"I'll have my hair done, I'll have my nails done, I'll have a facial."Her husband, Ian, 58, who gives driving tuition in performance cars, perhaps understandably gets irritated when Anita buys Marks & Spencer talc for Bubbles, and Tesco's own brand for him "He's not doggy at all He tolerates it," she says. "I have friends who think I'm crazy, but I think they're crazy, because they just sit at home and do nothing. They get very bored and very miserable, and their marriages aren't very comfortable because they're at each other all the time. My husband is obsessive with motor racing and I'm obsessive with showing dogs. We lead two separate lives, but also one together that is very enjoyable."Anita has high hopes for Scarlet, who is already a champion.
How important is winning? "It's the reason we go there," she says, a determined look in her eye "Second place is never good enough. I'm a very competitive person."Over in Ifield, Crawley, Connie and Tony Roberts are pinning their hopes on what looks like a novelty slipper in drag. Teddy, a 21-month old Yorkie, has what appears to be tiny Christmas parcels hanging off his coat. They are, in fact, the ends of his floor-length coat rolled up in red or white paper and tied with elastic bands, called "crackers". There is one on top of his head, from which sprout several short strands, like a punk hairdo.
The crackers are worn to protect the hair, and they are removed for shows."They are put in from the age of 10 months. They don't mind, you start them young, and they don't worry about them," says Tony, 62, a retired steelworker, who has five Yorkies and three puppies."I take the body crackers out when I take him for walks, so he gets used to it. If you walk them with crackers, when you take them to the show and take them off, they don't know what's happened."Understandably, Teddy attracts odd looks when he's out. "We went to Brighton and were walking down the promenade when some old dears walked past and said: 'Look at the poor little dog covered in tea bags'," says Tony, who has been chairman of the Yorkshire Terrier Club for the last 20 years.Not only does Teddy get laughed at by old ladies in the street, but he also has to put up with having to wear a red and white gingham coat over the crackers Then there are the navy blue socks to stop him scratching. Still, he doesn't seem to mind, constantly yapping, jumping up and licking everyone in sight.Do they think Teddy will do well? "We always hope they're going to win," says Tony. So, what does he think their chances are of walking away with the prize for Best In Show? "It would be a miracle," he admits, casting a sceptical eye at Teddy, who is busy scrapping with the other dogs.In a field in Newbold-on-Avon, Rugby, Mary Ray is shimmying with her border collie, Quincy. Holding a black cane in front of her with both hands, she turns to the left, and the dog turns with her.
