NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
Well, here we are the last weekend in January, we had hoped a few weeks ago that things would be getting betting better by now, but that light we were all looking for seems to be rather dim and at the end of a long dark tunnel.
There are positive things though that we need to focus on. Shows are not cancelling they are moving dates, Crufts will be 15th -18th July with Pastoral Day Sunday 18th, Bath will now be 31st -3rd August with Pastoral day on Tuesday 3rd August, and Birmingham National 23rd -26th Sept with Pastoral Day Friday 24th August. Covid permitting of course.
On the BVA front, Jenny Shorer -Wheeler’s 3, Ch MaidofCopper for Koromandel JW, Ch Arnscroft Di Na Mo Farrah of Koromandel JW ShCM & Sturtmoor Ffascination With Koromandel have all had clear eye tests.
The other good news is that there is litter of Buhund puppies on the ground 3girls and 2 boys born on January 20th. The previous Buhund litter was born on 25th August 2020, the proud parents were Sue Crocker’s Knytshall Noor Ul Ain and Anne Smith’s Ch Never Say Di. You will have read in the Bu News that one of the puppies was going to Helen Hart living on the Shetland Isles, in the article she talked about her sheep and her Croft on the island of Yell. Below she tells of picking up Hjortr and how he has settled into life on a Croft.
“As I am writing this it is five months to the day since Hjortr (Leggats Theseus) was born and three months since he joined us here on the Croft in Shetland. From the moment I collected him from Sue Crocker, I knew this little blonde potato was going to be resilient and smart. Having said that, I did throw him in at the deep end! No gentle, slow crate training and lead acclimatisation for him. It was straight into the crate on the front seat, swaddled in toys and blankets donated by Sue that smelt of his mother-Noor-and his letter mates. So began our 800mile journey home. I stopped the car after 30minutes to see if he needed a wee. He just sat there looking at me in puzzlement, as I bucked his collar around his neck and attached his little red lead. I think it was all too much and he had stage fright. Back in the car and off we went again. This time he started howling. It was going to be a long 24hour journey, I thought to myself. Luckily, I had a few pieces of Cheese Strings (those things could withstand a nuclear holocaust!) and each time he was quiet I said, ‘Good Boy’ and gave him a piece of cheese. After a while, he soon realised not howling was more beneficial than making a racket. I also wedged an empty squashed up water bottle between the bars of his crate, he loved gnawing on the lid and batting it with his paw to make it move. When I needed to stop at the services, I popped him into a rucksack and threw him onto my back. He was not always quiet when I did this, and I did get a few funny looks from one woman as I came out of one particular toilet cubicle near Leicester. She must have wondered what I was doing with all the whining and yelping! and thus we made our way from the south of England to our first overnight stop in the Dundee Travelodge. Hjortr was a big hit with the receptionist who could not do enough for us (thumbs up for the Travelodge). The next stop was the overnight ferry to Shetland Mainland. I had been worried about Hjortr being seasick, but this little fella was much tougher than me and we curled up together on the floor of the cabin, as I tried to hang on to the contents of my stomach. The next morning, we arrived in Shetland. By this time, Hjortr was quite used to the crate and quickly settled down whilst we travelled across two Islands and another ferry, before eventually arriving home 48hours after leaving his Mum and siblings. I had not had a puppy for almost twenty years, and I will not pretend it was not a shock to the system. Shetland’s weather is inhospitable most of the time and downright lethal at other times. Trying to house train a pup when you must decide which door to go out of, dependent on which direction the wind is blowing is not easy, I can tell you. I despaired of getting him housetrained as he was not inclined to go out-and I could not blame him. However, for the past week he has been asking to go out. Having a routine and knowing when he is likely to want to go, has certainly helped. Had I thought about it, I would have fenced off a small area for him where he could go, as I live on a Croft which is like a small farm. However, three months later he has made the acre field around the house his own space-and whoa betide anyone who tries to come in! Hjortr has certainly found his voice and is definitely a Viking Buhund guarding his farmstead. The neighbour’s Collie dog -Lassie -often jumps over the fence and they play for hours in the bog getting absolutely filthy. I love how easily the Buhund coat easily divests mud with a quick towel down. Hjortr loves going on walks with his best friend, our byre cat Hecate. Hecate is not a people cat, preferring mice, birds and rabbits, but she has fallen in love with Hjortr. Although Hjortr is now huge in comparison to her, she seeks him out and allows him to jump all over her. Our worries that she would home after seeing a dog around the Croft have, thankfully been unfounded. Hjortr will eventually learn to work with my small flock of sheep. I have not had a sheepdog before, so I have to train myself before I can expect Hjortr to know what he should be doing. I think he will be great at this. He has already proven he loves to herd by chasing the chickens into the byre. He watches them and then moves towards the one that is separate from the rest. This is perfect behaviour and bodes well. He is quick to learn and laps up any training that I do with him. He is fearless, riding on the quad bike in front of me and leaping in and out of the deep and steep peat banks and bogs. All in all, I am over the moon about choosing a Buhund to join us on the Croft. I am grateful to the breeder -Sue Croker-for allowing me to have one of her precious pups and to the wider Buhund community who are a fabulous bunch of people.
Helen Hart.Yell, Shetland Islands.”
Since Helen kindly sent me this article there has been an update: –
“What a drama I had yesterday! I am so proud of this little pup. Going out to feed the girls, to my horror I spied a curly horned ram amongst them. My worst fear, none of these girls should be going to the ram this season-half of them are too young, it is late in the year, and I cannot support that many new lambs being born. I turned into a screaming Valkyrie,I had no idea how to get rid of a ram, so I was panicking. So, I grabbed little Hjortr (all five months of him) and let him into the field. Neither he nor I know how to work together to move sheep, I might add. Hjortr’s natural instinct took over and he helped me herd them all into the lower part of the field. We then managed to corner the ram in the old stone fishing hut before releasing him back onto the beach. I could not have done this without Hjortr. I love that little guy!!!”
Thanks Helen, I think you could say Hjortr is living the Buhund dream.
Stay save 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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