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Maureen Hennis - Chief Executive of Pets As Therapy

Pets As Therapy is a national charity and is unique in that it provides temperament assessed/vaccinated P.A.T. Dogs and P.A.T. Cats with registered volunteers to hospitals, hospices, residential care homes, day centres, special needs schools and many other establishments, providing comfort, companionship and therapy. There are approximately 4,500 P.A.T. Dogs and 108 P.A.T. Cats bringing benefit to more than 130,000 people of all ages every single week throughout the UK.

Natalie Ingham, Behaviour Advisor at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Established in 1860, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home aims never to turn away a dog or cat in need of our help.  We reunite lost dogs and cats with their owners through our Lost Dogs & Cats Line or care for them until new homes can be found, giving them shelter and the highest standards of veterinary care. 

Crowds have been flocking into Earls Court since the doors opened at 10am on Saturday, with hundreds of dogs already in place to greet them. Visitors to the show can meet nearly 200 different pedigree dog breeds and find out about all of their unique characteristics, making it the perfect place to find the right type of dog for them.

Discover Dogs, sponsored by Royal Canin, is now in its 16th year and is the biggest dog event in London, welcoming over 26,000 visitors and 3,000 dogs over the two days of the show. 

The family event, to which under 12s go free, enables visitors to meet almost 200 breeds of dog, including British endangered breeds, and breed experts to learn more about their unique characteristics and which lifestyles they are most suited to.

Open for Dogs competition – now in its fourth year – operates entirely on the views of the public and aims to break down barriers for man’s best friend by encouraging more businesses to be dog friendly.  The value of an Open for Dogs policy is supported by research released today by the Kennel Club that shows that dog owners are more likely to splash the cash than cat owners and those who own neither, leading businesses to court the ‘hound pound’

Metro Bank – the dog-friendly high street bank – has proved it is top dog by winning the ‘High Street’ category this year, beating other well-known high street businesses to scoop this top award.  The bank, which leads the way in its approach to welcoming dog-loving customers into its stores, received hundreds of nominations as its attitude to customers and their dogs impressed the voting public.  One member of the public who nominated Metro Bank commented on its ‘refreshing way of doing business’.

Discover Dogs - Labrador retriever stand - Dale Elliott

Companion Dog Club Competition - Rachel Cole - Client Services Manager

The Companion Dog Club is once again holding this great competition and the selected winners of each category will not only be rewarded with our beautifully crafted rosettes but also get to participate in the final round of the contest to become the overall Bitch or Dog of the Day! 

The competition is held in support of the Kennel Club Charitable Trust which looks after the health and welfare of all dogs. The Kennel Club Charitable Trust has been funding a wide variety of work ranging from supporting research into canine diseases, dog welfare organisations and the promotion of support dogs, all of which give dogs a healthier and happier life. Therefore with every each class there’s an entry fee £1 and we hope that together with every little help, we can make this world a better place for all dogs.

Scruffts 2011 - Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year Champion - Sarah Singleton and Milo

The show also features a wide range of great canine competition, with today's highlight undoubtedly being the grand final of the hugely popular Scruffts Family Crossbreed of the Year competition. The competition was judged by a panel of celebrity judges made up of Merlin and Little Britain star, Anthony Head (though he'll always be Giles from Buffy to me), Sarah Hadland from Miranda and Waterloo Road, and BBC Radio London presenters Jo Good and Anna Webb.

Together they had the tricky task of choosing just one dog in each of the four heats held during the day before picking one overall winner. The panel heard many wonderful dog tales before finally settling on three year-old Milo, owned by Sarah Singleton from Yeovil, Somerset, who had earlier won the Most Handsome Crossbreed Dog category.

Geniuses can be identified by their dog - Professor Lance Workman - Bath Spa University

The Bath Spa University study carried out in association with the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event taking place on 12-13 November, found that a person’s choice of dog breed is likely to indicate how a person ranks in the five common personality traits – conscientiousness, intelligence and creativity, emotional stability, extroversion and agreeableness.

Geniuses can be identified by their dog - Caroline Kisko - Communications Director - The Kennel Club

What do eminent scientist Sir Isaac Newton and socialite Paris Hilton have in common? They both own or owned toy dogs, and according to a new psychological study this means that they share similar personality traits, including ranking the most highly on the intelligence scale.

Rob Fellows - Reiki for Dogs

Reiki, pronounced ''ray key'', is a Japanese word meaning Universal Life Energy. It is a natural, safe and simple hands-on healing method, which allows animals as well as people to absorb more valuable life force energy. Reiki involves no manipulation, is perfectly safe, non-addictive and non-invasive.

