Sawt Falasteen - Grooming makes Crufts debut as UK dog show widens offer

The five-year-old charcoal standard poodle had been on the table nearly two-and-a-half hours, but remained calm and obedient to owner and professional groomer Amie Gale.

"She's got a shaved face, her ears are nice and short and she's also got the terrier-style tail," the 41-year-old explained Thursday as she awaited the judge's verdict, noting that symmetry and balance were all-important.

Unfortunately for Raven and Gale, it was not their day competing in Crufts' inaugural "grooming championships".

But there will likely be other chances down the line, with the competition a new feature of Britain's world-famous annual dog show as it broadens its offerings amid the exploding popularity in everything canine.

"When I heard about this I was straight on it," Gale told AFP, on participating in the "open" grooming category, which is sandwiched between intermediate and champion class for groomers.

"It's absolutely brilliant to be able to bring it into more of the public eye," the professional dog sculptor added, explaining that she would normally be at Crufts to market her work anyway.

On the next table, Joanna Tofts, 33, who has given her 18-month-old miniature poodle Koda a so-called Scandinavian trim often used at shows, agreed wholeheartedly.

"This is great, because it's showing the general public what we do, and hopefully educating them a little bit on us as groomers and us as professionals, and making them appreciate our industry."

- 'Fun' -

Crufts, founded in 1891 and run by The Kennel Club, has been gradually expanding its competitions and offerings to the tens of thousands of visitors who flock to Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC) over four days each year.

It expects to welcome up to 150,000 people to this year’s showcase, which culminates in Sunday's "Best in Show" awarding.

As much as a contest, it is also a convention for the industry, with everything from pet food retailers to dog clubs taking exhibition stands.

Meanwhile an increasingly interested public are being encouraged to participate in things like Crufts' "have a go" sessions.

Held across different categories like agility and obedience, it gives attendees a light-hearted chance to find out what life is like in the show-ring with a dog whose owner has volunteered their services.

Sisters Harriet and Chiron Tait, dog-owners who live in nearby Birmingham and were at Crufts for the first time, were among those to enrol.

They each picked a dog to handle in one of the vast event's smaller rings.

"It was good fun," said Harriet, 22, a small dogs fan who chose to handle a Border Terrier named Alfie.

"It was easier than I thought it'd be to be honest -- the dog is obviously well-trained," she told AFP.

"We had to put the dog on the table as if someone was judging it, and then take it round in a triangle," she explained. "I give him a treat as well!"

Alfie's owner Anne Speake, 57, who has been handling dogs at contests for two decades, welcomed the initiative.

It also gave Alfie a nice warm-up ahead of his official Crufts performance on Saturday as he bid to be best in breed in the terrier group.

"It's nice to encourage new people into showing, especially the youngsters because if we don't have the youngsters coming forward there'll be nobody to take over," she told AFP.

Crufts organisers also run professionalised Young Kennel Club contests, in parallel to its main adult competitions, for different age categories.

"It's nice to give things back to people," Speake added.

N.Awad--SF-PST