After making a last minute decision to take her Bullmastiff bitch, Copperfield Lady Barnicle, to the annual event, the most important date in any dog's diary, Yvette Reyniers from the Woodside Stud at Greenlaw is celebrating after her pooch was placed first in the Post Graduate class and was later named Reserve Best Bullmastiff bitch.

Unlike many of the competitors at Crufts, Yvette isn't a professional dog breeder, which makes her success even more sweeter.

It was only her and three year old Lady Barnicle's second year at the Birmingham NEC gathering, so like last year she went into the weekend with no expectations.

Yvette told the Berwickshire News: "Lady Barnicle went to Crufts for the first time last year and one of the judges said that she was a bit lean so I've been working hard over the past 12 months trying to rectify this.

"And it was definitely worthwhile as the judge this year said she had never seen a Bullmastiff bitch with so much muscle.

"I've had her since she was a puppy and she's a real family dog.

"I have horses and she exercises a lot with them as well as running around with my Labrador."

Copperfield Lady Barnicle qualified for Crufts 2010 after a great showing at the Scottish Kennel Club Championships at Ingliston last year but even after that success Yvette wasn't 100 per cent sure her bitch was ready to have another crack at Crufts.

"I've shown her a lot locally at events like the Border Union Show and she did extremely well at Ingliston which qualified her for Crufts but it wasn't until the last minute that I decided to take her.

"When I first got her as a puppy from a breeder in Derbyshire I never imagined I'd enter her for Crufts but I always thought it would be fun to do a bit of showing.

"I have a full time job at the vets in Duns and never visualised competing in Crufts but I've got the bug for it now and now Lady Barnicle has qualified automatically for next year I'm looking forward to doing it all again."

Bullmastiffs have been given a rather hard time in the press over the years but Yvette defended the breed, adding that her bitch was incredibly friendly.

"People seem to have lot of opinions on Bullmastiffs and have quite a negative perception of them but I will stand by the breed no matter what.

"They are generally big dogs but Lady Barnicle is very interactive with my kids and the other animals on the farm.

"She's very friendly and would lick you to death!

"She is very much a country dog but she coped well with all the noise and people taking pictures of her at the weekend. She's not used to fame but took to it perfectly."

And Yvette wasn't the only local dog owner to taste success at Crufts 2010.

After being named Best Border Terrier Puppy last year, Lairehope Ruby Romance, belonging to Kath, Peter and Cheynnie Lothian, celebrated her second birthday by winning Reserve in her Post-Graduate class.

She was the youngest bitch competing for the accolade and found favour with the judges once again, seeing off some more experienced terriers in the process.

"We did so well last year but this year we weren't really expecting anything. Border Terrier was the breed with the second highest number of entrants and there were 19 others in Ruby's class," Kath commented.

"She was well liked by the judges who complimented her good mouth, coat and movement.

"We tried to get her in top condition for Crufts by walking her for miles and miles most days to tone up her leg muscles and then my husband Peter took care of her nutrition."

Ruby qualified for this year's Crufts by placing first in four championships across Scotland and northern England and the Lothians also showed two other dogs at the weekend, fellow bitch Chi-Chi and young puppy Cody.

Neither won any prizes but Cody was praised by the judges and Kath predicted a bright future for him.