does not help a bit when you dribble your ice cream cone onto the shiny black coat!  Also the little girl munching away on a biscuit, who sprayed a mouthful of crumbs over my parti colour!
bye
Gwen

I was a bit luckier this year, we were benched on the final row next to the wall!  It was a lot quieter there, although a fellow exhibitor did stop a boy poking the front of my cage, because he wanted to know if there was a dog inside it!

I would love to see Crufts as a dog show, whereby the rings were in say 3 halls, and event rings and trade stands in others, so the exhibitors had a lot more space in which to prepare and show their dogs and the huge crowds would not be so bad around the benches.
Dawn.

Can I just say the lady on the American Cockers stand was lovely,the dogs were  so well behaved and she was very friendly to my son who likes to ask lots of questions.She obviously didn't see him as a timewaster and was there for the love of her breed.He loves to learn about dogs of every breed and it's such a great opertunity for him to see dogs he would never see otherwise.Thank you to all that took the trouble to talk to him.

gwen-have you been drinking-----  :D      dromp----crumgs ---fibgers ???????