Hello dog lovers and welcome to the final of Crufts 2012! We're in for a night of wags and bounders, winners and losers, and potentially some tail-curling action. Hopefully there'll be controversy - I, for one, will definitely be on the lookout for surreptitious leg-humping, overexcited piddling, and flea-scratching (it wouldn't happen at Crufts ... or would it?).
Join me for dog-by-dog coverage of the event starting from 6:30pm. I'll be watching on More4 so feel free to watch along with me and have your say in the comments section below. I'll also be keeping an eye on Twitter in case any disappointed breeders start venting their frustration at losing a category. You can tweet me your stories and opinions on @RachelSHolmes.
If you want to read about the earlier heats, check out Patrick Kingsley's liveblog from Thursday night. He covered the agility, toy and gun dog categories. You may also be interested to know that on Friday the Kennel Club announced there would be no dog representing the clumber spaniel breed for Best in Group, after the entrant failed a vet check. See? The controversy has ALREADY begun!
Hope to see you back here tonight at 6:30pm. Let the doggy debate begin!
Hi everyone and welcome to the Crufts live blog. Clare Balding's just been on. Yes it has been a gorgeous day. But now it's dark and I'm in the office watching it on the telly. In the office. Wooo!
26,000 dogs and only one takes home the Best in Show trophy. That's a lot of dogs. Frank the top judge says, "it's always good to look at dogs." I agree.
"The bearded look"? is he talking about himself or the dogs? I'm not sure. oooo and Jennifer Saunders is here. Hope she's got some good dog puns I can nick.
BREAKING NEWS! Jennifer Saunders' dog DOES NOT sleep in her bed. Well, I'm glad we've got that cleared up. I was worried for a second.
I'm not sure how many people would agreee that not having a dog equals a human in an 'unnatural state', Clare.
Apparently all the dogs in the running for the top prize are grouped together by their big hair. Jimmy the old english sheepdog AKA 'Bottomshaker My Secret' has the best hair in my opinion. He's like Brian May in dog form.
One man and his dog. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
BREAK. Back in a min. Here's a pic to keep you going. And a question... does this man look to be 'natural'?
People can see the group winners so far on the Kennel Club's Flickr group
We're back! What? Mary Ray and her heelwork to music? Can't wait. FIRST MOVING STORY ALERT: a lady in her seventies lost her shih tzu (is that how you spell it?)
Dogs are running and jumping. The first had a good time (so did we). Now it's five-year-old Breezer's turn. Wow, he's a streak of lightning. He's not beaten the first dog though.
Now it's the run of a border collie. Sounds like she made a mistake in the first round. NOOOOOOO She's just made another fault. So disappointing. Quickest time, but no good if you're pants
Ruby, another border collie has made a fault immediately. The pressure is on from the first competitor.
Gracie the sheepdog's turn now and she's the last one who could win it. Gracie refused to do something, yet still made cracking time
So the first dog, Nedlo Black Magic is in the lead for the agility final.
An agility competition for rescue dogs? TAKE ME THERE More4! the Guardian's friend Ripley the Resue dog might be there.
Paul O'Grady's talking about staffies and how much he loves them. His Frank looks particularly lovely.
"What is it like being a debutant here at Crufts?" Clare asks. Pretty nerve-racking I'd have thought. Is she rubbing that dog with a MARIGOLD? They're for washing up love.
On twitter we've roped in two cats, Dolly and Dotty to watch the show and give us a feline perspective. Dotty says: "Call this agility? I've seen squirrels move faster!"
While the break is on you can listen to this audio from Frank Kane, the Best in Show judge, on this evening's final.
We have another animal tweeting and watching the show tonight. Meet Ripley the Rescue dog who was at Crufts today:
@RachelSHolmes Not been competing this year, just showing off in hall 3 with the rest of the stunt dog gang stuntdogs.net
Clare's talking about safety first. But it's not the dog that's a problem, it's the owner, says Cruft's top vet.
In Wood Green (London) a tough lady from an animal shelter goes out and talks to dangerous-looking boys about their dangerous-looking dogs. But then they get free dog training! That's a great idea.
Oh no! A dog called Marley died at Crufts! Wasn't there a film about that? No? This is the first tragic story of the evening. Apart from all the dogs that were helping their humans earlier, that is. There have been some incorrect reports going around about how Marley died, but it was laryngl-something-or-other.
