Crufts 2024 is now underway with thousands of dog trainers hoping their pooch will be crowned the Best in Show during Sunday's final (March 10).
We saw some truly talented pooches at Crufts 2023 last year. Thousands of dog lovers attended the event in the West Midlands and the competition’s prestigious Best in Show winner was four-year-old Orca the Lagotto Romagnolo.
The Best in Show event last year saw the seven finalists competing to win the big prize. The winners of the Gundog, Working, Pastoral, Terrier, Hound, Utility and Toy dogs categories were competing for 2023’s Best in Show title.
The winners of their categories and the finalists for this year’s Best in Show 2023, were: Orca the Lagotto Romagnolo (Gundog), Archie the Dobermann (working), Blondie the English Sheepdog (Pastoral), Blanca Wire Fox Terrier, Paris the Irish Wolfhound (Hounds), Jake the Standard Poodle (Utility) and Dublin the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (Toy).
Orca beat more than 19,000 pooches from around the globe over the last few days to claim the number one prize. The dog’s handler is Javier Gonzalez Mendikote, and the Croatian pooch is owned by Sabina Zdunić Šinković and Ante Lučin.
Here are 11 photos from the final day of Crufts 2023, including of today’s winners as well as the Best in Show champion.
All photos from BeatMedia/The Kennel Club and Getty Images
1. Winner: The Lagotto Romagnolo, “Orca” with handler Javier Gonzalez Mendikote reacting to their win in the Best in Show event
Photo: AFP via Getty Images: Christopher Furlong
2. Javier Gonzalez from Spain, with Kichi, a Japanese Akita Inu, which was the Best of Breed winner
3. Dogs prepare for judging during the Best in Show finale on the final day of the Crufts dog show
Photo: AFP via Getty Images: Christopher Furlong
4. Orca, a Lagotto Romagnolo, winner of the Gundog group title, and named Best in Show 2023
Photo: Getty Images