Best in Show Magazine Annual 2016

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Best in Show Magazine

Publishers Jovana Danilovic Ruth Rauherz Managing Editor Ruth Rauherz editor@bestinshowmagazine.com Art Director Jovana Danilovic jovana@bestinshowmagazine.com Marketing Manager Juraj Sokolic ads@bestinshowmagazine.com Contributin Writers Anne Tureen, Richard Hellman, Juha Kares, Paul Stanton, Karl Donvil, Jovana Danilovic, Bo Bengtson, Ante Lucin, S. Edgar Andersen Stanton , Viltė Šokaitytė Contributing Photographers Karl Donvil, Lisa Croft-Elliott, Jeffrey Hanlin, Gabor Szalánczi, Jovana Danilovic, Mak Dodan Web Designers Jovana Danilovic Sanja Jukic Printed by GrafoMark d.o.o

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Best in Show Magazine

intro Dear Best in Show readers and followers, we are proud to present you Best in Show Annual 2016, our 4th Annual and our 12th edition.

Annual 2016 is the biggest edition so far with 464 pages and many interesting articles, interviews, reports and beautiful advertisements.

I would like to thank to all of the people who helped us through the years and for all of you who are our new friends and co-workers.

In this edition you will be able to enjoy beautiful photos taken by Jeffrey Hanlin from one of the most beautiful shows I have ever attended - Morris & Essex; Karl’s facinating article accompanied by his great photos; Lisa’s full report from Eukanuba World Challenge and many more. As well there are lovely articles written by Paul Stanton, Ante Lucin, breeders interviews about American and English Cocker Spaniels.

I am specially excited about interviews with Mr Bo Bengtson - breeder, judge and writer and Hiroshi Tsuyuki - one of the high respected Terrier handlers in the World.

I truly hope you will enjoy spending time reading our Annual with a cup of coffee or tea until our next edition which will be ready for the World Dog Show in Moscow.

Enjoy!

Jovana Danilovic publisher & art director

Content

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100

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Euro Dog Show Oslo ‘15

80

Hiroshi Tsuyuki

100

Morris & Essex

132

Virginia Stevin

150

How to become a Swedesh K.Ch. judge

168

Montgomery County K.C.

196

Bo Bengtson

by Karl Donvil

Inteview with Handler

by Bo Bengtson & Jeffrey Hanlin Intervie with Junior Handler

by Paul Stanton

by Jovana Danilovic

by Anne Tureen

from Russia 226 Report

by Boris Glukharev

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196

256

334

Linda G. Moore

Interview with A.C.S. president

Meet the breed: American & English Cockers Very Vigie, Cockergold, Galaksi, Trevis, Francinis

334

Eukanuba World Challenge

370

Magazine around the World

384

Annual reports

422

How to build up a team

by Lisa Croft-Elliott

Best in Show Magazine with friends Show reports

by Juha Kares

European Dog Show 2015 Oslo, Norway “Excellent cake but no icing on it.”

Exclusively by Karl Donvil

So much energy was going to the issue between the FCI and the Norwegian Kennel Club regarding attributing the World Dog Show 2019 to China. I was wondering how much this issue affected the European Dog Show. The tension was at a moment so high that I was wondering if the European would have to be cancelled. Fortunately nothing of this has happened. I hope and am convinced that alike the problems in the British Kennel Club, a few years ago, with the BBC program, a lot of good things will see the light. But this issue is only a chapter in the FCI history and must be seen apart from the European Dog Show that was granted to the Norwegian Kennel Club.

The showground was in Lillestrom, a small town not far from Oslo. Five halls and a huge parking were welcoming the dogworld for 3 days. It was large enough for this event that welcomed 11879 dogs for the show and another 5284 dogs for the club and specialty shows. It was somewhat strange that the puppies were not taken into account, probably because they could not really compete for the finals. In total there were 631 puppies entered. All together there were 17794 entries for the show. The exact number of dogs is only to be guessed because probably a lot of dogs were attending the main show but also the specialty shows. The numbering of the dogs in the catalog was confusing as the Junior Handlers also followed in this numbering as if they were dogs. Funny as these are people, not dogs! And after that follows a new numbering starting with 50001 and I think that these are the puppies as they all are very young looking at their

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dates of birth. It’s not explained, but I guess it’s that.

From all the entries for the show itself 5114 dogs were from Norway, 2123 from Sweden, 1358 from Russia and 1061 from Finland. The rest came from all over the world, 51 countries in total.

In the days prior to the show one of the Norwegian TV channels gave an interesting program on dog shows and although I don’t speak the language I could easily follow and it was the best publicity the show could get and very informative for everybody that is interested in shows and dog sports in general.

And I was happily surprised to find on the first day an official show guide, alike the one at Crufts. The concept was the same and I’ m convinced that much better than any catalog, a showguide is the best you can offer to the visitors. It was clear that it was directed mainly to the Norwegian visitors as only small parts were translated in English and thus readable to foreign visitors too. But the catalog was very complete too, it was a rather unusual format, 17 x24cm, but I liked it.

And also here it was clear that the Norwegian Kennel Club’s goal was to emphasize the importance of dog welfare. Some said that it was too much of it, too much FCI issue and too little show. Maybe, but I understand that the NKC wanted to grab the opportunity to inform the Cynological world about their point of view. What I liked was the article explaining the rules and regulations set out by the Norwegian Kennel Club with regard to Dog Welfare in Shows and Trials. It is a splendid initiative but what is miss is how it is enforced.

What if somebody is not keeping to those rules? Exclu-

sion from the show? Ironically a dog, handled by an Asian handler, was lifted with the leash without support during the finals, a violation of rule 8. A complaint was made but as the sanctions were not stipulated, there is little that can be done but totransfer the complaint to the FCI, and this is really not the right time for that. The rules are well meant but should be completed with consequences and/or sanctions for those who break the rules. The NKC also edited a brochure on “Promoting health and welfare for dogs worldwide”.

This brochure is like a thick glossy magazine. It is well documented and a major part of it is in the four FCI languages. This is a homework well prepared for the FCI upcoming meetings. It is clear that the NKC wants to make a change in the FCI’s frozen attitude and forcing a new direction for the welfare of dogs “worldwide”. And as the NKC’s chairman, Mr. Tom Ostein Martinsen, said: if the NKC would not have opposed to the FCI’s decision on China, this discussion would never have taken place. Indeed, again, let’s hope that many good initiatives will see the light and that dogs in general will benefit from it. It must be said that the NKC’s job was well done and documented and offers

Photo 1 • Best in Show judge Mr Rodi Hubenthal entering the ring to chose best dog of the European Dog Show Photo 2 • Singing performance in the Best in Show ring

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a splendid starting point for the future. And I don’t think a Scandinavian split will be the result. It’s not what they want. It’s a debate and changes they are looking for.

But back to the show now. The show was correct and well organized, everything was there but it missed the “show aspect”, the icing on the cake. Inside the halls very little was done to bring the show on a higher level, different from a regular International CACIB show.

There was no theme but the theme on dog welfare and even that was not put in a festive spotlight. And one had the impression that a shadow was cast all over this event. It was like all the VIP’s were all the time scanning the thoughts of the others, carefully weighing their words, not speaking out frankly. It was a strange feeling. Even the Press Conferences were used to clarify the position of the NKC and information was distributed. With regard to the show it was a missed opportunity but with regard to the issue it was the best opportunity they would ever get.

There were 6 Halls, 4 for the rings, one for the trade stands and Main ring and a small one for the Kennel and Breed Clubs promotional stands. The fact that the last two who were positioned at the entrance was not the best thing because the only way to reach them was via the long promenade and from hall E to A or even B (with the trade stands) was a really long walk. And that was exactly what the trade stand holders were complaining about and what I keep on saying; never put the trade stands in one hall, but spread them out or take care that the ring can only be reached after passing the stands. The few foreign trade stand holders were complaining a lot as it was not only extremely expensive and complicated to come over with the customs, but they were repositioned to the sides of the hall, leaving the best places to the Norwegian booths, at least that is what they told me.

It would have been better to position the commercial stand in the promenade and at the entrances of each of the halls and places where everyone had to pass anyway, clearly visible to everyone. If you would like to go shopping you were forced to go via the Main Promenade as the doors in the back were locked, leaving no shortcuts.

The timing was correctly followed, for the judging as well as for the main ring program. Every day the show ended right in time, no later than 18h except for Sunday when there were the ceremonial part and the finals. But even then it ended around 19h.

