NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
Last Saturday the Obreedience team headed off to Solihull, I had hoped to be able to tell you that we did well, but I am afraid we are a long way off from the heady days of when we won the heat at LKA and had our photo in the dog press. The stars of the day were Jacqui Cobb with Knytshall Angel Delight R1EX with 8 out of 10 for their exercise of ‘Stop on Command and play with your dog’. I think least said about the others the better. We did have a nice day though, having a catch up with each other and the weather was lovely. It was fantastic to see a team of Skye Terriers with one coming from Aberdeen, another from Yorkshire and two from the Midlands, that is dedication. They competed again on the Wednesday at Lune Valley and were fourth.
Saturday proved to be a busy day for Buhunds and their owners, Millie Lambert headed off with Sturtmoor Eezee Luvva & Ch Svartkonge Av Sturtmoor (King) to the Bristol Dog Fest hosted by Professor Noel Fitzpatrick (The Super Vet). It is described as a perfect action packed day out for dog lovers, with arena displays, demonstrations, have a go activities and expert advice, and even a grooming session for your dog. There are two Great Dog Walks of 2Km & 4Km at 11am & 3pm which are charity walks around the festival grounds. There are also a large number of stands selling anything your dog might need and even things for the owners. The next Dog Fest is on July 7th/8th at Knebworth House Hertfordshire.
On Sunday the action moved much further north to Blackpool Ch show. Over the years the show has had some awful weather in spite of it being in June, but no problem this year it was a lovely sunny day. Unfortunately, they do not move their days and Buhunds with no CCs are always late on a Sunday, so it tends to be exhibitors that live in the North that attend, as it was this year. Having said that it may have been a small entry but a very quality one, for our own Kirsty Irvine (nee Gillies), with mother and son taking the two top spots. BOB & BB was Jenny Shorer-Wheeler’s Ch MaidofCopper for Kormandel (Imp Fin) (Pikka)by Nor Ch Gnipagrottensqu x Swe/Fin Ch Cipacan Mila Magia. RBB Lesley Butterworth’s Rikarlo Henrietta by Ch Svartkonge Av Sturtmoor x Trelowen Menna. BD Jacqui & Michael Cobb & Nancy Kent’s Koromandel Best Served Cold At Knytshall (Jamie)by Am/Can Gr Ch Kynon’s Bold Norseman x Pikka. RBD Anne Smith’s Arnscroft Never Say Di, by Ch /Am Ch Visions Dino of Trollheimen(Imp USA)(Casper)x Arnscroft Di Sing On Ice. With the wonders of modern technology, I was able to watch the group live. Pikka was not placed but certainly put her best paw forward and it was great to be able to watch her. Son Jamie proved to be the star of the day. This show has for a couple of years had a Junior Group and Jamie was G2 under judge Mike Vines.
We all know that dogs die very quickly in hot cars but there is another way dogs can die in hot weather. Many dogs love to swim and play in water especially in hot weather. A family has posted a message on Face Book to warn of the dangers of dogs playing in water for too long. The family went to a lake taking with them their two-year old Schnauzer; he went into the lake more than twenty times collecting his ball and sticks. The last time he came out of the lake he did not shake. A short while later he slumped to the ground, he was rushed to the vet, but it was too late he sadly died. He had suffered from water intoxication (hyponatraemia) caused by taking in too much water, which causes the salt /sodium in the blood to drop too low. People can also suffer the same fate if they drink too much water. There are other causes of low sodium in the blood but this is one of the causes in dogs when they throw themselves into water too many times, sometimes almost submerging themselves so that they take in too much water.
Luxembourg Int Ch Dog Show is very popular with exhibitors on the Continent, as apart from anything else if your dog is a Ch in another country and wins the CAC (CC) there, it becomes a Luxembourg Ch, both my Fleeke and Krisen the Elkhound were Lux Chs. They have two shows a year one in April and one in September. This year the Sept one has been cancelled after a licence was refused to be given by the Ministry of Agriculture, to the FCI to organise the 97th show. It is thought that the most probable reason is that at the last 2 shows dogs have been left in hot cars with exhibitors not abiding with the shows rules, several dogs being seized by vets. Always a few spoiling it for the majority, I wonder if this will get the message through.
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