NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
Last week I wrote that summer had arrived and I hoped that you would all enjoy being out and about with your dogs. Then of course not only the sun arrived but down south it came with intense heat for a few days, so many activities were cancelled. Time’s agility lesson was meant to be at 5pm on the Thursday but even at that time it would have been too hot.
Of course, such are the vagaries of the British summer that in London on the Friday the temperature was 33 degrees, and humans, animals and even the birds were looking for cool places, the worry was weekend activities, however the Saturday morning dawned 10degrees cooler, and I headed off to help at an agility show where Debbie was secretary. On arrival most people were in tea shirts and shorts but by the end of the day we were all in winter coats, it was raining and it was 13degrees, happily my duties meant I was in the administration marquee! The same day several of my friends were competing in scent trials including Sarah Stonton, who took Loxy aka as Trelowen Andrea AW(S)L2 Ex off to what turned out to be the first day of a fantastic weekend, certainly one to remember, and below she tells why.
“Many of you will know I have only 2 dogs, both of the special breed, the Buhund. Back in the Autumn they did ‘the double’ by both getting the CCs on the same day at Darlington Ch show. Today, Sunday 19th June they have done it again, but this time in Scentwork Uk Trials. Yesterday we headed to Hethe Village Hall, in Oxfordshire, as Loxy had a Level 3 trial. At this level, the dogs have 4 search areas consisting of vehicles and /or walls, exterior miscellaneous items, bags and boxes, and chairs /tables/perimeter walls. In each area there is one clove scent to find and one gun oil scent. To get a qualifying score, your dog needs to find 6 of the 8 scents with you ‘calling it’, then there are handling marks which are lost for handler errors. The maximum number of points a dog can achieve at one level before having to progress to the next level is 20; a basic qualifying score is worth 1 point, then scoring goes up to a maximum of 12 points for a 1st place (there are 4 places) and full marks both for dog and handler. Each search is timed so if dog finds all the hides and the handler has full marks, then the time is taken to find the placings. It perhaps wasn’t the easiest trial, but thankfully with drizzle as opposed to the rocketing heat of the day before, but Loxy succeeded in getting a 4th place bringing her points tally up to 19. On the way home we called into see my brother, Aka Uncle Mark, which was literally a mile off route near Silverstone race circuit. The next day, Sunday we competed much closer to home at West Pinchbeck, Spalding, Lincs once more in a Village Hall and grounds adjacent to a Church, where we could hear hymns as the service progressed There was a trial for both dogs. Jack aka Ch Arnscroft In Di Ana Jack RL1EX LIEX started the ball rolling. He competed at Level 2 where the only scent is clove, the search areas are the similar but rules make it easier and more rewarding to the dogs. He started the morning with 18 points, so needed 2 to gain his ‘excellence’ which basically would mean he had won out of level 2. Well, he was amazing and I believe he did his best trial ever, he found all 8 hides so 2points for what is known as a clean sweep, and I lost no handling marks so we had full marks for us both which meant another 2points. Tally was then at 22 so he won his ‘Level 2 Excellence’ which meant he would now need to compete at Level 3. As this trial was run in small group, I had to wait till the evening to find out that Jack was a super star winning the trial by 18 seconds ahead of the next dog so he ended up with 10 more points than he needed, he was also very happy with himself. After a brief lunch, Loxy was doing Level 3 again, just needing a single point to achieve her ‘Level 3 Excellence’, so only needed to find 6 out of the 8 finds and it wouldn’t affect her achievement if I lost handling marks. Not to be out done by her younger housemate, she again showed everyone how a talented Buhund she can be. She also had a clean sweep and as a team, she and I gained full marks so she was now ‘Excellent at Level 3,’ I then learned later that she was 2nd in the trial so had 9 points to spare. A wonderful weekend and another way to achieve a ‘double’ and take pride in our beautiful and multitalented breed.” Thanks Sarah what a fantastic achievement, certainly a weekend to remember.
Stay safe 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
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