A PONTELAND woman is celebrating after her dog won a top prize at Crufts.

Sue McCabe’s Jack Russell, Jellybean, walked away from the prestigious competition with the first prize in the Jack Russell Good Citizen Dog class at the world famous show.

The three-year-old pooch was up against three other dogs, and had to parade in the ring before being examined by a judge.

Sue, who runs dog training business Muttamorphosis, expressed her pride in Jellybean’s achievement.

She said: “I was quite surprised to get first place, because he’d been in a different category with the same judge and she hadn’t placed him at all.

“They have to parade in a group and then individually. The judge watches them from the side on, walking towards her, and walking away. Movement is everything, because you can have a dog that looks great standing still but moves wrong.

“He then has to stand on a table and is examined. With terriers the dog has to be spanned - which means the judge can put both hands around the dog’s chest. It’s to see if they could still go to ground.

“He’s a cracking little dog – he’s a superstar.”

The victory has been a long time coming.

Sue put her name down on a waiting list for 18 months to get Jellybean as a puppy, and she has been to Crufts every year since 2016 when Jack Russells were first allowed to compete after being recognised by the Kennel Club.

Sue said: “This year was his victory year.

“It’s a busy weekend, but he’s a really happy little guy, I think he enjoys everything. He’s very up for doing stuff.”

The Good Citizen Dog Scheme Breed Class was introduced in 2004, an runs in conjunction with the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme.

The scheme, which is the largest dog training programme in the UK, provides a quality standard of training for dogs and owners.