NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
Firstly, I start by wishing you all a Happy and Safe Christmas, it will be a Christmas like no other, but I do hope that you will be able to safely see some friends and family. I am sure no one had face masks or hand sanitizer on last year’s Christmas list and hopefully they will not be next year’s either.
In previous notes I said that I had been sorting things out and among the things I found was the ‘Best of Bu News 1978-1982’, in those days it was edited by June Purves and Wenna Wallbank. In it there was an article entitled ‘Buhund Zoos??’ Of course, you would not be allowed to take a dog into a Zoo today, but the talk about cross breeds certainly is still relevant. In the middle of November someone posted on the Elkhound Forum several photos of a black dog with a curly tail. The owner had been told it was a Collie x Belgian Shepherd, but she wondered if it was a Black Elkhound, because she felt it was quite Spitz like, there was much discussion as black Elkhounds do not look like the grey ones, they look far more like black Buhunds except they are larger. I said I thought it looked like a Buhund and someone else suggested she had the dog DNA tested, the result is now back, and it is 100% Buhund. (I do not think it was in the UK). The rescue centres do a fantastic job, but I just wish they would not say how a dog is bred unless they actually know. Some years ago, a dog in rescue was advertised as a terrier cross but was actually a Pyrenean Sheepdog, a dog with very different traits to a terrier.
The article I found certainly has an amusing side, but also a rather sad one: – “I am sure that one of the many reasons people have for keeping more than one Buhund, is that they get fed up with people thinking they are cross-breeds. At least two looking alike cuts down the incidence of silly questions, or so I thought. When I looked after a black Bu for a while I got, ‘strange how much alike a couple of mongrels can look alike, even though they are different colours.’ What I did not expect was to have my wheaten bitch taken for a Dingo- specially by a real Dingo!
As I mentioned, I was caring for a black Bu for a few weeks and my husband and I decided that it would be pleasant to take them with our small son, to the local Zoo. As we approached the area where the Wolves and Dingoes lived, we passed a couple of small boys and we heard one of them say to the other ‘I tell you, it is a Dingo’ as they looked back at my wheaten bitch. We laughed but agreed she did resemble a Dingo in some ways and went to look at the Wolves. They prowled up and down and glared at the Bu’s who just looked back at them. We then moved round the corner to where an old, widowed Dingo lived on her own. She was at the back of her enclosure, resting under one of the shrubs. My husband went first to the wire with Pru, the black; no effect was discernible in the old Dingo. Then I went to join him with Hani the wheaten; the result was most surprising. The old Dingo leapt to her feet and ran to the front of the enclosure gazed at Hani totally ignoring Pru. I moved away because I did not want to upset either the dogs or the Dingo, but the Dingo followed me down the enclosure, watching Hani intently. Since the dogs did not seem worried, I moved back, and the Dingo followed. When we stopped, she stopped also and started to paw at the wire in quite a desperate way. She suddenly threw back her head and started to howl, and not to be out done Hani joined her in a very loud duet. Poor Pru looked at them as if they were mad and remained tight lipped. People came dashing around to see what was happening, so feeling very conspicuous by now, we moved on with one reluctant Bu and one puzzled Black. I also felt rather sorry for the lonely Dingo who thought she had found a new friend”.
Recently Sarah Stonton had a successful day at a Racingredd Scent Trial. Scent Trials are one of the canine activities that can be held in a Covid safe way, as the dogs work singly with their handler and several searches are outside, and even without Covid social distancing is always in place as the judge is never near the dog while it is searching. Mask of course must be worn by everyone, but this never seems to upset the dogs. Trials used to take the best part of a day but now the participants are split into small groups with one group leaving before the next one arrives, and any rosettes are sent out and the results posted online at the end of the day. There were 10 competitors taking part and Sarah said there was the outside of a car to search, and several outside items, there were also two hides in a wall and three in a barn. Trelowen Andrea (Loxy) was third and Ch Arnscroft In Di Ana Jack was 6th. Apparently Loxy was so keen so showing Sarah that there was a hide in a drainpipe that she fleetingly had her head stuck in it, and then Sarah forgot to tell the judge that Loxy had found it! otherwise she would have had full marks. Think though it could still be called a good day at the office.
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.