NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
Lisa Strong’s puppy is just 6months, I am sure we can all remember taking our puppy to their first show, so I asked Lisa if she would tell us how it all went.
‘The 28th of October was Pastoral day at Midland Counties and was the first show that our Raven (Draccus I have a Dream (AI)) was eligible to enter as she was 6 months and 4 days. We left our older Buhund Loki in the care of a neighbour and loaded up Eris and Raven into the car for the 2hr 40min journey there. We had a good run and were directed to a convenient parking spot. Raven was initially a little overexcited by all the dogs, and was very barky but within 15 mins had calmed down, and confidently went up to greet some Wolfhounds. The stewards directed us to the AVNSC benching area as we no longer have Buhund classes at Midland Counties, we settled the girls into their crates on the benches. Jenny Shorer-Wheeler had come along with Muchley so we had company whilst we waited. I took Raven for a walk around to get her more familiar with the environment and tried to get her to pee in the sawdust, but she was having none of it and insisted on going outside for a comfort break (as she is recently house trained, I was not going to push the sawdust thing).As we got closer to going into the ring, I could feel the nerves starting, I honestly felt like I was about to step into the ring for the first time again. I took Raven out of her crate, put on her show lead, gave her a quick brush, checked I had both her and Eris’s numbers (was going to have to do a quick switch), handed Raven to my husband whilst I sorted Eris, then we swapped dogs and I headed to the entrance of the BIS ring. Our class was called (AVNSC Pastoral Puppy) and into the ring we went or rather bounced! After a bit of back leg splaying, I got her stacked and thankfully as the ring was large, I managed to get her to stop pogoing and keep all four paws on the ground. Raven was a little reluctant to have her teeth checked initially but did consent to it, and couldn’t care less about the body exam as the chicken in my hand was far more interesting, she obtained 2nd place after a lovely Estrela puppy. I was so pleased that she was completely unfazed by the Tannoy and all the goings on of the show. I went out of the ring and switched dogs and numbers over. Into the ring I went with Eris for the Open class, and she came 3rd. After a wait we had Puppy stakes and Champion stakes but no love in these, however Jenny won Champion stakes which was fantastic. Showing over we packed up and headed to the car and home after a fun if very long day. The next day I had organised a Buhund Bumble at Hinchingbrooke Park Huntingdon, so that the Buhunds could let off steam and see some of their friends, plus it would be the first Bumble that Raven would be paws on the ground. The day dawned with blue skies which was great after so much recent rain. We had Loki, Eris, Raven, Toby, Otto, Angel, Bear and Teya as the Buhunds and several honorary Buhunds including a Collie, some Spaniels and a Cavapoo. We had Jacqueline and Michael Cobb as they had been attending a wedding anniversary in the area, The Jones tribe, The Fisher Clan, Sue and Moggy, Debbie and Richard, Karen and Andrew and Zoe (who are hoping for a Buhund in the future). There were lots of comments on how much Raven had grown since the last time they saw her, and anyone foolish enough to bend down to her was snogged very enthusiastically and muddy pawed, as it was a little soggy underfoot in places. We made our way down to the field where the playparks were and some dogs were then let off lead, after 10 mins we set off round the lake nattering as we went and regularly doing a people and dog count, people were asking how Raven’s first show went so I filled them in. One of the reasons I chose Hinchingbrooke is even when there is a lot of rain the path around the lake does not get too muddy and so far, has always been passable and that was the case on this walk. At various points some dogs went paddling or swimming including Eris and Raven (Loki kept firmly away). Once the lake walk was completed some people went off to the café and the rest of us did a circuit through the fields where I let Raven off lead for a time, judging that she should now be tired enough to not go haring off like a lunatic as we are still working on her recall. Dogs were put back on leads as we went through a nature area and back through the woods to the cafe (this totalled just over 5km for the humans) to join up with the others for a hot drink before heading home. Just as we got in the car the heavens opened so it was perfect timing.’ Thanks Lisa sounds to have been a very busy but rewarding 2 days.
We have not had Bumbles for some months, so it was great to have another one this time in London, as they are such an important part of getting the breed better known and as a social event for owners and dogs alike.
Below Marie Corin tells us about the London Bumble which was held on Saturday 4th November in Regent’s Park. ‘The London Bumble was almost called off due to torrential rain, but a few people were up for braving it.
As it happened, we were lucky because the clouds parted just as we met, meaning we had a dry albeit muddy walk. It was an absolute pleasure to see 6 Buhunds running around and all getting on. This time they were all wheaten. The youngest there was Kat and Andy Kivell’s Bo (Mazads Laissez Faire), at just 5 months. I was delighted to see the little man and how he’s coming on so well with some excellent training. He had his older housemate with him Luna (Sturtmoor Ffeminque) aged 4, who was always keen to keep him in check. Anna and Julia Engstad brought their youngest Buhund Arven (Wheatshade Brada Hill), who was just a few days short of her first birthday and full of beans. Tash Howard brought the lovely Waffle (Frostisen Yankey) who liked to show his agility skills by jumping on benches and logs. Adam and I had Bergen (Kligenthal Almuric) who was later joined by his litter sister Nova (Kilgenthal Shadownova). Despite a cyclist coming too fast on the footpath and running into poor Arven (earning himself a mouthful from Adam), we had a lovely walk for a couple of hours, finishing with a coffee at the café. I will organise another for the New Year
The next day was an early start for Bergen, Adam and I as we headed for East Kent Canine Society Open Show, held in The Market Hall, Maidstone. AVNSC were first in the ring at 9am and not for the first time we arrived in the car park at the same time as Lisa Strong, who was there with Eris (Ch Leggatts Dancing Queen at Draccus) and Eris’s daughter Raven (Draccus I Have A Dream).Raven did herself proud at only her second show taking 2nd in puppy ,beaten only by the Estrella who went on to Take Puppy Pastoral G1.Bergen and Eris were 2nd and 3rd in Open. After quite a long day watching and chatting to friends, we were thinking of leaving, when ‘Not Bred By Exhibitor Stakes’ (judge Daniel Bowen) was called. Since I had entered Bergen and the ring was just in front of where we were sitting, I thought we might as well go in. Turned out to be a good decision, as he ended up taking the top spot, earning himself some nice pocket money, which he kindly agreed to share with his doting humans’ Thanks Maire seemed to remember seeing a photo of a piece of steak! just wondering who had the biggest piece! Daniel Bowen gives CCs in Bullmastiffs.
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Stay safe everyone.
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