NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
I am sure all of you know by now that LKA has been cancelled. The CEO of the NEC recently announced that no events would held there until 2021, as he did not feel any event would be financially viable with many people still feeling happy to go out and restrictions on numbers attending, and that was before the number of Covid19 cases started to rise again, although in the end he was actually talking more about concerts. LKA later announced that they were cancelling, as the welfare and safety of everyone attending was of the upmost importance and there was a worry as to how this could be safely managed. Blackpool has also had to cancel just after it opened for paper entries due to a rise of Covid cases in nearby areas. At the beginning of the pandemic the IKC announced that all canine events in 2020 would be cancelled, I know at the time many people thought that was bit drastic but as it is turning out perhaps it wasn’t. Everyone was talking about moving things to 2021 but as that draws ever closer, the worry is that things will be far from normal even then.
Recently another canine online activity was held, this was the second Obreedience competition, run again by Julia Bodsworth and entitled the ‘All-Breedience V Series’. This again proved very popular with 42 teams entering making 168 dogs to be judged by Kath Hardman who judged the heel work, and Claire Coughlan-Khan who judged the individual exercises. In a normal competition there have to be four dogs of the same breed, but with the online competitions the teams can be mixed, and include crossbreeds of which there were 30 entered there were also 2 lurchers and dogs from 38 different breeds, from Miniature Poodles up to Bernese Mountain Dogs with representatives from every Group. There were 7 single breed teams which included our Quatre Bu team. The youngest dog taking part was an 8month old Jack Russell followed by a Kooiker-hondje that was 11months, the oldest were three 14yr old Border Collies who were siblings. The heel work pattern was different from the previous competition as were the individual exercises. Team Captain was Lisa Strong with Leggatts Dancing Queen At Draccus (Eris), for their exercise they did a figure of 8 round 2 poles/cones. Jacqui Cobb with Knytshall Eloise did retrieve an article hidden in one of five distractions, (it was hidden in a cone), the dog must not see where it is placed. Michael Cobb handled Knytshall Angel Delight RL2 EX they did send to bed at an angle. Jenny Shorer -Wheeler with Ch Arnscroft Di Na Mo Farrah Of Koromandel JW ShCM did change of position from a stand to a down.
Julia does an amazing job of organising the competition, she shows the heel work pattern and each individual exercise being performed. There are also drawings showing the heel work and individual exercises with distances and to where the camera should be, so that every team has the same chance. The heel work is timed with the ideal being that every round is the same time, for this each team measures out their heel work area first, Jenny did not have enough clear area in her garden so went to her local park and marked it out there. In fact Quatre Bu was the only team to have the whole team with the same time for each member, with special commendation to Jacqui and Michael. Of course it can be videoed several times till you are happy that you have it right, but have to be mindful not to leave it to the last minute before the entries close as high winds, heavy rain and high temperatures can also play their part! Many thanks go to Lisa who as team captain had the entries sent to her; she then timed the heel work to make sure the times were as close as possible before sending them in. In case you think you can have treats in your hands you have to show your hands to the camera before you start. The team was 27 only dropping 3.5points on the individual exercises, each exercise being marked out of 10.The heel work earned 28.6 out of 40 giving a total of 65.1, but as last time it was very tight at the top with the winning team having 75.8. The team is now looking forward to another competition which will be judged on 29th August, the heel work and individual exercises have already been posted so the team can start practising.
Yesterday 7th August the temperature was 37degrees in London, the hottest August day since 2003, Fizz was lying on his cool mat but Time wanted to play ball! We all know that “Dogs Die In Hot Cars”, sadly every year we hear of this happening and even today, I read of two dogs that had to be rescued from a car in Devon. Cars can heat up in the sun at any time in the year and it only takes a few minutes for it to become a death trap for a dog. However, a study done by Nottingham Trent University and the RVC found that just walking, running or playing with their owners caused 74% of heat stroke cases, with 68% triggered by just walking in the heat mostly of course in the summer months. Only 5% of cases were caused by dogs being left in hot cars. Being kept in a hot building or an area where the dog cannot move out of direct heat can cause problems as dog unlike us can only lose heat by panting and through their paws. Records of more 900,000 UK dogs were looked at 1,222 had received veterinary care for heatstroke at some point with 400 affected in a single year. Heat stroke can be fatal and 14.2% of affected dogs die. The team found male, younger dogs, those with dark coats and those breeds that can suffer breathing difficulties were most at risk. Older dogs were at increased risk just sitting outside in hot weather. The early signs of heat stroke include panting, dark red gums and tongue, confusion and in the worst cases collapse, diarrhoea, vomiting and even seizures leading to a coma. The dog needs to be cooled and treated by a veterinary surgeon quickly or the condition can be fatal. As the world gets hotter we need to remember that this will also affect our dogs and we need to keep them safe. If you are ever called to help a dog with heat stroke before it is taken to the vet, they need to have their body temperature lowered gradually so immediately douse the dog with cool not cold water, as this could cause the dog to go into shock.
With the easing of lockdown restrictions across the UK, the BVA are advising veterinary practices that they can start doing eye testing again, if they are happy to do so. In most cases there is a waiting list. I am pleased to report that Anne Smith’s Ch Arnscroft Never Say Di had a clear eye test last week. Please remember that as your Breed Health Co-ordinator I need a copy of all eye tests and hip scores. Thank you.
On Radio 2 every Saturday morning there is a programme hosted Alan Carr and Melanie Sykes of pop music and various features, one of which is the ‘Sixty Minute Challenge’. For this the contestant has a short chat with Alan and Mel, and is then given a letter, they then have to find 5 items beginning with that letter, sending in a photo to the programme within sixty minutes showing them with the items. This week the contestant was Neil Hood, he was in his Barber’s shop and in his chat he mentioned having Buhunds (when he applied to go on the show he had obviously mentioned having dogs). To Mel’s credit she said she had Googled the breed so knew what they looked like. Neil was given the letter L and actually found 8 items, Ladder, Letters, Lights, Ornamental Lighthouse, Lollipop Tree, Lint Roller, Loo Rolls and Lippy, well done Neil. For his prize he was awarded an Alan & Mel T-shirt, which I hope we will see him wearing at some point in the future.
Margaret Deuchar margaretdeuchar@gmail.com
The 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.