Heat to be held at Newark Showground for Scruffts, Crufts’ crossbreed competition
The search is underway to find the nation’s top crossbreed dog.
The first of six heats for Scruffts, the competition for crossbreed dogs in the main arena at Crufts, will take place at Newark Showground, as part of the All About Dogs Show on Sunday, April 27.
The Kennel Club has invited all crossbreeds and mixed breed dogs to take part in the Scruffts competition, exclusively supported by pet food makers James Wellbeloved, where all shapes and sizes of dog are welcome, as long as they are over six months old.
James Wellbeloved brand manager, Sonja Hartomo, said: “Scruffts is a fantastic competition that celebrates the nation’s family crossbreed dogs and the loving bond they have with their owners. Every year we meet some truly inspirational dogs and owners, and so we are looking forward to meeting this year’s competitors and hearing their stories.
“James Wellbeloved are very proud to exclusively support Scruffts and we can’t wait to see what the crossbreed dogs of the Midlands have to offer.”
Each dog entered in the competition will have a few minutes to wow the judges in one or more of the four competition categories: Most Handsome Crossbreed Dog, Prettiest Crossbreed Bitch, Golden Oldie Crossbreed and the Good Citizen Dog Scheme class.
Entry criteria for each class is available at crufts.org.uk/scruffts.
When choosing the winner and runners-up for each class, the judge ensures that the dog has good character, good health, good personality, and a good temperament with people and other dogs.
Registration will start from 11am, and judging from 12.30pm.
Entering a dog into Scruffts costs £2 per class, not including entry to the overall show. There is no need to enter in advance, just simply turn up on the day.
The four heat winners will receive goodies from James Wellbeloved, and ultimately, the four category finalists at next year’s Scruffts grand final, held at Crufts 2026, will each win a year’s supply of James Wellbeloved food for their dog.