But also here, there was not spectacular, no festive

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atmosphere and the ties with FCI were difficult to discover. It was a smaller version of the Milano main ring, but less flashy. The colors were much darker and the lights uneven. At Crufts the lights glow up when the judging starts and when spectators and judges want to see clearer. Here it was pretty dark, all the time. The runway around the ring was in a brighter blue, fortunately, but the lights on the podium came from straight above the winners, casting ugly shadows on the faces and creating colored reflections on coats of the dogs because the carpet on the podium was deep blue. On Friday there were very few spectators, but Saturday and especially on Sunday the stairs were well occupied. The Press guidelines were violated from day one on by a few photographers who were allowed to sit in front of the judges, but on the last day all reporters were invited to sit there, a much better position, at least for the photographers. But besides that it was OK. The judges in the main ring kept to the directives of the stewards and that is important as it results in consistent viewpoints instead of chaotic do-as-you-like performances.

The opening ceremony was on Friday, prior to the finals of the day. I remember when it used to be in the morning of the first day, when nobody is in the main ring, no spectators either, looking more like a general rehearsal then. I like this better. The public was treated with a lovely song from a woman with a marvelous voice. It was much appreciated. For the finals there was no “best couple, minor puppy or puppy”. It started with Junior Handling, then by the best Junior of Day, followed by the different groups, the Breeders Group of Day and the Best Veteran of Day”. On Friday groups III, IV and IX were on term, good for 3544 entries. Best scoring breeds were the Chihuahuas with 228 specimen, followed by 188 Staffordshire Bull Terriers, 157 French Bulldogs, 121 Pugs and 120 Jack Russell Terriers. It was unusual to see so many Havanese here, 98, more than the so popular Cavalier King Charles Spaniels who were with 77. All these numbers included the puppies too. I missed it myself, but here was an opportunity to see a Tenterfield Terrier, an Australian breed. Winner of Group III was the Wire Fox Terrier “Ch.Kingarthur Van Foliny Home”,. This dog won already so many big shows that it was to be expected that he would end up high. Judge of Group III was Mr.Hans Lehtinen from Finland. Kingarthur is owned by Malzoni-Demunter-Uytterwijk and comes from Belgium. Group IV was judged by Mr.Knut Sig-

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Photo 3 • Richard Hellman, Jovana Danilovic & Friedrich Birkmar at European Dog Show in Norway with Best in Show Magazine Summer Edition 2015

urd Wilberg from Norway. His winner was a Miniature Wirehaired Dachshund, entered in Champion class.

She is named “Queenlord Skinny Love” and came along with breeder and owner Valentina Barcella from Italy. Group IX was judged by Mr.Chan Weng Woh from Maleysia. It was in this group that the winning Shih-Tzu was lifted with the leash by its handler.

If “Smile-absolute’s First Down Ten To” could smile after that was difficult to see. This dog was bred and owned

by Wanida Busakomnunt from Thailand. The Shih-Tzus were also well represented with 108 entries. Mr. Dan Ericsson from Sweden judged the Juniors and his winner was the Pug “Tangetoppen’s Troublemaker”. This little dog is bred and owned by Elisabeth Olsen from Norway. Mrs.Liz Cartledge from the UK judged the groups. I liked the idea that the groups were leaving the ring immediately unless selected, what was done previously in the prejudging ring. Thus the main ring was not overcrowded. The veterans were also parading in the finals. Judge was Mrs. Christine Rossier from Switzerland. She was won for the Lhasa Apso “Medoc Incredible Kundo” This dog is owned by Morten Hansen from Denmark.

Saturday was a sunny day and welcomed 3725 dogs for the main competition along with many visitors. Groups 2, 6, 7 and 10 were on term. Also here

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we find interesting numbers in some breeds. 141 Whippets, 129 English Bulldogs, 138 Great Danes, 191 Bernese Mountain dogs, 127 Zwergpinshers, 126 Dobermanns, 104 Rhodesian Ridgebacks, 95 Bullmastiffs and 196 Zwergschnauzers. In Group 6 we could find also a few interesting and rare breeds like the Epagneul de Pont-Audemer and the Perdiguero de Burgos, the Luzerner Swiss hound and several others. I was surprised by the high number of Stabyhouns, 65! And it was nice to see that the Danish-Swedish farmdog was not a myth as no less than 67 showed up. Leif Ragnar Hjorth from Norway judged the Best Junior of Day and that was one of the 101 Dalmatians. Yes indeed with the puppies not taken into account, there were exactly 101 Dalmatians in competition and “Jilloc’s Expensive Taste” was the best Junior on Saturday and listens to Florence Brunberg from Sweden. Mr. Rafael Malo Alcrudo from Spain started the groups with group II. His winner was the Russian Black Terrier “Fine Lady S Zolotogo Grada”, coming from Russia along with S.Zolotova.

Group VI was for Arne Foss from Norway who made the Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen “Caramel Apple Van Tum-tums’s Vriendjes” to his winner. Caramel Apple is from Holland and owned and bred by Gwen Huykenshove. In Group VII we find another Belgian winner, the Weimaraner “Doc N’Camelot Heavan Can Wait”.

It’s a US import owned by Edwin Lenaerts. This group was judged by Mr.Claudio De Giuliani from Italy while Mr.Goran Bodegard from Sweden received Group X to judge. For him it was the Afgan Hound who made a chance for BIS. “Amal Salang Coeur D’coeurs” is a Russian bred dog and owned by Denis Shirokov”.

After this the first judging of the Norwegian breeds was done, followed by the Eukanuba challenge and the Breeders Group judged by Mr. Stefan Sinko from Slovenia. Mr.Hans Van Den Berg from Holland had the honor to pick out the best veteran, and that was a Danish-Swedish Farmdog “Götängens Bárdur” . This Danish bred dog lives in Norway with Wenche Moan.

Sunday counted more than 3909 entries from groups I, V and VIII. The Flat Coateds were the most popular breed of the day and of the show with 192 entries.

There were 146 Golden Retrievers and 148 Labradors, no less than 113 Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers and 101 Cocker Spaniels. The Shelties outnumbered the Aussies with 108 to 92. In the Spits group the Siberians were best represented with 102 while the Pomeranians had 85 in competition. The Belgian Shepherds ,are popular here too with 128 (all varieties and colors). It was unusual to find out that the Japanese Spits is famous over here with no less than 84 specimen. Among the rarities was the Chodsky Pes, a breed from Czech Republic; The Norwegian Lundehund was the best represented Norwegian breed of the show.

This is unusual as this breed is very rare, even over here and has a very narrow gene pool. This breed is known for its 6 toes on each paw and extreme flexibility of the joints. Group I was judged by Mrs.Barbara Muller from Switzerland who chose “Seventy Seven Rurikovichi My” as her winner. This Australian Shepherd listens to Olga Serova from Russia. The Group V winner was the Samojed “Cabaka’s Happy Go Lucky” . The dog comes from Italy along with Gennaro Donato. Judge of this group was Marianne Holmli from Norway. The last group was group VIII and Annika Ullveit-Moe from Sweden was the judge. It was a Flat Coated who won it, “Castlerock Simply Magic”, a Swedish dog owned

by Anette Dyren. This group was followed by the second judging of the Nordic breeds, the Nordic Spitz breeds. Judge was Christen Lang from Norway. After Leif Hagnar Hjorth picked out the best breeders group it was Kari Jarvinen who was honored to chose the Best Veteran of Day. That was the Lagotto Romagnolo “Lapinlumon Hesperus”. Siv Christen Baekken from Norway was the lucky owner.

Photo 4 • Trade fairs at European Dog Show Norway

The ceremonial part was again somewhat overcast by the problems between the FCI and the NKC. There was only Jorgen Hindse, president of the European Section to introduce this part and hand over the FCI flag to Belgium who will organize the next European Show. Fortunately the presentation movie was much appreciated by the audience who gave a big applause. Todi Hübenthal from Norway was the choice for Best In Show judge. He worked through all the 10 group winners and didn’t hesitate to make his choice. On the podium were not the original BIS trophies but replacements. The originals were stolen!

Nobody knows if this was a joke or a kind of revenge towards the NKC. The Afgan Hound was the first who was called on the stage to take place 4, followed by the Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen. His second place went to the Samoyed and that left only one place.

The tension was high and the applause laud when Kingarthur Van Foliny Home was called in the arena to take the first place and the trophy for Best In Show.

Again this dog wins a big show after he won the World Show in Brno and so many other BIS and BOG all over the world. The Belgian Kennel Club brings the FCI flag back home to Belgium and Kingarthur brings the BIS trophy. Let us hope that the tensions in the FCI are gone by then and that it will no longer affect the European and World Shows. And maybe we will all thank the Norwegian Kennel Club for activating a constructive debate for the benefit of dog welfare and for the benefit of dog sport all over the world. The show was perfect from a technical point of view, but it was clear that other matters were consuming all attention. The cake was nice but we missed the icing.

