Gift from Tunisian desert tops Crufts for Skegness

Owner Richard Minto, 65, who has been showing at Crufts for 25 years, says he is never expected his dog called Astor to win again after taking Best in Breed four years ago.

A delighted Richard commented: “You think you stand a chance, but you never know. Even though she's nine, Astor is still in excellent condition, so I was hoping.

"I am very pleased, very happy.”

Richard came across the Canaan dog breed while traveling for work in Tunisia and he was given a five-week-old puppy (Astor’s great grandmother) by the local Bedouins.

Thought to be the dog breed that the Hebrews used in biblical times to herd and guard their flocks, Canaan Dogs are still used by Bedouins as sheepdogs today.

They also make really good pets, according to Richard: “They're very laid back unless you want them to do something then they’ll run around for 20 hours a day.

"If there's nothing to do, I've known them sleep 20 hours a day too. Their family is everything to them, which is why they can be a bit standoffish to strangers.”

As for future plans, Richard said: “We';ll be back next year. As long as Astor’s happy to do it, then we’ll carry on.”

As Canaan dogs have very long lifespans (Richard has another 18-year-old Canaan dog at home and a friend of his has a 21-year-old) so it looks like Astor’s winning streak

could run and run for many more years to come.

Crufts 2020, one-year shy of its 130 th anniversary, and indisputably the greatest dog event in the world, takes place across more than 25 acres of the NEC in Birmingham.

This year's show which runs until Sunday will see up to 20,000 dogs competing, including more than 3,000 from overseas.

The latter features entries from 42 different countries, with Italy leading the way with 366 dogs, followed by 317 from France, 289 from Germany, and 286 from the Netherlands.

Channel 4 and More4 have the broadcast rights to televise the event in the UK, and are showing a record 15 hours, with Clare Balding again at the helm