NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
You will know that I love to write about activities owners do with their Buhunds, so I was very pleased to receive the following article from Lucy Beatrice Gilbert.
‘The New Forest becomes bustling at the end of May each year as Dogstival takes place! Set in the beautiful Burley Park, the event welcomes thousands of dogs and their owners to enjoy a weekend of shopping, trying new activities, listening to live music, and simply having fun. For the last few years, my training club has been fortunate to be invited to demonstrate a range of dog activities; from heelwork to music, agility, and hoopers! I’ve always been double-booked, working at the Southern Counties Champ Show, but this year I decided to skip the trek to Newbury and support my club instead. I train under Jodie Forbes, who runs Crazelpup Dog Training based in Dorset. Jodie judges the Fun Dog Show at Dogstival and gets a slot in the main arena. In previous years, she’s had students demonstrate heelwork to music, hoopers, agility, and basic obedience training with a spot of audience participation thrown in. This year, the club took part in a relay race where audience members were invited to compete against our dogs in agility. The dogs ran a course made up of jumps, tunnels, hoops, and running around a barrel, while the humans had to complete their own simplified course with just two jumps, a hoop, and a barrel. Zuki aka Leggatts Fly Like An Eagle and I cheered on our teammates before having our turn. During rehearsals, Zuki had struggled to get around the barrel and needed some close proximity encouragement. We practised at home, and the hard work paid off -Zuki managed to complete the barrel from a distance with just a verbal cue (she’s so fast I can’t always keep up!). A few overshot obstacles meant we had to go back and complete the course properly, so the audience ended up winning our round. Next in the arena, audience members were invited to stand with their legs apart so the dogs could weave between them. Only a few volunteers took part on the Saturday, but so many people stepped forward on the Sunday that we split them into two lines-adults vs children! One dog weaved through the children’s legs (perfect for the smaller dogs), and another tackled the adults, creating a bit of friendly competition. Zuki got very excited during this activity and took off for a round of zoomies during her go. A quick recall brought her back, and she completed the task, beating the dog in the process! The Crazelpup team were also invited to demonstrate some trick training in the Away Resorts Beach Party area. I tried to join in, but the foam party (which happened every hour on the beach setting) proved far too exciting for Zuki . She was desperate to jump in and play instead of working! I managed to get her to ‘wave’ and ‘peek out from between my legs’, but we made a swift exit after that. We will work on disengagement training so that we can put on more of a show next year! At the end of the event, I let Zuki take part in the final foam party of the day. She spent the first few seconds barking at the flying foam, but soon braved it and jumped in, quickly discovering that it was beef flavoured! She spent the rest of the session trying to eat it. Needless to say, she was very tired when we got home after such an exciting day. Dogstival also features a ‘Meet the Breeds’ area located opposite the main arena. Hopefully, we will see more Buhunds there next year-especially now the public have seen one showing off agility and tricks as part of a display team.!’ Thanks Lucy sounds like fun and for you and Zuki promoting Buhunds as a great activity dog.
Pastoral & Utility Day at Three Counties Ch Dog Show held on the Three Counties showground was Saturday 7th of June. There are no CCs and thanks must go to the committee for keeping the breed scheduled, as in the past few years the entries have been very low, mainly due I suspect the fact that Pastoral day has been a weekday, which is not always easy for people for various reasons. Happily, though this year as it was a Saturday and the entry was much better. We were last in BIS Ring A after 75 Tibetan Spaniels and 18 PMD, which meant that exhibitors did not have to leave home at silly o’clock, but being last in the ring meant some exhibitors did not get home till 11pm! Of course, being a summer show it rained particularly on the Thursday and the Saturday, when although there was some showing outside the groups were inside, and the breed was judged inside as in the afternoon the rain set in. They do have the cattle sheds for the wet weather rings, so do not have to worry about marquees. The main Three Counties Show which the dog show used to be part of when I first started showing starts on Friday 13th June, so much of the showground was being prepared for this. Our judge was Joe Smith who gives CCs in 30 breeds across 5 groups and is a Level 2 judge for Buhunds and last judged them at the Nordic last year. He found his BD & BOB in Jenny Shorer-Wheelers Ch Koromandel Tusen Takk JW (AI)ShCEx OSW (Muchly). RBD Millie Lambert’s Sturtmoor’s Gon’n Dun It. (Gunna) BB Ann-Marie, David & Mary Taylor and Addrienne Frost-Treadwell’s Frostisen Blakk Zitter. (Penny). RBB Ollie Wheeler’s Knytshall Thistle Ink It Up Koromandel (Inky).As so often happens some of the stakes classes clashed with the breed,but Milie and Gunna were 4th in the Fosse data Systems Pastoral/Utility Junior Dog under Marina White, and Ann-Marie and Penny were 2nd in the Three Counties Open Stakes under Mrs J Kay winning some good treat money. Well done to Three Counties for having a ramp for Jenny to use with Muchly.
On the Sunday Sarah Stonton took her Pixie aka Wheatshade Snow Dreamer to Alconbury Huntingdon for her second Level 3 SWUK competition under judges Hayley Whitaker and Helen Prentice, Sarah was very pleased that Pixie gained a qualifying score.
Margaret Deuchar margaretdeuchar@gmail.com
Any views expressed in Margaret’s Breed Notes are hers and hers alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Norwegian Buhund Club of the UK