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ONE 1 GROUP

Sheepdogs and Cattledogs Judged by Mrs Barbara Muller, Switzerland

1st place Seventy Seven Rurikovichi My Breed: Australian Shepherd Owner: Serova Olga

2nd place Cordmaker Hurdy Gurdy Breed: Puli Owner: Rusz Bodil

3rd place Aryakas Rodanthi Breed: Old English Sheepdog Owner: Jonsson & Wallström

4th place Annline’s My Ways Chance Breed: Welsh Corgi Pembroke Owner: Kosunen Maija

TWO 2 GROUP

Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs

Judged by Mr. Raffael Malo Alcrudo, Spain

1st place Fine Lady S Zolotogo Grada Breed: Black Russian Terrier Owner: Zaytseva Ekaterina

2nd place Steadlyn Recognition Breed: Miniature Schnauzer Owner: Ejerstad M. & Conti E.

3rd place Vi´skaly´s Harlem Shake Breed: Pyrinean Mountain Dog Owner: Danielsson Nina

4th place Fullhouse Bordeaux Red Forest

Breed: Dogue De Bordeaux Owner: Toonen J.

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GROUP

THREE

TERRIERS Judged by Mr Hans Lehtinen, Finland

1st place Kingarthur Van Foliny Home Breed: Wire Fox Terrier Owner: Victor Jr Malzoni & Rony de Munter

2nd place Rus Kornels Simvol Pobedy Breed: Airedale Terrier Owner: Nikulin Sergey

3rd place Gia´che Ci Sei Della Riva D´arno Breed: West Highland White Terrier

Owner: Lehtonen Velsa

4th place Shyloch Qosmos Breed: Kerry Blue Terrier Owner: Kvivesen Helge

4

GROUP

FOUR

DACHSHUNDS Judged by Mr Knut Sigurd Wilberg, Norway

1st place Queenlord Skinny Love Breed: Miniature Dachshund Wire Owner: Valentina Barcella

2nd place Catastrofe’s Red Dragon Breed: Miniature Dachshund Smooth

Owner: Lahtinen Selen

3rd place Sensatsia Pitera Chest Imeu Breed: Miniature Dachshund Longh.

Owner: Spitsa Oxana

4th place Formula Uspeha Colibri Breed: Rabbit Dachshund Smooth Owner: Hapaeva Irina

FIVE 5 GROUP

Spitz and primitive types Judged by Mrs. Marianne Holmli, Noway

1st place Cabaka’s Happy Go Lucky Breed: Samoyed Owner: Donato Gennaro

2nd place King Of Egypt De Los Perros De Bigo Breed: Chow Chow Owner: Vigo Navajon Nuria

3rd place Siam Grand Mung-mee By D-d-p

Breed: Thai Ridgeback Dog Owner: Ngampromsakul Thamarut

4th place Kimura’s Peer Gynt Breed: Norwegian Buhund Owner: Lindstrom Kathrine

SIX 6 GROUP

Scent hounds and related breeds Judged by Mr Arne Foss, Ireland

1st place Caramel Apple Van Tum-tum’sVriendj

Breed: PBGV Owner: Huikeshoven Gwen

2nd place Makao Line Atuin Art Breed: Rhodesian Ridgeback Owner: Ovchinnikov A.

3rd place Gjermaa’s Storm Breed: Norwegian Hound Owner: Aspelien Asle

4th place Ch Offordale Chevalier Breed: Dalmatian Owner: Alexander Jenny

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GROUP

SEVEN

Pointing Dogs Judged by Mr. Claudio De Giuliani, Italy

1st place Doc N’ Camelot’s Heaven Can Breed: Weimaraner Owner: Lenaerts-van Der Sichel-finch

2nd place BICE Breed: Italian Pointing Dog Owner: Francesconi M.

3rd place Caemgen’s Edge Of Glory Breed: Irish Red Setter Owner: Jobse Sjoerd

4th place Weimpoint Seasyde No Autographs Pls

Breed: English Pointer Owner: Vartiainen Sanna

8

GROUP

EIGHT

Retrievers - Flushing Dogs - Water Dogs Judged by Mrs. Annika Ultiveit-Moe, Sweeden

1st place Castlerock Simply Magic Breed: Flat Coated Retriever Owner: Dyren Anette

2nd place Very Vigie Huluberlulu Breed: American Cocker Spaniel Owner: Vartiainen & Kangas

3rd place Cockergold All My Life Breed: English Cocker Spaniel Owner: Kristensen Michael

4th place Aquafortis Casanova By Robel

Breed: Portuguese Water Dog Owner: Lundstrรถm Carina & Mikael

NINE 9 GROUP

COMPANION AND TOY DOGS Judged by Mr. Chan Weng Woh, Thailand

1st place Smile-absolute’s First Down Ten To

Breed: Shih Tzu Owner: Busakornnunt W.

2nd place Roses Castiel Of Tangetoppen Breed: Pug Owner: Olsen Elisabeth

3rd place Figaro S Tsvetochnoi Poljany Breed: Poodle (Medium) Owner: Byklum Anita

4th place Maximo De La Virreyna Breed: French Bulldog Owner: Sch채del & Rodriguez

TEN 10 GROUP

SIGHTHOUNDS Judged by Mr Goran Bodegard, Sweden

1st place Amal Salang Coeur D’coeurs Breed: Afghan Hound Owner: Shirokov Denis

2nd place Shottii Breed: Whippet Owner: Riberg Mona

3rd place Qirmizi Meridian Breed: Saluki Owner: Persson Lena

4th place Mairead Maguire Ardfhuil O’marksbay Breed: Irish Wolfhound Owner: Wille Knut Olav

BIS

BEST IN SHOW WINNERS Judged by Mr Rodi Hubenthal, Norway

1st place Ch Kingarthur Van Foliny Home

Breed: Fox Terrier Wire Owner: Victor Jr Malzoni & Rony de Munter

2nd place Cabaka’s Happy Go Lucky Breed: Samoyed Owner: Donato Gennaro

3rd place Caramel Apple Van Tum-tum’s Vriendj

Breed: PBGV Owner: Huikeshoven Gwen

4th place Amal Salang Coeur D’coeurs Breed: Afghan Hound Owner: Shirokov Denis

Hiroshi Tsuyuki Professional Dog Handler Interviewed by Kao Miichi & Jovana Danilovic

BIS: Dear Hiroshi, thank you for taking your time to do this interview. Please tell us something about your background with dogs. (Are you from the family that used to have dogs or did you get your dog on your own? And how did you get involved with dogs?)

H.T.: Thank you for the interview. My father and Mother are not dog people, my father was a typical Japanese business person. But we always had dogs as pets since I was a baby. My very first pure bred dog was English Cocker Spaniels named Bob and Vivi. My Uncle had a kennel for breeding and show dogs , he was a breeder of Dobermans, English Pointers and Beagles in 1970th.

He was such an enthusiastic dog lover that he imported many kinds of pure bred dogs from overseas for his hobby. He has been interested in pure bred dogs for his whole life. I learned a lot from him. He had participated in lots of dog shows in Japan and I went there with him. He was the very first professional handler in Japan.

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BIS: When did you know that you wanted to become a Prof. handler, what was your “stepping stone” to reach that point ?

H.T.: I had grown up near my Uncle’s kennel, and I helped with the kennel work from my childhood. My very first experience at the dogshow is when I was 10 years old. My parents has divorced and I wasn’t feel comfortable in my life. Then my Uncle took me to the dog show in Japan. He gave me the opportunity to learn about pure bred dogs since I was 13. He let me show his English Pointer at that age. I would say that my Uncle was my mentor regarding how to show dogs. He was the very first man who managed a boarding kennel in Japan. At that time, people never imagined that a dog could go to the boarding kennel, for training or trimming , it was not common in Japan in 1970th. He started many of the new trends in the dogs which we hadn’t had at that time.

“The little boy Hiroshi was so interested in what they were speaking about. I dreamed of joining as a member.

When I showed the English Setter for the first time, I got a special prize and it made me feel like “I wanna be a professional handler”!

BIS: How come you decided to become a professional handler?

H.T.: Many of the dog people gathered at my Uncle’s kennel, and they never stopped speaking about dogs. The little boy Hiroshi was so interested in what they were speaking about. I dreamed of joining as a member. When I showed the English Setter for the first time, I got a special prize and it made me feel like “I wanna be a professional handler”!

Another reason convinced me to become a professional handler, this is an important reason. My cousin KAZ HOSAKA. He was like my brother when we’re kids. I met him every summer vacation at my Uncle’s kennel and we began a great friendship. I followed everything he did like many boys who have a star in their small world. When Kaz graduated from high school, He decided to work at our Uncle’s kennel, I was 14 years old. After 2 years, Kaz decided to go to the USA to work and learn about show dogs under Mrs. Ann Rogers Clark and Mr.Clark.

After Kaz left, I dreamed that I would like to go to the USA to learn about dogs like Kaz did. Kaz is one of the people who made me a professional handler.