We have a CELEBRITY dog joining us on Twitter. You may know him from a certain viral video involving deer. Yes. It's @Fenton. Or FEEEEEENNNNTTTTON! if that sounds more familiar. He says
"@RachelSHolmes not impressed. Lots of fine looking animals, but no real demonstration of true, pure speed. that's what #Crufts is lacking"
Interesting. Also ...
if #Crufts had a 'Fastest In Show' category I'd be there like a flash. literally. but they don't, so i'm not. also, that lifetime ban thing
Now it's judging of the terrier groups.
RATTERS! TOMBOYS! That's terriers, if you're not sure what I'm talking about. Oooo I like the look of the kerry blue. And the lamb dog. Is it a lamb or is it a dog?
Here are the terriers in order Fizz, Merlin, Nord (my personal favourite), Archie, sounds like... Puran?, missed one, Ceska, and a Dandie dinmont, Lisa, Brocolita Strike(!), Barnie, Fleet St Fenway, Chelsey, Sonnie, Roxy, Oscar, Paris, Ringo, Missed another, Blomendal's something, The Skye Terrier, Chaos, Alkie, Alokin August Morning, LAST ONE: Bennie. Blimmin heck, there's a terrier from every county and country! An Aussie one sneaked in at the back. Probably needed a nervous wee as it's up against so much competition.
No info about the border terrier but it's my favourite. The Dandie dinmont has a mullet hairdo though which elevates it in my opinion.
Apparently Judge Paolo's selection is very interesting because of all the different shapes and sizes of terrier.
OOo it's like Take Me Out! Who's he going to go for? It's the NORWICH TERRIER (from Yorkshire) in first place.
Our cat friends @dollyandDotty say:
@RachelSHolmes Not a dog fan, but gotta admire the glossy coat on the Kerry Blue. Can't beat a blue coat.
The terrier winner Paris, looks very calm. A Norwich terrier has never won Best in Show apparently. Maybe he'll get excited at that point.
One of the interesting and mad things to me about pedigree dogs is their names. My colleague Patrick Kingsley made mention of a few in his blog on Thursday but I thought I'd open it up to you readers. What's the weirdest pedigree name you've ever heard? To get you started my family had a pointer whose full name was Muldoon Regnbue Milkybar Kid Holmes. Dog walks took ages ... if you have any you'd like to share email them on over to me
Crufts: Irish wolfhounds. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
It's the HOUND GROUP.
I'm not going to try and list the hounds as I did with the terriers, as it obviously doesn't work. Mostly because I can't type fast enough. The jowly bloodhound is my favourite so far.
That miniature dachshund is the most ridiculously cute thing I have ever seen. Probably not got much of an anti-burglar bark though ...
I like to watch the owners/breeders trying to run at the same speed as their hounds. Also, in this category I think many of the owners look similar to their hounds. Agree?
Controversially, the bassett hound will NOT be appearing in the hound category after it failed an independent veterinary test.
"He's pulling the greyhound" oooo-err missus!
Okay - the owner of the miniature dachshund doesn't look similar to his dog. My theory FAILS.
@RachelSHolmes Either that Borzoi is the biggest dog I have ever seen, or the woman running next to him is the smallest human.
What? Shunting wagons? what's that got to do with dogs?
Prizes: The Borzoi WINS the hound category! And its small human too. And my favourite, the mini dachshund gets fourth.
Plenty of titivating going on backstage. Poor Luke the Borzoi sounds like he's in for a night of it.
Stop saying tha word 'titivate' Crufts presenters!
BREAK: time to snarf down one of the egg sandwiches I made at home earlier. Food section: eat your heart out.
and we're back! and Mary Ray and her heelwork to music is about to come on. Looks like there may be a Jubilee theme. I recently saw Mary Ray do her thing at a pet show. She and her dogs are pretty amazing and the dogs were really enjoying it. Some of her outfits are a bit dodge though.
she's gone back to 1953 for inspiration. That was the year my mum was born. Nothing else happened right?
Awwww. I wish I had a dog to help me put out the washing and do the cleaning. This routine poses an interesting question: could dogs become our household slaves? Mary! what have you started?
Crufts: owner and dog perform. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Brilliant work Mary Ray and Levi! (this is not a picture of Mary Ray and Levi) Oh it's break time again.
We're back and it's the Friends for Life award.
