Birmingham Goes Barking for Crufts
Nearly 28,000 dogs are expected to descend on Birmingham on Thursday for the World's largest dog show.
Hosted by the Kennel Club the biggest event in a dog lover's calendar, Crufts, will be held at the NEC from March 11th to 14th. The four day event will host a series of simultaneous competitions before announcing the winner of the coveted best in show award.
The winners of seven pedigree categories are put forward to compete for the prestigious Best in Show award.
William Hill have slashed the odds of a Gundog winning best in show at the event following a string of wagers they have cut the price from 5/2 to 15/8.
"It is one way traffic with almost all the cash on Gundog, which has shot to the front of the betting," said Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams.
Paddy Power also have Gundog as the favourite to scoop the best in show award with odds of 4/9. They have priced a Hound to win at 5/1, Terrier at 6/1, Pastoral at 8/1, Utility also at 8/1, working at 9/1 and bringing up the rear is the Toy at 12/1.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that judges at Crufts will be on the lookout for any dogs wearing makeup. The Kennel Club are said to have warned dog owners not to break the show's rules amid concerns that some may be resorting to cosmetics and beauty treatment such as coat dye and hair removal creams on their animals.
The rules do not specifically ban the use of cosmetics and beauty treatments they do ban anything that alters an animal's appearance during a dog show to gain extra marks from the judges.
The Telegraph reports that Caroline Kisko, a spokeswoman for the Kennel Club, said: "Anything that gives a dog an unfair advantage in its appearance is not allowed. We certainly would not allow the use of hair removal creams.
"We do carry out spot checks, including hair samples, but while it is easy to find colour dye it can be very hard to prove that removal cream has been used on a hairless dog."
It is not the first time the show has faced controversy last year the BBC decided not to show after a 2008 documentary that exposed breeding techniques it was claimed led to genetic illnesses affecting pedigree dogs. They have will be covering the show this year.
All odds correct at time of writing and are subject to change.
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