After I graduated from high school, I started working at my Uncle’s kennel, full time.

Then 1 year passed and Kaz came back from the USA for a while with lots of wonderful stories about the dog shows in USA. Kaz told me so many stories of the “American Dog Show”. Those stories made me think I WANNA GO TO THE USA! BIS: Did you have a mentor or somebody who helped you to increase your knowledge in the beginning?

H.T.: Throughout my life, I have had 5 great mentors on my way to becoming a professional handler and a breeder. The first one is my uncle Tatsuo Tsuyuki.

He taught me very important things about pure bred dogs and how to condition them, how to keep them, how to train them. The breed standard book was always on his bed side table until he passed away.

The second person was Mr. Clay Coady. I had worked for Clay and Bergit , “Bonnie Briar Kennel” while I was there, about 5 years. He taught me what the true professional handler should be. The professional handler must have the responsibility to keep continue working on conditioning, and training dogs, also we have to manage the kennel. Gardening, cooking, not only taking care of the dogs, but also taking care of the clients and assistants. I learned that the professional handler must manage everything! I believe those 5 years made me a professional handler. The dog show in the 1980’s in USA fascinated me , it was like a dream world.

Beautiful dogs, great dog people, and great dog shows at the time.

Photo 1 (Big Main photo) • Ch. Monamour JP Rainbow Blossom Photo 2 • Heath Hill Benhur winning Best in Show at Specialty show in Tokyio

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Photo 3 • Hiroshi’s Uncle - Doberman, English Pointer and Beagle breeder Photo 4 • Hiroshi with Jr. Jenwyres George Cinq of Santeric

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The third person who mentored me was Mrs. Ann Rogers Clark. I had worked for her almost 6 months.

She managed the breeder’s kennel, and she taught me how the breeder should be. The breeder should breed correct dogs , not to win, not for the ribbons.

And the fourth person who mentored me about trimming and Wire Fox Terriers is Mr.Ric Chashoudian. Ric had taught me all about terriers. When I had worked at Clay and Birgit, he visited the kennel very often since his mother lived in L.A. Everybody spoke about what a great terrier man he was!

Since 1985, Wire Fox terriers and Smooth Fox Terreiers became different varieties in the breed. After that time, the two of the most famous Wire Fox Terriers came from U.K. ENG.AM.CH.SYLAR SPECIAL EDITION and ENG.AM.CH.GALUSUL EXCELLENCE. Ric Chashoudian imported Sylar Special Edition and Peter Green imported Galusul Excellence.

Clay Coady showed SYLAR SPECIAL EDITION for Mr.Bill Cosby, and Peter Green campaigned Galusul Excellence at the same time. Everybody was crazy about watching the Wire Fox Terrier ring to see these two great Wire Fox Terriers with great handlers competing there. It was true, beautiful, amazing competition.

Watching these beautiful Wire Fox Terriers first hand and those great terrier men like Peter Green, Ric Chashoudian and Clay Coady fascinated me when I was a young assistant. While working under Clay Coady and campaigning Sylar Special Edition, I learned that the terrier man must have the patience to keep their dog in good condition, working on the dog every day.

And the 5 th person who mentored me for a long time is Mr. Kaz Igarashi. He is a great breeder and judge. He had learned in the U.K from Mrs. Dike, Hadleigh Pomeranian and Mr. Joe Braddon. Mr. Kaz Igarashi had taught me a lot about truth of the pure bred dog. How the pure bred dogs should be.

The “core” of the pure bred dogs, how to judge them , how to evaluate them, how to choose the breed type and how to find a good dog. Sometimes the professional handler tends to forget about true breed type, and chooses the flashy dog with showy movement in the ring.

Some breeders do not like the professional handers since they say the professional handler ruins the

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breed with their technique. Probably our handling technique or the grooming technique could mask the truth of the dog and made the wrong dog win.

Mr. Kaz Igarashi hammered into me me again and again what the each breed must be. Not fashion, but Breed standard or the purpose of each breed.

The breed standard is the principle. I think it is the most important thing that Kaz Igarashi mentored me for a long time. If I had not met him, probably I would still like the show dogs with flashy movement, without breed type which can win a lot in the show ring. But Mr. Kaz Igarashi never allowed me to be like that, so my one and only the principle is breed standard.

BIS: You had and still have some of the top winning American dogs. Can you name some of them?

H.T.: There have been so many beautiful dogs I showed after coming back from USA in 1987.

• 1992 - German Short Haird Pointer - AM.CH. PAWMARC,S WOODS OF AUTUMN #1 in All breed in Japan.

• 1996 - I sent a Scottish terrier named Magic Noir to USA from Japan and that dog won the Best of breed at Westminster in 1997.

• 1997- I brought a Cairn Terrier named Grace of Lucky Carma JP who won Best of winners at Montgomery County Kennel Club.

• 1999- Pembroke Corgi AM.CH. LOJEN IT’S A GUY THING won the BEST IN SHOW at largest FCI International dog show in Asia.

• 2000 - Pembroke Corgi INT.AM..CH.. LARCHMONTS MICHAEL won the BEST IN SHOW at largest FCI International dog show in Asia.

• 2000 - Wire Fox Terrier AMJKC.NIT.CH.JENWYRES GEORGE CINQ OF SANTERIC won BEST OF BREED at Westminster handled by myself.

• 2014 - my home bred Wire Fox Terrier won the National Specialty at MGKC, FOXCREEK JP IDEAL or IDIOT who was the grand grand son of the dog who won the best of breed at Westminster in 2000.

BIS: You used to show at the biggest shows in America and Europe, where you achieved some fantastic results. Can you mention a few highlights that mean a lot to you?

H.T.: So many moments that I can’t forget about. But 86

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Photo 5 • Friendship is the most important. Photo by Chiara de Roia Photo 6 • Ch. Monamour JP You’re My Sunshine #1 Jack Russell Terrier in Japan 2013

Montgomery County Kennel Club dogshow in 2014 where my home bred Wire Fox Terrier won Best of breed was just fantastic.

Every body believed that the winning dog wuld be my competitor who won the breed at the NATIONAL Specialty. There were so many ringside photographers around the ring but nobody took a picture of my dog since nobody thought he could be a winner! So I still do not have any of the photos of him in the ring.

Another show is the World dog show in Paris 2011, It was the very first year that we brought our dogs to the European dog show. We brought one Jack Russell Terrier Lemosa Mr.Energizer leased by our great friend Mr. Simon Mills in Australia. Energy won Best of Breed, World Winner at the most prestageous World dog show in Paris over 200 entries.

Then he was shortlisted in final 6 in the group ring.

There was an incredible standing ovation when he walked around the group ring.

Also World dog show in Saltzburg in 2012, We brought an 11 months puppy Jack Russell Terrier, and he won Best of Breed over all the champions from all over the world.

Beside my own success, I must mention about Rebecca Cross who won Best in Show at Crufts 2015.

She is the most successful my student I have ever mentored. I taught her how to groom , how to condition the showdog, and how to be a patient professional handler when she lived in Japan.

She lived in Japan for quite a long time and she came to me to learn about dogs. I gave my Scottish Terrier as a gift to her and she won the National with the dog named Marco. She was working so well after coming back from Japan. Now I can respect her as a PROFESSIONAL HANDLER. I am so very proud of her, and all she achieved, good student!

BIS: Going through your photos, I saw many of Terrier breeds you used to show. Besides your Fox terriers and Jack Russells, which is your favourite Terrier breed?

H.T.: My favorite show breed is Wire Fox Terrier and my partner loves Jack Russells. But honestly Border Terrier is my most favorite breed. I can not live without a Border Terrier.

“When I was 19 years old. I won my very first Best of Breed with the Doberman dog named Canon ball Max Million. It was like over the moon.

I felt I DID IT!” And speaking about show dogs besides terriers, I showed Pembroke Corgis over 25 years for my honorable owners Mr. and Mrs. Murase. I showed so many beautiful Pembroke Corgis and the breed always fascinated me.

BIS: You have won numerious Best in Show wins.

What about your first Best in Show and how did you feel winning your first BIS? H.T.: In 1982 - 34 years ago. When I was 19 years old. I won my very first Best of Breed with the Doberman dog named Canon ball Max Million. It was like over the moon. I felt I DID IT! That’s because I trained him, I conditioned him, I showed him, I did everything for that dog by myself under my Uncle. It was not only the winning in the ring but I did everything outside of the ring, from Monday to Friday. Morning to night. I felt great achievement from my very first Best in Show experience. It means joy through hard work.

BIS: What result do you consider as your the biggest and best one?

H.T.: Well it is too difficult to speak about the biggest one but the highest highlight was at World dogshow in Saltzburg 2012. Our home bred Jack Russell Terrier named MONAMOUR JP PART TIME LOVER won Best of breed over 200 entries from all over the world.

