The king of all canine competitions is upon us! Which breed will be the one to rule them all this year? If you’re spectating at ‘The World’s Greatest Dog Show,’ see this schedule of the Crufts 2018 Best in Show and dog show days.
Crufts 2018 Schedules
From the 8th of March to the 11th, 22,000 supremely-conditioned dogs will be competing at the NEC in Birmingham for the coveted Crufts Best in Show prize. Each day will begin at 8:15 am. The last entry will be staged at 6:30 pm. The daily competition for Best in Show takes place from 4:30 pm until 9:00 pm.
The daily competition will include the following programmes:
- Arena Programme
- Obedience Programme
- Good Citizen Dog Scheme Ring Programme
- Young Kennel Club (YKC) Ring Programme
- Dog Activities Ring Programme
1st Day: 8th March – Thursday
Working breeds and Pastoral breeds will compete on this day.
- Arena Programme (8:45 am–8:15 pm)
- Obedience Programme (starts at 8:30 am)
- Good Citizen Dog Scheme Ring Programme (9:00 am–5:30 pm)
- Young Kennel Club (YKC) Ring Programme (8:20 am–5:00 pm)
- Dog Activities Ring Programme (9:00 am–5:00 pm)
Group judging for the Working breeds is from 6:35 pm to 7:25 pm. The Pastoral group’s turn will be from 7:25 pm to 8:15 pm.
2nd Day: 9th March – Friday
Terrier and Hound breeds take the spotlight on this date.
- Arena Programme (8:45 am–7:55 pm)
- Obedience Programme (starts at 8:30 am)
- Good Citizen Dog Scheme Ring Programme (9:00 am–5:30 pm)
- Young Kennel Club (YKC) Ring Programme (8:00 am–4:00 pm)
- Dog Activities Ring Programme (9:00 am–5:00 pm)
Group judging for Terriers will be from 6:15 pm to 7:05 pm. For Hounds, it will be from 7:05 pm to 7:55 pm.
3rd Day: 10th March – Saturday
Toy and Utility breeds take the floor this time.
- Arena Programme (8:30 am–8:35 pm)
- Obedience Programme (starts at 8:30 am)
- Good Citizen Dog Scheme Ring Programme (9:00 am–5:30 pm)
- Young Kennel Club (YKC) Ring Programme (8:30 am–4:00 pm)
- Dog Activities Ring Programme (9:00 am–5:00 pm)
The Utility group will be judged from 6:55 pm to 7:45 pm, whilst the Toy group will be evaluated at 7:45 pm to 8:35 pm.
4th Day: 11th March – Sunday
Gundog breeds will take centre stage on the last date of the Crufts dog show days, as well as the main event itself—the Best in Show.
- Arena Programme (9:30 am–2:00 pm)
- Obedience Programme: Kennel Club Obedience Championships (Dogs)
- Good Citizen Dog Scheme Ring Programme (9:00 am–5:30 pm)
- Young Kennel Club (YKC) Ring Programme (8:30 am–6:00 pm)
- Dog Activities Ring Programme (9:00 am–5:15 pm)
Group judging for Gundogs will be from 6:45 pm to 7:35 pm.
The Best in Show programme starts at 4:45 pm but doors will be opened to ticket holders at 3:30 pm. It will end at 9:00 pm.
Crufts 2018 Best in Show Ticket Prices
Admission prices start at £15, which also gives you general admission to the event. You’ll be able to access the five halls of Shopping Heaven, The Arena, Discover Dogs, 36 Showing Rings, Young Kennel Club Ring, Good Citizen Dog Scheme, and Dog Activities Display Ring. You can get them here.
Tickets for the Obedience Ring and the Best in Show event are sold separately. The Obedience Ring ticket rate is £12, whilst the price for the Best in Show tickets ranges from £19 to £26.
Can you bring your own dog to the show? Unfortunately, only dogs invited by the Kennel Club and Assistance Dogs are the ones allowed to the show. If you have further inquiries, please proceed to the main Information Centre at the Crufts dog show days. It can be found opposite Hall 3 and Hall 3a entrances.
You may like to read:
Which dog breed will best them all on Sunday?
You can hedge your bets more objectively with a breed comparison tool, which allows you to match up dogs of various breeds and see how the ratings of each of their attributes match up to each other. Don’t forget to tell us which one you’re betting on for Best in Show this year!
