I can’t quite believe a whole year has gone since our last visit to Crufts. 12 months ago we took a tween to Crufts, this time round we had a teenager.

A trip to Crufts with a teen

Our last visit was on the weekend and it was so busy we decided that if we went back it would be on a week day. Fortunately the day we picked was Toy dog day which was perfect because we have a Bichon Frise! We had a couple of things we wanted to do: spend time in the main arena and spend more time in the Discover Dogs area.

When we arrived at the NEC our first stop was the main arena. The sessions were already well under way so we sat and watched for an hour. The ring was just like it appears when you’re watching from home and it was exciting to watch each dog go round the agility course.

I could have sat there longer but the teen was keen to go and see more dogs. We walked through the huge NEC halls until we found the Discover Dogs area.

Discover Dogs gives you the chance to meet the breeds, which is really useful if you’re thinking about getting a dog (wish we had done this before we picked our Bichon Frise!). There were around 200 different breeds of pedigree dog, together with their owners or breeders. You could ask loads of questions and find out about the temperament, characteristics, grooming, feeding and exercise needs of the dogs. The dog booths were in alphabetical order, but we walked up and down each row so we could meet them all!

This was easily our favourite bit and it was lovely to meet so many different dogs and talk to the owners. We also chatted to the Bichon Frise owners and picked up loads of tips on how to look after our own dog!

We spent a few hours meeting dogs, with a brief stop to get some food. Then it was time to explore more of the stands as the teen had been busy on TikTok, discovering which stands had competitions. We had fun entering lots of competitions and discovering new dog products.

We spent about 6 hours at Crufts which was really good value.  Our adult tickets costs £22 each and the teen ticket was £15. The parking was overpriced but did include a courtesy bus to the NEC which we needed after so much walking around.

If you love dogs we would recommend a day out at Crufts!