He was just an 11 month puppy and it was his 4th dog show in his whole life. Nobody believed that the puppy could win the WORLD WINNER title and we did it!!! It was the “turning point” of our life with Jack Russell Terriers.

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BIS: Besides being a Professional Handler, you are very successful breeder of Wire Fox Terriers. Please tell me about your own breeding and how long you have been breeding?

H.T.: I had been showing Wire Fox Terriers ever since I came back from USA in 1989 and I started breeding Wire Fox Terriers in 2002. I always adored the Wire Fox Terriers which were bred

by Ric Chashoudian and Kathy Ridge. Their Wire Fox Terriers had such beautiful heads and correct movement. So I started breeding primarily with the dogs from Ric. My priority breeding Wire Fox Terriers are: beautiful head with sound movement. The head tells the type, the movement tells the structure and soundness. My very first litter of Wire Fox Terrier was sired by .JENWYRES GEORGE CINQ OF SANTERIC out of SantericPearl of Kathrich from Kathy Ridge and Ric Chashoudian. It means my very first breeding of the Wire Fox Terriers are all from Ric‘s dogs. After this breeding, I continued breeding Wires mostly from Ric‘s SANTERIC dogs and Blackdale Royal Star and Blackdale Starlet, Blackdale Irish Velvet from Ireland.

BIS: Which dog represents you’re greatest success in breeding?

H.T.: FOXCREEK JP IDEAL OR IDIOT named TARO. He won Best of Breed at Montgomery County Kennel Club dogshow in 2014, and then he went to U.K and won 2nd in the open dog class at CRUFTS 2015. He finished his U.K title in 2015.

BIS: Following your Facebook profile, I notice many seminars: grooming and handling, done by you.

When did you start working with seminars?

H.T.: After coming back from the USA in 1989, I started my part time job at a grooming school to teach how to groom Terriers or Schnauzers. Since then I have had my own seminars and my classes at some of the grooming schools in Japan, and handling seminars or occasional seminars for professional groomers or the Terrier fanciers. I have some experience in teaching grooming and handling overseas, especially Asia, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Phillippines. To mentor the young generation creates our future. Like my mentors taught me I must pass on 88

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so many important things to the next generations. I think this is where I must play a role in the dog world.

Not only Japanese people, but also many Asian young generations visit to my kennel to learn how to groom , how to train, how to condition dogs like when I was young and worked for Clay Coady.

BIS: What is the most important thing people can learn at seminars?

H.T.: I can’t teach everything in one seminar. All I can give them are some of the ideas about grooming dogs or ideals of how to work. So the most important thing they must learn is to continue working on the dog every day to maintain good condition.

Good condition can’t be learned from one seminar.

Don’t attempt the easy way, there is no easy winning. The most important thing is to be patient, to be a hard worker and to learn correctly.

BIS: What would you do, if you hadn’t decide to be a handler?

H.T.: Probably Gardener or Chef at a restaurant since I love gardening and cooking.

BIS: What do you respect the most in judging skills?

H.T.: Great knowledge and experience like Mrs. Ann Rogers Clark or Mr. Ric Chashoudian, like Mr. Peter Green like Mr. Kaz Igarashi.

BIS: Is there something in life that you would like to do or to visit, that is your life dream?

H.T.: I have travelled all over the world, but I have never had the experience of sight seeing travel. I would love to go to Hawaii to visit my friend Willam Wallace Kamai. We used to share a room while we worked together at Clay’s kennel in the 1980’s.

He taught me a lot about pure breed dogs . Well my dream is to visit my old friends who gathered from all over the world to learn to be a professional handler under Clay and Birgit in 1980th. Donna Fox from Italy, Sanna Rossell from Sweden (now in U.K) , David Kasey from Oregon, Greg Strong in Maryland, Robert Carusi, Bill Kamai and a lot of the good friends.

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Photo 7 • U.K. Champion Townvill Tarique 1988E

BIS: If you could, what would you change in dog world?

H.T.: I am working as a professional handler because I like beautiful pure bred dogs.

The dog show must be the place where we show a good dog with good condition, good training or the place where we can find a correct dogs for the breed future. The judge must respect the breed standard and the breeder’s voice. I hope Dog show is the place for showing the dogs, not dealing out the ribbons. I miss Ric Chashoudian, Annie Clark, my uncle and so many good dog people in the past. They encouraged me to be a good dog person.

As Ric Chashoudian said,

Not hostile, but Respect each other.

The breeder must respect other breeders.

The exhibitors must respect other exhibitors.

The winner must respect the losers.

The judge must respect the breeders.

The owner must respect the handler’s work.

If everybody respect each other instead of hostile or deal , the dog world can be a bit better… I hope.

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Morris & Essex A Classic American Dog Show

B y B o B e n g t s o n • O r i g i n a l ly p u b l i s h e d b y D o g s i n R e v i e w

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It was one of the greatest dog shows ever held in the United States. Even Mrs. Dodge, the great lady who created Morris & Essex Kennel Club almost a century ago, would have been impressed. Although she was, of course, not present in person I suspect that most of us felt her spirit pervade nearly every aspect of the event.

This year’s Morris & Essex Kennel Club show was only the fourth one held since this famous old club was reborn after many years of being just a memory. Now held only once every five years, the 2015 show was the first for the club since 2010.

Again it took place at Colonial Park in Somerset, New Jersey. The date, October 1st 2015, was a Thursday, — not usually the ideal day for holding a huge dog show.

Nevertheless, there was an entry of 4,152 dogs making 4,666 entries, among the highest figures reached for a dog show in the U.S. According to AKC’s event statistics a total of 3,561 dogs were present and competing; the weather probably accounted for more absentees than usual, but that total still makes this one of the largest AKC shows in more than a decade. (Last year’s AKC/Eukanuba show in Florida in December had a few dozen fewer dogs in competition than this M&EKC; this year’s show, a few weeks after Morris & Essex, turned out to be even bigger.) The Kennel Club of Palm Springs in California has had entries as big as M&E, but you have to go back to the Louisville weekend in 2004 to find a show that actually had more dogs on view than this one.

Other figures: There were 121 judges for 189 breeds, including 44 sweepstakes assignments, incorporating 32 specialties and 89 supported entries in 29 rings with 46 ring stewards. There were 1,870 feet of tenting (more than a third of a mile!),

three mega-power generators providing electricity and 2.3 miles of electric cable, eliminating the need for private generators for grooming. In addition to 3,000 regular parking spaces there were 425 RV spaces and 45 golf carts shuttling visitors from the parking lots to the show. The immediate show grounds are 20 acres; Colonial Park is approx. 2 square miles.

There was a catalog of 568 pages; just the exhibitors’ index covered more than 50 pages in fine print. The premium list of 81 pages was reportedly the largest ever presented. Exactly 189 silverplated Revere bowls were awarded, one to every BOB winner, as well as 700 rosettes and countless other trophies donated by supporting clubs and individuals in the various breed classes. Serious silverware was offered for Group placements and BIS, and Purina Pro-Plan, the event’s official sponsor, donated various items to all Group and Breed winners, as well as to every Puppy class winner in every breed!

Most importantly, throughout the day there was a spirit of good cheer, cameraderie and sincere enjoyment of the sport of purebred dogs that isn’t common at all-breed shows these days. It must have been tough to live up to the expectations that we writers in the dog press have created, and it’s even more difficult to do this when you hold the show only once every five years — but I think Morris & Essex Kennel Club succeeded admirably against almost overwhelming odds.

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT MORRIS & ESSEX

So what’s the big deal, you ask? What’s so special about Morris & Essex Kennel Club? Most people know the history by now, but let me briefly reiterate it for the uninitiated. One of America’s

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wealthiest women in the first part of the 20th century, Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, was an avid dog fancier and owned the luxurious Giralda kennels, situated on her 550-acre estate in Madison, New Jersey. (Her husband, Marcellus Dodge, raised horses on a separate, even larger, adjoining parcel.) At its height there were as many as 150 dogs at Giralda, including scores of champion German Shepherd Dogs, Pointers, Beagles, Bloodhounds, Cocker Spaniels and other breeds. Mrs. Dodge won Best in Show at Westminster twice, in 1932 with the Pointer Ch. Nancolleth Markable and in 1939 with the Doberman Ch. Ferry v. Rauhfelsen of Giralda, imported from England and Germany, respectively. She also judged BIS at Westminster, the first woman to do so single-handedly, putting up the Airedale Terrier Ch. Warland Protector of Shelterock in 1933.

