NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
You will have appreciated that my notes last week were written before we went into our third lockdown, this is in England as I know those of you in the devolved nations have had different rules for some time, particularly in Wales. The sentiments are still the same though, stay safe and look forward to the light at the end of this long dark tunnel when hopefully we will be able to meet up again.
There were two competitions in the Autumn Bu News with a closing date of 31st December. There was one on the back cover which showed a photo of Time apparently whispering in Fizz’s ear. I asked what readers thought Time was saying to Fizz. The winner was Celia Vines with Sarah Stonton as runner up, my friend Sarah who took the photo judged the competition. Celia thought he was saying ‘I know where some treats are hidden’.
Following on from my comments about the BVA in last week’s notes regarding how long it was taking for hip and elbow scores to be processed, with people sending submissions to Australia. The BVA issued another statement this week: – “As of 5th January 2021 England entered a third lockdown since the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic, this means that unfortunately the processing of results for the hip and elbow schemes are being continually impacted. This is due to the quality and consistency measures of scoring and grading for the schemes, which require two scrutineers and members of the BVA CHS team to travel into central London to undertake scoring in Covid secure conditions. It is essential to the efficacy of the scheme that this process is upheld at this time even given the logistical challenges scoring sessions in Covid secure conditions. Changes to the process are being considered and trialled but will only be implemented once existing quality and consistency standards for the scheme are met. It is essential that the Kennel Club and BVA maintain the integrity of CHS which has been in operation for 65 years. Furthermore, the BVA must ensure the safety of its staff and of the scrutineers when co-ordinating the sessions. Due to Covid restrictions a number of sessions have had to be postponed and rescheduled, and we hope customers of the scheme will respect delays that have been caused by the unprecedented circumstances we are now all trying to operate within. The following actions are now being taken to ensure that customers receive results from screening at the earliest possible opportunity. The BVA premises in London will remain open for scoring sessions each week during the current lockdown. Increasing the number of scoring sessions taking place. Increasing the number of X-rays scored at each scoring session. It is hoped that these actions will enable a return to normal turnaround by Spring 2021.For those customers intending to have dogs screened using CHS during the current lockdown, we wish to draw your attention to the latest guidance provided by BVA and RCVS relating to veterinary treatment during this period, which clearly advises the veterinary professions to only carry out work that is essential for public health and animal health and welfare, in the context of the very strong ‘stay at home’ message from the government.”
Brenda Bethell has now received Franca’s her Cirneco dell’Etna’s score which was done on 21st August and Lillian has also received Darcy’s (Kata Syndattir Av Fjeldvidda (IMP NLD) score which was done about the same time. Just as well they only have to be done once!
Those of you that are on the Norwegian Buhund Forum on FB may have seen the photo of a flyer that led me to having a Buhund back in 1992. The interesting thing is that I have no idea where it came from! It was produced by Kitty Heffer and shows Buheims Tua and her 4mnth old daughter Friochan Brigitta. Tua was BOB at the Nordic Breeds Open Show in 1948 and was Best of Sex at Cheltenham in 1949 and Crufts in 1950 and third in 1948 at LKA under Herr Aarflot the Norwegian Judge. At that time, I was a child and lived in Worthing in Sussex and did not know about dog shows, so I am puzzled as to where the flyer came from, which was produced some 40yrs before it led me to having a Buhund. Before that I had Elkhounds and Cocker Spaniels, but these could have gingivitis, a gum infection that can also affect humans. I still have a soft spot for spaniels but decided to see if I could find a breed about the same size that did not have the sloppy mouth of the spaniel, that tended to lead to the gum condition. I had a drawer with all the pedigrees and registrations of all the dogs I had owned and here I found the flyer. I wrote to the KC sending an SAE for a list of breeders, they wrote back using my SAE asking for an SAE for a list of breeders!! So, I tried again and received the list of breeders, the nearest one was Kathy Hay (Wolfen), she had a 2week old litter, Debbie and I went to see them when they were a little older and chose a puppy, we then had a list of names to pick from and selected Wolfen Just in Time (Okie), he later became a UK and Ir Ch. He is the GGGG father of my Rikarlo Gable JW which is why his pet name is ‘Time’. Okie was the grandfather of Kirsty Irvine’s Ch Tapui Tane, who went to the Kimura Kennel in Norway for a short holiday and to help the gene pool, along the way he also became a Norwegian and Swedish Ch. Now his great granddaughter has come back to the UK to Kirsty Irvine, Kimura’s Vera with Tapui (Imp Nor) and she the dam of Time. So, if I had not had that flyer, who knows!
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.