Reiki creates and promotes self-healing, balances energies and revitalizes. Reiki channels energy to your pet in a powerful and gentle way.

Stella, aged 8 months, will compete with Lily in the hope of collecting the coveted Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year 2011 title.

Stella won the Child's Best Friend at the heat held at Hearing Dogs Summer Show earlier this year, and will compete against a number of other competitors from around the country in the final. The winners of each class in the final will then try to outshine one another as they battle it out to win the overall title.

Dogs from all walks of life will be at the event, from those that work as Pets as Therapy and assistance dogs, to Metropolitan Police dogs - all displaying their fantastic, often life saving talents.

“The event is packed full of fun displays, competitions and expert help and advice for anybody who owns or who would like to one day own a dog. This is a day out for the whole family to enjoy.”

Highlights will include the Scruffts Family Crossbreed of the Year competition, which will be judged by a soon to be announced celebrity, and the Rescue Dog agility competition. There will also be hundreds of trade stands selling products for dogs and dog lovers, and opportunities for children to try out different dog sports in the Young Kennel Club ring.

Discover Dogs, sponsored by Royal Canin, is now in its 16th year and is the biggest dog event in London, welcoming over 26,000 visitors and 3,000 dogs over the two days of the show. 

Helping children to read and communicate. To improve the literacy skills of children by reading to a Pets As Therapy registered P.A.T. dog.   Research shows that children can be nervous and stressed when reading to others in a group.  However, when a P.A.T. dog enters the group the child becomes less stressed and less self conscious. 

Before long the children are looking forward to the reading experience as they are going to read to their new friend, the P.A.T. dog.   Throughout 2010 Pets As Therapy ran a pilot programme in Westfields Junior School in Yateley, Hampshire.  The results were extremely positive.  

Pets As Therapy an the Read 2 Dogs programme is active in more than 40 schools across the country but the Kennel Club wants to see even more children benefiting.

The project will be officially launched at the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event, taking place on 12-13 November at Earls Court. Children, who if under 12 go free to the event, will be able to read to dogs in a dedicated reading corner. The Kennel Club will also be hosting reading days at its library based in Piccadilly, which holds the largest collection of dog literature in Europe.

Metro Bank – the dog-friendly high street bank – has proved it is top dog by winning the ‘High Street’ category this year, beating other well-known high street businesses to scoop this top award.  The bank, which leads the way in its approach to welcoming dog-loving customers into its stores, received hundreds of nominations as its attitude to customers and their dogs impressed the voting public.  One member of the public who nominated Metro Bank commented on its ‘refreshing way of doing business’.  

The Kennel Club is launching a charitable foundation that will help to bring dogs to children as reading companions, in a bid to halt the staggering decline in child literacy.

Zoe Wanamaker is the first celebrity to support the Kennel Club’s new Bark & Read Foundation, which is being launched after figures revealed that one in five children leave school unable to read or to write.

This new project will help to support the network of dogs that can be taken in classrooms, libraries and other places of learning to help children develop confidence about reading out loud to a non-judgemental companion.

The project will be officially launched at the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event, taking place on 12-13 November at Earls Court. Children, who if under 12 go free to the event, will be able to read to dogs in a dedicated reading corner. The Kennel Club will also be hosting reading days at its library based in Piccadilly, which holds the largest collection of dog literature in Europe.

Discover Dogs, sponsored by Royal Canin, is now in its 16th year and is the biggest dog event in London, welcoming over 26,000 visitors and 3,000 dogs over the two days of the show. 

The family event, to which under 12s go free, enables visitors to meet almost 200 breeds of dog, including British endangered breeds, and breed experts to learn more about their unique characteristics and which lifestyles they are most suited to.

Many of the country’s Vulnerable Native Breeds will be amongst the 200 breeds of dog that visitors can meet at the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event next month. All breeds will be there with experts, who can give people all of the information that they need about their breed’s characteristics and needs, so that potential dog owners can find a dog that will be the perfect fit for their lifestyle.

On Saturday 12th November, Stanley, aged 3 years, will compete with Jamie in the hope of collecting the coveted Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year 2011 title.

Stanley won the Child's Best Friend at the heat held at the Battersea Reunion earlier this year, and will compete against a number of other competitors from around the country in the final. The winners of each class in the final will then try to outshine one another as they battle it out to win the overall title.

Stella, aged 8 months, will compete with Lily in the hope of collecting the coveted Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year 2011 title.

Stella won the Child's Best Friend at the heat held at Hearing Dogs Summer Show earlier this year, and will compete against a number of other competitors from around the country in the final. The winners of each class in the final will then try to outshine one another as they battle it out to win the overall title.