NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
As I start writing these notes much of the country is covered by an amber heat alert, as summer has decided to return, with temperature of 30 plus across most of the country. So now it is walking dogs early or late with some of the more energetic of the dog activates either being cancelled or run at different times. Our annual pet dog show is one of those to have been cancelled. I think though by the time you read these notes the temperatures will be back to more seasonal normal. Recently I read an article about treating dogs that suffer heat stroke, which I think we all know can be fatal in dogs, at the time it was not so relevant as many of the smooth coated dogs were wearing coats to keep them warm! In the past I was always told that if you think dog is suffering heat stroke, you should cool the dog down using tepid water and wet towels and then take it to the vet, and I have seen this method work in the past. Now however according to research carried out by the Royal Veterinary College it says this method is outdated, it is better to immerse the dog in cold water to ensure reduction in their core body temperature, rather than using the slower method of using tepid water. It says less than quarter of all dogs taken to the vet with heat stroke have been actively cooled before travelling, while over half had only been cooled using wet towels. It calls for the first aid advice to be updated to say, ‘actively cool first before transporting to the vet’. It does say though that applies to young dogs, should the dog be elderly or have underlying health issues the vet should be contacted first.
Richmond Dog Show Society has been holding dog shows under KC Rules since 1895 and is one of the oldest established dog shows in the UK show calendar. Since 2004 the show has been held in the grounds of the ancestral home of the More-Molyneux family at Losely Park, Nr Guildford Surry. Before that it was held on Ascot Racecourse until the development of the Racecourse necessitated the move to Losely Park. It is a completely outside show held under marquees with benches and in/out rings, held over 3 days. This year is the last year we will have CCs at the show, so we will have to see whether they keep us scheduled. The set of CCs is going to our 2nd second Ch show which we will be holding next year, it has to be held with another Ch show although not necessarily one that has CCs. Over the years the show has a had a variety of weather conditions as have all dogs showsUtility group when we carried the Buhunds in, to the heat of this year where of course some people like with Bournemouth say the show should be cancelled, but watching the groups from the comfort of my living room none of the dogs seemed to suffering from the heat and in the Utility group the Bull dogs was G3.The benches were in open sided marquees giving as much air as possible, and of course we now have cool mats and portable fans to help keep the dogs cool, and the show had numerous well signposted watering stations.
Pastoral Day was the Sunday with breed specialist Kristy Irvine giving CCs for the first time. I have known Kirsty since she had her first Buhund, but I thought it would be better if she told you how her love of Buhunds began rather than me. “At 18 years old I had my first Norwegian Buhund ‘Dawnro Serge’ bred by the late Gail and Ian Hussey. I had my affix Tapui as an 18th Birthday present from my parents. Well, the ‘Buhund bug’ then began and six months after Serge, his half-sister ‘Yorbugh Marissa’ bred by the late Margaret joined us. So that was 1995, sadly neither Serge or Rissa were suitable for showing or breeding, so after falling in love with a gorgeous Wolf Sable Ch Trelowen Stonty bred and owned by Sue Sercombe, our beautiful foundation bitch Ch Trelowen Sylva Redenek came along. ‘Fern’ had two litters, the first litter being two girls and a boy. I kept the boy -as he was the only male, he became the most incredibly special dog and even though he has been gone for nine years now, I still miss him greatly. He was my very beautiful and extremely memorable Ch/Nor /Swe Ch Taui Tane known as Tane (pronounced Tarna or Tarnay and is Maori for man or boy ),Tane had so many firsts in the UK Buhund history, the first to win a CC,BOB and group 4 at six months old and 4 days old,the first to win a ‘Puppy of the Year’ heat at the same show, the first UK Champion to become a Norwegian and Swedish champion and win an all breeds BIS over in Norway, you get the idea! The rest is history as they say and now I have three Buhunds at home, Betty who is eight and a half and is an import form Norway (Tane’s great granddaughter )her son Blaze at two and a half who loves doing his scentwork, and the youngest at almost two imported from Australia is Bodi, who is my showgirl and loves her agility-with her bouncablity, I think she is part kangaroo!! So, after almost 30years in my beloved breed I am honoured to judge tickets for the first time at Richmond Ch show”. Thanks Kirsty, Trelowen Stonty was named after vet Sarah Stonton, but that is a story for another day. Kirsty found her BOB & DCC his 21st in Nancy Kent and Jacque & Michael Cobb’s Ch Koromandel Best Served Cold At Knytshall (Jamie)he also has 15RCCS.He is by Multi Ch Kyon Bold Norseman x Ch Maidofcopper for Koromandel. RDCC his 7th Marie Corin and Adam Camm’s Kligenthal Almuric(Bergen) he is by Ch Arnscroft Di Na Mo Farrah of Koromandel JW ShCM x Ch Koromandel Gild he also has a CC. The day however belonged to Lisa and Alex Strong’s Leggatts Dancing Queen At Draccus (Eris) she is by Frostisen Winsome IKC x Knytshall Noor Ul Ain. The fourth day to remember this year for Buhund owners, as this was Eris’s 3rd CC, she also has 4RCCs, this is Lisa’s first Champion as Eris is Lisa’s first show dog. Eris’s first CC came under Debbie Penniston Fleming at the National last year, her 2nd was under Neil Hood at Bath also last year, and this was only her third show this year as she has been on maternity duties. This is also the first UK Ch for breeder Sue Crocker, although Eris’s litter brother in Eire is an Irish Ch and the first Black Irish Ch and Eris is the first Black Ch we have had in the UK for some years. RBCC her 3rd was also bred by Sue, Leggatts Jive Talkin (Noodle) by Sturtmoor Floki x Knytshall Noor Ul Ain, she was handled as usual by Jasmine Freeborn.BV Millie Lambert -Dovey’s Sturtmoor’s Eezee Luvva (Evee) by Ch Arnscroft Di Na Mo Farrah of Koromandel JW ShCM x Sturtmoor Dream Maker At Gazenorth. Thanks to Neil Hood for keeping me updated on the results as they happened, he was there to judge Sammys but was able to watch the Bu judging first. We also had a couple of visitors, Kim Ainsworth brought along Ellie and Star brought along her owners, it is always lovely when other Buhund owners come and visit.
The same day Sarah Stonton took Jack aka Ch Arnscroft In Di Ana Jack RL 1ex L5ex to their first National Nosework Association (NNA) competition, at Ashwellthorpe Norwich. There are two main organisations running scent work competitions in the UK, Scentwork UK which are almost always run in halls and NNA which are much more environmental often having much larger areas to search. There are Winners and Reserve with NNA but overall, you are competing against yourself, if the dog finds the correct number of hides in the given time you get a badge, and Sarah was very pleased to be awarded her first badge.
Stay safe everyone.
Margaret Deuchar margaretdeuchar@gamil.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