Norwegian Buhund

Breed Notes 15th March 2019 Margaret Deuchar

NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS

CRUFTS started in 1886 as the ‘First Great Terrier Show’ with 57breeds and 600 entries organised by Charles Crufts. The name was changed to Crufts in 1891 when the show was booked into the Royal Agricultural Hall in Islington, with all the breeds of the time being shown giving 2000 entries. Over the years the number of entries and breeds has risen to over 200, with two new breeds being added this year with the White Swiss Shepherd and the Black and Tan Coonhound .Since the introduction of pet passport in 2001  overseas entries have also grown in number and with the many dogs taking part in the various canine competitions ,well over 22,000 dogs headed for the NEC over the four days.

In 1994 there was a trial of something called Discover Dogs! I went to the first one just a few breeds rather tucked away in one of the Halls. It had been found that people often went to shows to see various breeds of dogs that were not actually being shown that day, such as Labrador on Hound day and it was thought it would also educate people on what breeds would suit them most. (That was before the craze for crossbreds started). I do not think the organisers of that first DD could possibly have envisaged  how big it would became, with thousands visiting it at Crufts and with a standalone Discover Dogs at the Excel in London.

For a small numerical breed such as ours it is a wonderful and very important way to get the breed better known, and to make sure people understand them. Over the years I have lost count of the number of times people have said ‘I have never heard of them’ in spite of them coming into the country just after the war, but they do not have very large litters and so often anyone who wants one has to wait and not everyone wants to, on the other hand it does mean that very few turn up in rescue.

Last year the Buhund committee asked Lisa Strong is she would take over looking after and organise the photos, leaflets and other items for the breed booth, put them up, take them down and store them at home. I had been doing it for a number of years, having taken over from Jacqui Cobb but recently my husband has not been well and I had not been able to go at the last minute on a couple of occasions, so to have a very organised and dedicated person like Lisa doing it is fantastic, particularly as Lisa came to us through DD. It was at DD in London several years ago, that she came up saying she had a Buhund that did agility. We were always looking for people to join the Obreedience  team  so I asked more, it turned out he was not registered but it was not long before  he was on the Activity register called Loki Snowflake and was reserve for the team, when Kiki went blind (nothing breed related) he became part of the team.

We had a fantastic time at DD this year there were 10 owners with 16 dogs taking part over the 4 days. I cannot thank everyone enough, there are passes to get the dogs in and out, car passes and food vouchers but no travelling expenses, so it means a great deal have so many to give up their time, and in many cases stay overnight, to support the breed. When I arrived on the Thursday morning Lisa with husband Alex were already there and more or less had the booth decorated. They had brought along Loki who is now an old hand at DD and as well as doing agility and Obreedience , he is also to be seen in the Rally ring ,accompanying him was their puppy Leggatts Dancing  Queen(Eris) who is just over 7months and has already started on a successful show career, she is Black which is great as so often we have, ‘Oh I did not know they came in Black’ we now also have photos of a number of  blacks on the walls of the booth. I decided it was time to retire my Fizz from doing DD, he is now nearly 12yrs old and has done it since he was a puppy. My Rikarlo Gable (Time) took his place he was 6months on the Saturday of Crufts. In the afternoon we were joined by Jacqui Cobb who had driven up from Somerset for the afternoon, she had brought with her Champion Knytshall Scarlet Ribbon who was 15yrs old in February and Ch Knytshall Ferdig 14yrs in January, both dogs are black although going grey, Ferdig in particular thought the whole experience was great, just shows how long the breed lasts. Friday was breed day, Lisa, Alex and I with the dogs again did the morning, we were joined in the afternoon by Penny and Tom Glibbery with Rikarlo Grant (Indy) who is Time’s litter brother, they also came to us through DD, and waited to have a puppy,joining them was Sue & Jonathan Martin. Many years ago they had a Buhund that was litter brother to my Ch Fullani Flekkejord,when they lost  him it was many years before they felt they could have another  one. In 2017 they asked me if I knew of any breeders and, happily they were able to have Wolfen Dancing with Wolves (Ufric). With the booth fully manned with owners and dogs, Lisa and I were able to go and watch the breed being judged, I took Time with me to say hello to his breeder and was thrilled when his dad, Koromandel Best Served Cold At Knytshall (Jamie), was awarded his third CC making him a Champion and also went Best of Breed. Later Tom also brought Indy down to catch up his breeder and celebrate Jamie’s win. I went home on Saturday and Lisa also had a day off, but Penny and Tom with Indy manned the booth with Kirsty Irvine with Indy and Time’s mum Kimura’s Vera with Tapui(Imp Nor)(Betty), she  had been  4th in a very strong Open Bitch class. In the afternoon it was the turn of Lies Hekhuis our Dutch club member.

She had with her Keiron Yggdrasil Van Koekie’s Ranch who is a Dutch Ch and World Winner who was 4th in open dog ,Med Hjartas Asser who was 2nd in the Veteran class and Et Jusa Ragnarok Van Koekie’s Ranch who was 2nd in the open bitch class, Lies has Blacks so it was great to have them in the ring and in the breed booth.

Sue Crocker joined Lies in the afternoon with Leggatts Voulez Vous(Tissy), she is Eris’s litter sister and was accompanied by their mum Knytshall Noor Ul Ain,who has had a successful show career but prefers Agility, they are also both Black. On Sunday Lisa with Loki and Eris went back as did Tom with Indy,they were joined by Neil Hood  with  Ch Arnscroft Di Nah Sawr Us Rex (Dino) who was Best Veteran the day before,and also does Bikejor(Running with a bike).He was accompanied by  Sturtmoor Eeza Geeza At Buhcafrey who had gained a 4th in Limit the day before and keeping eye on them both was Trelowen Dark N’Stormy another black. So ended 4 fantastic days for the breed, young or old the dogs were all impeccably behaved showing what wonderful pets they make. Although many do various canine activities including showing, they are all first and foremost pets. A number of people who visited the stand have asked to join the forum to learn more about them which is great. Many thanks again everyone.

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