In the 1920s Mrs. Dodge began to invite dog fanciers to Giralda for what would today be described as a breed seminar. There was no “show” per se, but a number of the country’s top dogs of her then-favorite breed, the German Shepherd Dog, were invited to go through their paces on Mrs. Dodge’s immaculate, vast lawn in front of a select group of breed specialists. Spirited discussion about breed points and ideal type would ensue. By 1927 these informal get-togethers had developed into an AKC-recognized dog show, although still limited to just those breeds that Mrs. Dodge personally felt would appreciate her patronage. The first year 595 dogs were entered, but word soon spread of the beauty of the show, the excellence of the arrangements, the interesting judges and Mrs. Dodge’s hospitality. (Traditionally, at precisely 12:00 noon all judging stopped and every exhibitor was treated to lunch, courtesy of Mrs. Dodge.) By 1935 more than 3,000 dogs were entered, and a peak was reached in 1939 when the famous Cocker Spaniel Ch. My Own Brucie won BIS over 4,456 dogs.

(The show report that year makes it clear that this figure denotes the number of dogs entered, not the number of “entries,” which may of course be higher if some dogs compete in multiple classes.) The shows at Mrs. Dodge’s estate could without any exaggeration be said to be the event of the summer season

for dog people, outstripping all others for size and elegance, even becoming recognized as the world’s largest of its kind.

After a five-year break during World War II the Morris & Essex show returned in 1947 and was still going strong ten years later. In 1958, however, Mrs. Dodge encountered resistance from AKC. There are conflicting stories of exactly what transpired, but the upshot was that Mrs. Dodge cancelled the show for good and instead focused on her shelter for homeless dogs. Two years after her death in 1973 Sotheby’s in New York auctioned off 2,000 of Mrs. Dodge’s personal items, mostly dog-related (“from jewels to junk,” according to press accounts), raising more than $5 million for her dog shelter. Mrs. Dodge’s entire estate ran into hundreds of millions.

A FADED BUT BEAUTIFUL MEMORY

By the end of the 1900s Morris & Essex was becoming a faded but beautiful memory. However, one individual had the brilliant idea of revitalizing the club and holding a show in the spirit of Mrs. Dodge. Wayne Ferguson managed to gather a core group of enthusiasts behind this thought, and in 2000 the first “modern” M&EKC show was held in Madison, New Jersey, on the grounds where Mrs. Dodge’s estate used to be. The show attracted 2,992 dogs making 3,223 entries and was a huge success.

It was impossible for a “new” club to get a weekend date in the already over-crowded AKC show calendar, even for a show as prestige-laden as Morris & Essex, particularly since it was soon determined that a show this special could be held only once every five years. Wisely, therefore, it was decided to hold M&EKC on the Thursday before two of the East Coast’s most well-established shows, Hatboro and Devon, with the world-famous Terrier extravaganza that is Montgomery County concluding the weekend. With Hatboro now holding two all-breed shows — one on Wednesday before M&EKC and one the day after — I was grateful I did not have to show (or groom) Terriers for five days in a row: it would have been truly exhausting.

Of course, since the Devon show on Saturday was

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cancelled due to the ungodly weather, even the Terrier people got a day of rest. The huge Terrier entries certainly helped the all-breed shows, with the Terrier group having several hundred more entries than any other at M&E.

Not surprisingly, several Terrier breeds were among those with 50 or more dogs entered: West Highland White Terrier 86, Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier and Kerry Blue Terriers 79 each, Border Terriers 78, English Springer Spaniels and Cairn Terriers 73 each, Norwich Terriers 68, Miniature Schnauzers 67, Scottish Terriers 64, Airedale Terriers 63, Newfoundlands 61, Rhodesian Ridgebacks 59, Flat-coated Retrievers and Labrador

“There were the stylish period outfits worn by some fashion-conscious exhibitors and judges, and the fantasy outfits that others created. ” Retrievers 56 each, Pomeranians 54 and English Cocker Spaniels 52 dogs entered. At least another 15 breeds had 40-49 dogs, but there were also a few inexplicably low figures: How could there be a record 19 specimens of the Cirneco dell’Etna entered, a breed most American dog fanciers still can’t recognize (think miniature Pharaoh Hound!), but only 6 Alaskan Malamutes, a single St. Bernard, 7 Toy Poodles, 3 Shih Tzu, 3 Chow Chows, 5 Lhasa Apsos, just 1 Australian Cattle Dog and 12 German Shepherds?

One could sympathize with the longcoated Toy dog exhibitors: An outdoor show in October isn’t the best place to show off your grooming skills. The weather didn’t help. It started out cold and windy, improved during the day, but as the second Group was going into the ring the rain started to fall, and soon ringside was a sea of umbrellas. It says a lot for the enthusiasm of the spectators that 104

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very few left: Ringside was crowded throughout, and the huge tent that provided both shelter and sustenance, as per the superb M&E hospitality, was probably not the only reason so many stuck around.

Having Dave Frei as announcer was another genius stroke: his dulcet tones have graced Westminster for years now and lend an immediate air of authority to any event.

ART SHOW WITH $1,000 TO “BEST IN SHOW”

There are so many other wonderful things that deserve to be mentioned. There was the art show, with seven “group winners” and a check for $1,000 to Best in Show. The judge was William Secord, world-renowned authority on dog painting and founding director of The Dog Museum of America.

His winner was Christine Dabba’s wonderful rendition of a French Bulldog, “Frenchie.” There were the stylish period outfits worn by some fashion-conscious exhibitors and judges, and the fantasy outfits that others created. There was a magnificent trophy display that can be matched by no other show that I know of, and the unique historical artifacts that would do any club proud. There was the Group trophy from Morris & Essex 1951, won by the immortal Boxer Ch. Bang Away of Sirrah Crest, displayed courtesy of the Boxer Heritage Foundation. (Bang Away never won BIS at M&E, but his daughter Ch. Baroque of Quality Hill did, in 1955.) There was the superb luncheon for judges and officials and 4,152 free “box lunches” — one for every single exhibitor …

So what could be improved? Don’t expect me to be impartial: I have always been a strong supporter of this show’s historical importance and emphasis on a bygone era — but of course there were some things that didn’t work as perfectly as one could have wished. That it took almost an hour to get into the show in the morning was probably unavoidable: The roads leading into the park aren’t designed for this much traffic, and apparently an additional delay was caused by a fallen tree. Personally I didn’t have any problems with that; if you go to a show with more than 4,000 dogs entered in one day you can’t expect parking to be as easy as at an 800-dog event, but there were some frayed nerves, even though judging was postponed by half an hour.

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EVEN MRS. DODGE WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPRESSED

Not surprisingly, a lot of the country’s top dogs were competing in the finales. Exhibitors came from 50 states, but three of the leading contenders were conspicuous by their absence: The German Shepherd bitch who’s an easy leader for Top Dog All Breeds and the Skye Terrier who is top Terrier were not entered, reportedly due to conflicts with judging interests. The Brittany who’s top Sporting Dog was not entered either; I have no idea why.

Two of the other top all-breed contenders, the Pomeranian and the Whippet, both won BOB and placed in their respective Group.

The responsibility to judge BIS was originally meant to have fallen on Jane Forsyth, the legendary ex-handler and judge who with her husband, Bob, won and judged at more shows than most for several decades. Bob judged BIS at the previous Morris & Essex show, so it seemed appropriate that his wife would do the same thing now.

Sadly, Jane died only a couple of months before the show, but she was represented during the Best in Show presentation by her daughter Sioux ForsythGreen.

Mrs. Forsyth’s replacement was Dorothy Collier, herself a past top breeder, handler and Westminster BIS judge. She had an impressive lineup to choose from: all seven Group winners are multiple all-breed BIS winners. There was the German Shorthaired Pointer, not heavily specialled but with top wins at some major California shows to his credit. The Black and Tan Coonhound was a new face to me but is among the top Hounds. The Doberman Pinscher won her breed’s heavily contested national specialty and has won a whole bunch of all-breed BIS as well, while the Scottish Terrier is a Top 10 contender among all breeds. The French Bulldog, although U.S. bred and owned, has been successful at both FCI World Shows and in America, while the Bouvier des Flandres comes from Canada but has won the U.S. national and is currently one of the top Herding dogs in America.

But it was the Pekingese who won. If that came as a surprise to some it’s probably because we don’t tend to think of coated Toy dogs as winning rainy outdoor shows. As anyone who knows Pe-

kingese will tell you, they are extremely tough dogs, however: GCh. Pequest General Tso didn’t seem at all intimidated by the elements. He now has 38 BIS to his credit and was both shown and bred by David Fitzpatrick, who also co-owns him with Nancy H. Shapland.

Another reason we may not have expected a Pekingese to win would be that history seldom repeats itself to such a degree. David won BIS at the latest Morris & Essex KC show five years ago with another Pekingese, General’s grandsire (and great-grandsire) Ch. Palacegarden Malachy, the English import that also won BIS at Westminster in 2012. David’s No. 1 All Breeds dog of 2005, Ch. Yakee If Only, is also in the pedigree, as are several generations of Pequest bitches — and, as a curiosity, even a great-grandsire who carried the Salilyn kennel name that was famous in English Springer Spaniels. I bet you didn’t know there were some Salilyn Pekingese also!

