A PRIMARY school teacher from Darlington has won Best in Breed with his beagle, Jacob, at Crufts.

David Craig and Jacob won the title at Crufts back in March 2020 and this is his 20th certificate.

There was no competition in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic but Jacob is now back to competing regularly.

David has been showing dogs since he was 13. Now aged 54 his “obsession and hobby” is as strong as ever.

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David started showing labradors and then moved onto beagles. Jacob is only three and a half years old and just 14 months when he won Best in Breed at Crufts in 2020 in the junior class.

“Last year Jacob was the top winning beagle in the country and the second top hound of all breeds last year.

“You need three challenge certificates to be a champion and he has twenty now. He was bred here, so was his mother and her mother and so on.

“He’s also the result of artificial insemination. His father died a month before we wanted him and the mother to mate, and so Jacob is the result of artificial insemination. With that technology we were able to get a litter of puppies.

“Beagles are proper dogs, they’re merry hounds. It’s a very healthy breed. They’re not fussy dogs so before a show we just have to give them a bath and put them under a heat lamp and they’re good to go. No fuss. Also their amicable temperament means they make great pets, very much happy-go-lucky dogs.”

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“Jacob is a very calm dog. Beagles are a sensitive breed because they’re pack hounds so when you take one away from the pack they can sometimes be less confident and to go into that group ring at Crufts with a fanfare when you go in, they’ve got to be pretty bomb-proof and he’s also a total gentleman and very relaxed and calm. When he hears the fanfare he tends to perk up, he loves it.

“Last year he went to 19 shows and he won the championship in beagles 17 out of 19 times.

“Next year he (Jacob) can’t go because I’m judging the breed at Crufts. I just love the atmosphere and it’s a hobby but it’s also an obsession, ever since I was a kid.”

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