A FOREST-based Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and her handler did themselves proud at this year’s Crufts by winning first place in a top obedience contest.
The triumph came at Jen’s second time of asking as part of the UK-wide team of cavaliers ‘The Wagtails’.
The team previously finished third in both the 2020 and 2022 finals and this year was Autumn’s first time competing.
‘Obreedience’ is a slightly less formal version of some of the tests associated with competitive obedience and has been an official fixture at Crufts since 2014.
The contest saw The Wagtails compete against nine other teams of different breeds in the final at Birmingham NEC last Thursday, March 9.
Dog-lover Jen runs a home-from-home boarding and doggy daycare business called SWAT Pets with her husband Ian.
A former cavalier owner, she started The Wagtails in 2018 with a friend from the Companion Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club.
After a fairly slow start to competing, the team had a successful 2019 in which they qualified for Crufts 2020, where they were surprised and thrilled to finish in third place.
But sadly, just after the competition, Jen’s cavalier suddenly passed away.
Still wanting to be a part of the team, she turned to her friend Kathy Hargest, who is an ethical breeder of cavaliers.
Jen explained: “Kathy keeps all of her ex-breeding dogs so has a house full of 14.
“Her 18 month-old tri-colour Autumn had always loved me and paid me a lot of attention, so Kathy agreed to lend her to me for training.
“It went really well in her garden during the pandemic, and when heats started again, we were ready.”
Autumn, now four-and-a-half years-old, joined the team in 2021 but was unable to compete at Crufts last year as she was in season.
But the team were successful at a Ladies Kennel Association heat in December, which Jen says felt like “a good omen” for Crufts.
The competition itself featured two rounds, with the dogs being assessed on their ability to complete different moves whilst remaining synchronised with their team mates in the first healwork round.
The second featured four set exercises - a retrieve, a send to bed, stop the dog, and scent over articles - and each member needed to successfully complete one of the four different exercises.
Points were deducted for any faults and the team with the most points won.
As the fourth team into the ring, The Wagtails had an agonising wait to find out if they’d won the contest, though the “excitment was rising” as some of the favourites failed to beat their score.
Jen said: “When the final score was posted, there were a lot of hugs and tears and shock. All the other teams came to congratulate us and they were all thrilled for us. Our hearts were beating out of our chests.
“We did not drive home from Crufts that day, we all floated home on Cloud 9. What a day!”