Dog owners share adorable photos of their pets as they watch Crufts 2024 – as this year’s Best in Show winner is announced

As another year of Crufts has passed, dogs have shown their enthusiasm for the revered event, not only as participants, but also as viewers.

Owners have taken to social media to share sweet snaps of their puppies enjoying the prestigious dog competition.

The reactions ranged from hyper-focused and animated to lazily immersed in the events.

‘Buzz has an afternoon chilling out watching Crufts,’ @emilywhitts said on X – formerly known as Twitter, as she shared a photo of a sleepy-looking Beagle on the couch.

Elsewhere, @georgelolaboxer shared a sweet photo of George, an 11-year-old boxer looking very alert as they tuned in to Channel 4’s coverage of the event.

Ben Kristall (@BenCrystall), from Hertford, took a photo of his Terrier Maple intently tuned in to watch the show.

‘Maple has her favorite chewing gum ready for the #terrier inspection and #bestinshow! #Crufts2024 @Crufts,” he wrote. ‘And lots of barking to cheer on the #flyballers.’

In the meantime @K9Reggie took a video of their Chihuahua Rupert’s first time watching Crufts – and said it was clear he ‘wanted to be there’.

More than 19,000 dogs from around the world, along with their owners, flocked to the NEC in Birmingham this week to take part in the competition.

The competition, which has been running since 1981, is currently organized by The Kennel Club and attracts more than 160,000 spectators every year.

An Australian shepherd named Viking was crowned best in show at Crufts 2024 last week.

Three-year-old Viking, from Solihull, Birmingham, beat 24,000 dogs from around the world over the past four days to claim the show’s top honors on Sunday.

Viking, co-owned by Melanie Raymond, John Shaw and Kerry Kirtley, was the pastoral group winner earlier in the show.

Elsewhere, @georgelolaboxer shared a sweet photo of George, an 11-year-old boxer looking very alert as they tuned in to Channel 4’s coverage of the event

Buzz the Beagle looked very relaxed as he tuned into a broadcast of the prestigious dog show this week

Meanwhile, @K9Reggie took a video of their Chihuahua Rupert’s first time watching Crufts – and said it was clear he ‘wanted to be there’

Mrs Raymond, a third-generation dog breeder who lives just three miles from the show grounds, said: ‘We all dream of being best in show at Crufts.’

When asked if he lived up to expectations, she said: “He actually did, I should never doubt him because he always gives me everything and you walk in and he says, ‘Yeah, come on, let’s do this doing”.

“So he’s loving every minute of it.”

According to dog welfare and training organization The Kennel Club, the breed was developed in America as a herding dog for working on ranches and is “very successful in the show ring” because of its “attractive colors and athletic movements.”

A nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier named Zen, from Japan, who previously won the terrier group, was named reserve dog.

An Australian shepherd named Viking has been crowned best in show at the 2024 Crufts dog show at the NEC in Birmingham

A nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier named Zen, from Japan, who previously won the terrier group, was named reserve dog

Viking succeeds hunting dog Orca, who last year became the first lagotto romagnolo to win the prize. The four-year-old was driven 25 hours across Europe, from Rijeka, western Croatia, to the world’s most famous dog show.

Among the 220 breeds represented at the show was an Afghan Hound that was groomed before being judged by a comparable owner.

But it wasn’t just the dogs that battled it out at the National Exhibition Center (NEC) in Birmingham.

Singer-songwriters Chris Amoo and Sting’s dogs battled it out today. Police frontman Sting’s wife Trudie Styler’s Creena Atticus Finch in Dukesarum was one of nine Irish Wolfhounds the couple entered at the show. But he finished second behind Sade Melchior of The Real Thing singer Amoo in the Irish Wolfhound Limit Dog class.

Amoo, 71, was a finalist last year with crowd favorite Paris, another Irish Wolfhound.

The 70-year-old won Best in Show in 1987 with an Afghan Hound.

An Afghan hound is groomed before being judged on the final day of the Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham, central England, on March 10, 2024.