What's Crufts really like?

Crufts is the biggest dog show in the world with more than 24,000 toy, terrier, pastoral, hound, gundog, utility and working breeds entered for competition this year. For four days the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham becomes a different planet, with its own rules, language, celebrities and newspaper. But what lies behind the decision to favour one Pekingese over another? And with so little prize money on offer, why do people go through the enormous effort of entering a dog at all? Rosa Lyster went to Crufts this year for the LRB to find out what it’s really like.

Read Rosa Lyster 'At Crufts' here