NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
I have had an email from the Royal Kennel Club, they have recognised us a numerically small breed which along with other numerically small breeds they will try to help in 2026, they write.
‘Looking ahead to 2026, as part of our Breeding for Health Framework, we will be launching a new project focused on breeds with small RKC-registered populations. The project will involve interactive workshops and consultations with international stakeholders, alongside opportunities for shared learning and the exchange of best practice across breeds. It will also include guidance on practical strategies for managing genetic diversity, the development of resources to support and sustainable breeding decisions, and exploration of emerging tools and approaches that may help support the long-term sustainability of small populations .Overall, the project aims to bring together data, expertise, and breed knowledge to support informed, practical approaches to managing genetic diversity in small populations. For this work, breeds were identified as having small populations if they showed low genetic diversity based on RKC -registered pedigrees, low numbers of RKC registered breeding dogs ,by using several criteria rather than a single measure, we aim to identify breeds that may benefit from closer support, even where one indicator alone might suggest lower risk, for example where limited pedigree depth in imported dogs may influence genetic estimates.’ I think our dedicated breeders work very hard to keep the breed genetically diverse, so we will have to see what the RKC offers.
Some years ago, there was a TV programme called ‘That Was The Week That Was’ which depending on your age some of you may remember. I think that best describes last week’s weather, here in London we even had a couple of days of lying snow which is relatively unusual for us, and living away from the main road the snow laid the longest in our cul de sac and did not really go till it rained, then we had the black ice the next day which was even worse .I know a couple of you had an argument with black ice but happily no broken bones that I have heard of. Apart from high winds we did not suffer much from storm Goretti, but many of you were in the worse affected areas, so I do hope that you did not suffer too much damage, fences are always a worry having to check them before letting dogs out. One Buhund owner was surprised that her Buhund did not want to go out in snow covered garden at night, but we have to remember that we pride ourselves that the origins of the Buhund go back to Viking times, when being careful of things they did not understand would have helped them survive, so for this dog his garden did not look right so he was just being careful, socialisation is so important for any breed but you can never cover everything that the dog may come across.
Towards the end of last year, I had no puppies to write about, now I have two who are being very successful, with a third waiting in the wings. Coalville & District Canine Society held its open show on 10th January at the Kennel Club Building in Stoneleigh. Richard Bott judged the breed he gives CCs in 56 breeds across all the groups and awarded Cheryl Denham Horton’s Riverhund Kyon Where Shall I Wonder To Jjavacobe (Imp Can) (Goose) BOB & BP, with her kennel mate Cheryl & Paul’s Tapui Haraldsson at Jjavacobe (Hogan) RBOB. The group judge was Gavin Robertson he shortlisted Goose in the adult group and then awarded her 2nd in Pastoral Puppy Group. Much further south and west the first day of Wiveliscome and District Canine Society Winter Premier show was held,with a good Buhund entry for Val Dyer JP who is a level 2 judge for Buhunds, she awarded BOB to Mary and Coralie’s Dosson’s Leggatts Part Time Lover (Barnaby) with Mary & David Dosson’s Kimura’s Ola Normann (Ola)(Imp Nor) BP & RBOB. The puppy group judge was Maureen Betts and she awarded 4th place to Ola, so a very good day for Buhund puppies.
In my breed notes of Jan 2nd I wrote a list of Buhund Days at Ch shows in 2026 and the judges where I knew them, the one CC judge that was missing was for LKA, but I have now had a message from a very pleased Paul Conway to say he has been passed to do the breed at LKA on Sunday 13th December .A fan of the Breed he judged the club open show in August 2021 when it was partnered with Bath Ch show, and gave his first set of CCs in the Breed in July2023 at National Working and Pastoral Breeds Ch show.
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