First up: It's the story of Phil and Obi, a policeman and dog who were on duty during the riots. Poor Obi was struck on the head with a brick and had multiple fractures. But now he's bounced back. Good for him. He's making a difference on the streets of London.
Flight sergeant Michael Barrow and Buster have been busy in Afghanistan. Tonight Buster retires to the sun though. He's done four tours as a bomb-sniffing dog. He's detected two suicide bombers, and makes everyone smile.
Number three: Steve and Kizzie. Steve was paralysed from the shoulder down after a motorbike crash. Canine Partners helped him find Kizzie who can fetch things down from high shelves! She's a superdog!
Number four's owner Lora Turnham can't be here, because she's training for the Olympics, but her mum's come down instead. Libby is her dog and gets Lora from A to B without incident. "She makes things feel better" says Lora.
Number five: Karen and Rubu Roo. Ruby was originally a present for Karen's daughter but has ended up helping Karen out of clinical depression. "She makes me smile" says Karen.
BUSTER TO WIN! Oh, maybe KIZZIE TO WIN! FAKE LIBBY (Guide dog Joe) TO WIN! Oh they should all win. Let's face it, these are a muttly group of heroes.
An the winner is ... Michael and Buster! We predicted it!
The prize money goes to Hounds for Heroes. Good work Buster.
On the subject of mad pedigree dog names, Kate has just emailed me to say:
My border terrier Evie's pedigree name is "Gypsywood I loved her first" - I like to think there's a great back story of boys arguing over her...
Crufts: a boxer. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
It's Best in Show next. Here's a boxer's impression of what the losers' faces will look like.
The big hair group is back - all contenders for Best in Show.
They've all been titivating madly backstage.
Wow they get a special fanfare entrance. From over 23,000 dogs we're down to the final few in the running for Best in Show.
I can't imagine what it's like to hoover up after the first finallist.
That poor woman's going to be a sweating wreck trying to keep up with the Newfoundland. Send em round again, judges!
This is nailbiting stuff ... Frank Kane looks mean.
Frank has earned himself TOTAL RESPECT in the dog world, according to the commentators. Zentarr Elizabeth should be called Rapunzel.
That dog needs 'reorganizing' - for non-crufts afficionados, that means combing.
The toy group winner is a Pomeranian. AKA a ball of fluff. Did the owner put him theough the tumble dryer to get that effect. (no, and don't try that at home)
Aww the Pomeranian is getting a bit over-excited and jumping up at Frank the judge's legs. Flattery will get it nowhere, say the commentators.
Stop bouncing dog! Merlin wants to play. But Judith the owner wants him to trot to perfection.
Is it a dog or is it a bear? If I was lost in the wilderness, I'd want the Newfoundland with me.
Dog fact: the Newfoundland has webbed feet, making it an excellent swimmer.
I'm waiting for the sheepdog to run full pelt into the trophy podium because it can't see where it's going. Good thing it's on a lead.
Paris is a jolly little terrier. Who do you think will win? My money's on the next entrant, the Borzoi.
"Run my human, RUN!" says the Borzoi (in my head).
I'm on tenterhooks! Will Frank the judge make any of them run again? Yes. Zentarr Elizabeth is going again ....
GO ON NEWFOUNDLAND! My personal favourite.
I like the Pomeranian's owner's pose. He looks like he's proposing to his dog.
Frank's had his hands all over those dogs.
and we have a WINNER! It's the breed that I can't remember the spelling of, hairy Zentarr Elizabeth. And the Newfoundland gets second place. Whoop!
Thank goodness it's a break. My fingers couldn't take much more pressure.
Lhasa apso Photograph: Dave King/Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley
Lhasa Apso is how you spell it. And here's a picture to illustrate this fine breed. The Best in Show winner's name is ZENTARR ELIZABETH, which sounds like a character out of Flash Gordon.
It's the 'presentation of the trophy' moment. Margaret Anderson, the owner from Coventry, was shocked when Elizabeth was announced as winner.
Margaret has been showing her dogs for 35 years and this is the first time she's won Best in Show. Now Elizabeth will retire.
Put. The. Comb. Away. Margaret. It's time for your lap of honour.
A final word from @Fentonthedog on twitter:
at the end of the day, whoever wins at #Crufts, dog showing will be the real winner. and it was a great day out for the fans
That's it from me and from Crufts 2012. Thanks to everyone who tweeted along!