Reserve BIS went to the wonderfully extrovert German Shorthaired Pointer, GCh. VJK-Myst Garbonita’s California Journey, superbly handled

by Valerie Atkinson, who is also co-breeder and coowner. Valerie shows many breeds but it’s no secret that the German Shorthairs are her “first” breed.

This one I can genuinely say I have admired from the start — I remember being impressed by him when he was a baby puppy of barely three months old.

As I said, I think even Mrs. Dodge would have been impressed. Congratulations to Wayne Ferguson and his hard-working club officials for a wonderful show. I can hardly wait until 2020!

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Virginia Stevenin Story of a Junior Handler Interviewed by Vilte S okaityte

BIS: Virginia Stevenin is a successful and talented junior handler from Italy, who won the Italian junior handling championship under Alice Varchi and represented her country in three biggest shows of the year in swhich she achieved great results : Virginia was placed 2nd in her own country Italy, the World junior handling final and won BIS junior handler in Oslo, the European dog show! I was more than excited to have the possibility speak to Virginia and to share her thoughts, impressions and future plans with you!

V.S.: Thank you for the interview! It will be great to share my toughts and say something about me! Me too I’m so exicited about this opportunity.

BIS: To begin with, please tell us, some facts about yourself.

V.S.: I’ve always been involved with dogs and show dogs because my mum was already a breeder before me. So when I was born I already had a little bunch of Afghans to welcome me. So I had the opportunity to stay in contact with dogs since I was a child, and that helped me to understand them better as I matured. I was born near Milano and I lived in the countryside with my dogs and family since I was 10. Then I moved to Parma with my mum, her partner Daniele Tabarrini and my brother and sisters. I live in a real farm, with not just dogs but many others animals. When we moved here, my Mother was involved with Daniele in his Professional Handler carrer so I had the possibility to learn a lot from 132

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that, having the opportunity to relate with many different dogs every day. At home we have 25 dogs plus those ones wich come and go for shows.

BIS: As far as I know the Afghan hound is the breed you have at home. Can you please tell us something about them?

V.S.: Of the 25 dogs we have at home, 12 are Afghans. This is one of the breeds I like most! As my mum has always taught me they are “dogs with thoughts” they are not just dogs but they have their personality and because of that they always try to delight the ones in whom they trust . Exactly for this reason in fact they are not an easy breed to approach, but once you gain their trust they will do everything for you. They need to run a lot and their coat requires intensive care, these two things are not easy to manage togehther, not easy at all. Anyway I really love this breed for their temperament and their way to show themselves, it’s lovely to see them running in the fields making the perfect image of balance and power.

BIS: The afghan hound, I guess, requires a lot of time, especially for grooming. Do you have time to do it by yourself or you get help from your family?

V.S.: Not all the 12 Afghans we have at home require weekly grooming (the ones that are old or don’t compete in shows anymore are usually groomed once or twice a month) so we have more or less six dogs which need gromming every week.

Of those I personally follow two, but occasionally I help to do the others during the week. Grooming dogs is one thing I really enjoy doing, expecially the Afghans and my mum and Daniele have shown me lots of tricks to obtain the best possible results.

I used to groom dogs when I was very young, I remember I wasn’t high enough to get to bathtub so mum bought me a footstool to be able to wash the dogs. With time I’ve learned to groom many different breeds, when I was 11 I went for a week to a grooming shop to learn and the year later I spent three weeks holiday to Angela Francini’s Kennel (Francini’s English Cocker Spaniel) and I learned how to groom Cockers.

BIS: When you won the JH-final in Italy and knew you would represent your country in Crufts, the WDS and EDS, did you think about such success?

What was your goal and thoughts then for these shows?

V.S.: When Alice Varchi selected me as the winner of the JH-Final in Italy, I was the happiest girl in the world! I saw my very first dream come true and that was the beginning of a long list of goals I’ve set for myself! It took me three days to realize what had happened. I then started to make my plans for those three important shows. I’ve worked every day on my imperfections, I really tried all the ways to get better and better. When the Crufts date came closer I knew I had done all I could, unfortunately I didn’t win anything at Crufts, I was assigned a beautiful

“I must say that Cruft is probably the hardest competition because they don’t allow you to pick the dog, so when you take the dog they choose for you, you have just a very short time to get in contact with your newfourlegged friend...”

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Photo 1 • Virginia with her mother winning Best of Breed at Crufts 2015 Photo 2 • Virginia as a child with her best friend

Greyhound who was very young , with no experience in the ring, and unfortunally I didn’t do very well that day. However I was happy to take part in such a great experience and I’ve learned a lot from the experience. I must say that Cruft is probably the hardest competition because they don’t allow you to pick the dog, so when you take the dog they choose for you, you have just a very short time to get in contact with your newfourlegged friend, and this is a huge challenge, expecially when you have a Greyhound.

My goal at these three important shows was definitely to show myself at my best and make my country proud of me. My first thought was that there was a lot of quality in all the JH rings in Europe. I knew there were lots of talented juniors around the world and I knew how difficult it would be, to be placed at one of these international competitions. I really wished to make my family, expecially my Mother, proud of me.

BIS: Your three breeds for the most important shows this year were sighthounds. Greyhound for Crufts, Afghan hound at WDS and finally whippet in Oslo.

Is group 10 the ONE you enjoy showing the most?

V.S.: Surely group 10 is my favourite one! As I mentioned before, Afghans especially, but in general all the sighthounds are dogs wich have their own mind and their thoughts. They’re not an easy breed that

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chooice as I already had experience with her and it worked out beautifully, before getting there I already had time to work with her, and Francesca taught me all the ways to show her at the best, so I was more than excited to have such a great dog as a partner for my EDS, though I really missed my Afghan. At the WDS I was looking for a dog that was able to bring out the best in myself and with which I could work and keep in contact everyday, so there couldn’t be a better choice than “Clara”, Multi Ch. Way Up Wind Cries Mary, a top winning Afghan from my Mother’s kennel. With her I really had fun in the ring and I would choose her again for sure! She performed as I expected, showing herself to perfection, moving beautifully, never losing a step. There was a perfect connection between us, she could read my mind and I could feel all her emotions. I really have to say that there couldn’t be two better dogs for these two shows.

Photo 3 • Virginia Stevin with Manta at European Dog Show in Oslo, Norway 2015

you can just take and go in the ring, you have to work with them and try to get in their mind, find a way to understand them and try to create the right feeling that will make the perfect couple in the ring.

Sighthounds are kind of magic and have an aura around them that really makes everything special. I really love to stay and watch them in the ring, their elegance that always captures my gaze!

BIS: How did you decide which dog to take for these competitions? Why the Afghan hound for WDS, whippet for Oslo and not the reverse?

V.S.: First of all, let me tell you that it was planned I should bring my Afghan at EDS in Oslo as well, but we couldn’t manage to organize her trip and my mother was in the U.K. showing on the same weekend, so I had to leave her at home and get to Oslo by plane. As a second choice I selected “Manta”, the beautiful Whippet. I will be forever thankfull to Francesca Pavesi and Fabrizio Manni (Handlers and respectively Whippet breeder and Bulmastiff’s breeder) for giving me her. Manta was the best 136

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BIS: World Dog Show v.s. European Dog Show – I suppose you will remember both of these shows for a long time, but if you chould compare Milan and Oslo, which win was more memorable and why?

V.S.: At the WDS I was in my own country, with all my family and friends that supported me and cheered for me, I couldn’t ask for anything better that day! But in Oslo I came just with a friend, with no family and a little group of supporters that spent all day with me, knowing I didn’t have anybody to help and advise me. So I think this was the most memorable of the two. Being there on my own and

“Figures in some respects make things more difficult for the couple dog-handler, which is a nice challenge but the risk, on the other hand, is to take the attention away from how the dog is presented, and put too much attention on the handler himself...”

being able to get good results without those points of reference, meant that I was able to succeed alone. Surely with this experience I grew up a lot.

BIS: Hugo Quevedo and Angela Loyd, were the judges of World and European dog show finals. I guess it makes the win even more special? How did you feel when your name was announced as 2nd and 1st place winner?

V.S.: I was more than honored to be chosen by two professional handlers. Two handlers that are respected and known for their professionalism, elegance and experience, but not just that, they are both part of the best part of our dog world, among the people that still deeply belive in the sport, committed to keeping the level high and unfettered by political games. I was more than proud of having been choosen by Angela Loyd and Hugo Quevedo, that made my victories even more precious.

BIS: Maybe, besides these unforgettable shows, there are other wins which are very special to you which you would like to share with us?

