NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
There are very few things that you can’t do with your Buhund, but perhaps one of the most rewarding is when they become Therapy Dogs. We now have two that I know of that have recently become Therapy Dogs, one is Penny and Tom Glibbery’s Rikarlo Grant(Indy) and the other is Lillian and Mike Rumsey’s Ch Arnscroft Di Nah May or Anja to her friends. I asked Lillian is she would tell me what Anja had to do to become a Therapy dog, she told me:-You can apply on line, your dog must be at least 9months old and have been with you for 6months.You and your dog has to attend an assessment. Don’t worry there are assessors all over the UK. It includes walking your dog on a loose lead, taking treats gently, the dog being happy to be petted and have its paws and ears checked, and accept being groomed with a brush. The dog must not be overly stressed by sudden noises; the assessor will drop something out of sight of the dog to assess the reaction. The dog is to remain calm and stay beside you while you have a conversation with the assessor, it must not paw or try to attract your attention. Once passed your dog can start visiting, A Therapy Dogs placement officer will help you find a place to visit in your area. They can visit care homes, schools colleges and many other places. www.therapydogsnationwide.org. Lillian has also been very busy training her puppy, which has recently passed the KC Puppy foundation Course, which was held over 6 weeks. The puppy is Kata Syndattir Av Fjelvidda (Darcy) who is getting used to the English Language, having accompanied Lillian & Michael back to England from Holland in September. Lillian told me that there are 12 areas on the course, all of which have to be passed for the certificate to be awarded. They are: – Responsibility and Care. Cleanliness and Identification (Correct details must be on the name tag). Attentive response to name. Play with puppy. Socialisation with an unknown dog. Socialisation with an adult unknown to the puppy. Socialisation with noise distraction. Handling and inspection to maintain health. (Total body check, ears, teeth etc). Puppy recall (on and off the lead). Basic puppy positions (Sit-Down-Stand).Walking in a controlled manner. (Walk around the hall. Stop and wait at the curb). Stay for (approx) 10 seconds. Take article away from the puppy (toy or food). Food manners (take treats gently). Leave treat on the floor (when told too). Thanks Lillian, looks to be a very good basis for the higher Good Cit Tests.
On Saturday November 16th, 8 judges who were interested to learn about the Breed, headed to Coventry for a Breed Appreciation Day (BAD), which now replaces the Breed Seminars. From 2019 all breed clubs are required by the KC to run a BAD every two years, it is part of the new Judges Competency Framework, with the aim to educate individuals interested in the breed, whether they are exhibitors, aspiring judges or breeders, and to provide them with the information to make informed decisions to preserve and safeguard the breed. How the BADs are run is up to the club concerned although a multiple choice exam must be offered to the candidates, and a mark of 80% must be achieved in order for the judge to judge at JCF Level 2(equivalent to the old B list).The exam must be in line with the JCF and be agreed by the KC before being used. The day is run by the Breed Education Co-ordinator which for us is Lorraine Bolton who was able assisted by Millie Lambert. Some clubs use power point presentations and live dogs, our breed standard is not very detailed, so it is felt that just using live dogs is the best option, to explain the breed standard. Lorriane brought her two dogs Odin Ved Rikarlo(Imp Nor) and Trelowen Menna(Molly) and Jenny Shorer- Wheeler brought Ch Arnscroft Di Na Mo Farrah of Kormandel JWSh CM .The day started at 9.30am with Lorraine talking about the history of the breed before going through the breed standard, finishing the morning session with the dogs being moved outside, as luckily although it was cold it wasn’t raining ! After lunch the candidates sat the multiple-choice paper. Happily, they all passed, so then it was onto the mentoring session and to judge a class of dogs. The mentoring was done by CC judges. The dogs used must not have been seen earlier in the day, should be of various ages and of the two sexes. There are 4 types of mentoring, ours was the group mentoring with a hands on assessment .The mentees discuss each dog with their mentor after doing a hands on of each dog, the dogs were then moved and the mentees had to place them, and explain to the mentor why they had put them in the order they chose. From this the mentor should know whether or not the mentee has understood the breed standard. The day finished just before 4pm, it was a long day but we had very positive feedbacks. When I first came into the breed my mentor was the late Elisabeth Coleopy (Fullani) for Buhnds and Elkhounds. Her daughter of course now has the very well know kennel of Bowerhinton Elkhounds, the affix Bowerhinton was the affix of Elisabeth’s mother .
From Eire comes the news that at Fermoy Canine Society open show, under Mr Leonard the Frostisen Kennel’s Leggatts Fernando from Frostisen was BOB, and their Ir Ch Trelowen Aviator at Frostisen Ir Jun Ch won his first Champions Stakes class under Miss Hurley. Congratulations, it is always great to hear that a good dog is recognised in this way, as it is not easy with a Buhund in stakes classes as they are not a flashy breed, so a good day all-round for the kennel.
I finish by wishing Di Sterling (Arnscroft) a speedy recovery, after being rushed to hospital by ambulance on the 10th November for an emergency operation and spending a number of days in HDU.
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.