V.S.: There are two or three achievements I’d like two mention. In 2010 when I was just 11 I got the title of Vice Monaco Champion over many talented juniors from all over Europe under Mrs. Lisbeth Mach.

I remember my Mother couldn’t believe it and she thought I was too much young to understand what was happening, everyone was speechless seing me running in the ring with my Golden Retriver that was bigger than me. That was a day I’ll remember for a long time! In 2014 I won my first big win in the breed ring when with Multi Ch. Way Up Heaven Out of Hell I got BOS at the prestigious Afghan Hound World Congress over more than 100 entries from high quality kennels all over Europe. Later I started to win in Afghan rings (but not just there), until I got Crufts 2015 BOB Winner with my beloved Ch. Way Up James Bond under specialist judges Mr. Espen Hengh and Mrs. Susan Rhodes over more than 250 entries. Going forward with “Bond” we got the Italian title collecting two speciality BOB and one specialty BOS all just this year! In 2013 and 2014 I was JH- Club Champion, in 2013 I was placed third at the JH-Final in Italy and in 2014 I won it under Miss.

Alice Varchi.

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Photo 4 • Virginia Stevin winning second place in Junior Handling at World Dog Show in Milan 2015, Italy, Photo by Gabor Szalanczi

BIS: Ok, but let’s talk about your past. How and when did you get involved in dogs and handling?

V.S.: As I said I’ve always been involved with show dogs. Since I was very young my Mother brought me to shows. I had the opportunity to see her in the ring and learn a lot just watching. When I was four my parents gave me my very first dog, she was a Jack Russel called Alice. I worked with her as a puppy and I have to say that she was one in a million, no doubt! I spent lots of my afternoons grooming her with my Mother, and she let me bring her to shows only if she was perfectly groomed. We were a real team, and she was one of the most special dogs I’ve ever been in touch with. She grew up with me and together we learned a lot. I started to compete in JH when I was three and honestly, I can’t remember my first time, but for sure, from that day I’ve never stopped to compete in JH. BIS: You’re only 16 – so you still have a lot time to compete in junior handling. What are your plans now? Will you try to represent your country again or maybe you have some other goals?

V.S.: I think I’ll compete again in JH but just in the biggest shows. I’ll show my own two Afghans, Bond and Nemo in rings all over Europe and not just there!

Bond has some new records to break and Nemo has to gain experience. Unfortunately I think I won’t represent Italy again at Crufts, but I still have to think about that.

BIS: In the future – are you dreaming about becoming a professional handler? Or maybe a groomer, a breeder, judge or something else?

V.S.: Honestly I dream to became all of that! My Mother is an Afghan breeder and Professional Handler and I’d like to do the same and maybe later to became a judge too. Being a Handler requires being able to groom every type of dog so, professional handling consists also in grooming.

BIS: Do you have any mentor(s) that helped you all the way during your career?

V.S.: For sure my Mum! She taught me everything since I was a child. Later Daniele Tabarrini (her boyfriend) gave me the advice to obtain the best grooming (especially on dogs from group one and five) and taught me how to handle many different breeds. There have been many other people that taught me a lot just talking with me for five minutes. I try to understand every single trick that experienced people can give me. I’m lucky enough to meet experienced and famous people through my mother and because of Daniele’s job, and this is really a great advantage.

BIS: How do you manage handling and school? Do your teachers know about your hobby?

V.S.: I try my best to cope with both school and dogs, it is hard sometimes but untill now I’ve been able to do it. My teachers and friends know about my passion, but I never got any “discount” at school becuse of it.

BIS: Probably you’ve heard about the recent discussions concerning junior handler competition rules and the figures (such as T, L and eight). What do you think about this issue?

V.S.: I’ve always imagined Junior Handler competi-

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tions with a child with his dog having fun in the ring, so obviosly I do not agree with these rules. I think that JH is a place where practicing for the breed ring, where learning the best way to show a dog.

I never thought that JH is something different from showing a dog in the breed ring, and for sure JH should not be just about people, but about people working with dogs and for dogs. Figures in some respects make things more difficult for the couple dog-handler, which is a nice challenge but the risk, on the other hand, is to take the attention away from how the dog is presented, and put too much attention on the handler himself, without considering the dog. Some big dogs like Great Danes or Irish Woulfhounds cannot propely show their potential running in a T or L for example. So I definetly disagree with this rules.

BIS: At shows, we can see a lot of envy and anger, but how is the atmosphere in Italy? Would you say that Italian junior handlers are supportive and helpful?

V.S.: I reallly think that envy and anger should be part of JH and dog sports in general. Competition is fair, we are all there to win but we need to learn to win improving our own technique, not putting down other competitors. Every time I’ve lost ( and loosing is part of the game!) I tried to understand why, where I’d failed, so that I was able to do a better job the next time, and this is how all of us grow and achieve the top. Those who always complain and always have exuses for themself are loosers and a negative example for JHs who want to develop our passion.

BIS: And in conclusion, what you would like to wish our BIS-magazine readers?

V.S.: If you have a dream, never give up because you never know how close you are! Work on it and it will come true for sure! The dog world is not easy and you have to be determinated and know where you want to get. Know your limits (everyone has them) and work for perfection until you obtain it. Enjoy and respect your fourlegged friends in the ring and out of it. Listen to the experienced people and learn from them. Work hard and fly to the top!

I n t he he ad of Pau l Stanto n

“How to become a Swedish K.C. judge?”

by Paul Stanton

Each K.C. has its own regulations as to what is required to become a judge and I am of the opinion that the Nordic countries probably have the hardest regulations of all and the biggest problem for those that wish to become a judge is getting in to the judging scheme! In the UK it is not that difficult to become a judge in your own breed, you need to have been in your breed around 10 years or more in the popular breeds, bred or owned some winning dogs, worked on some committees and attended breed seminars but most important is the need to be patient and know the “right people”.

This is obviously the case in many countries that of having the right contacts and was indeed so in my case as I had only been in Lhasa Apsos for 5 years when I first awarded CC.s in the breed but that was a special case as the breed was new with CC.s (first awarded in 1965) and I was welcomed with 150

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“open arms” as a young and enthusiastic person and helped enormously by the older breeders but that was way back then in 1975.

In Sweden there is no quick way to get in to the scheme and there are many requirements before you are accepted. You must have many years experience as a breeder and exhibitor at shows or hunting trials and working tests for those breeds that require tests to become champions. You must have passed your ring steward exams and have worked in the ring regularly, passed your exams in anatomy and rules & judging at courses arranged by the SKK. Once these “minor” issues are out of the way you are able to apply to the K.C. to become a judge, you have to fill in an extensive form about yourself and all that might be relevant for being accepted by disclosing your breeding, number of champions, imports, exports, hunting or working

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test winners, all other experience like judging at Open shows, attending special courses, languages etc. This form is then sent out to the breed/group clubs for the breeds you have applied for in your basic training which is from 1 to 5 breeds and you must write why you wish to start with these breeds and they are usually connected so that it would not be allowed to start with 5 different breeds from 5 Groups. These clubs along with your County K.C. (I belong to Stockholm K.C. under the SKK) are asked to give their opinion on whether you would be a suitable candidate to start judges training, if there are more than one person applying for the same breeds the clubs are required to write in which order they wish to see the candidates (the K.C. uses this as reference only).

The application forms are returned to the Judges Committee (DK) who has a special group consisting of 4-5 judges and SKK personnel who out of the usual 50-60 applications invite around 22-25 for an interview; this same group conducts the interviews at the SKK head offices in Stockholm over 4-5 evenings and when all have been interviewed this group selects around 15-16 with a maximum of 18 to start the Preparation course usually held in May every second year. The course starts on a Sunday afternoon with a repeat of anatomy, explaining what is expected of them, question and answer time and showing them a film of dog types which are too extreme and unhealthy. Monday starts off slowly with the students being divided in to 4 groups and each group goes to 1 of the rings where there is a teacher/examiner and they are taught how to measure heights and start writing critiques on dogs but at this course we do not teach about breed type but dogs in general and the principles of good critique writing and also giving spoken critiques. Each group is changed for each pass morning and afternoons with different dogs arriving for the pass so if a student is going to take 5 Group 9 breeds they are expected to write critiques for any breed that is in the ring, this is done so they learn to describe what they see and feel and it does not matter at all even if they do not know what the breed is! Each pass they are expected to judge more dogs and write critiques faster, the teachers are helping them with tips all the time on writing the critiques, ways 152

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to see and judge the dogs and what is important and what is less important. Every evening the teachers study all the critiques and discuss how each student is faring and on Wednesday evening each student is given a feedback as to what is excellent and what needs to improve. Friday is examination day when the teachers are divided in to 2 groups and the students come 1 at a time to the ring and is expected to judge 3 dogs of which 1 will be from a breed they have applied for and this dog they must know breed types and the other two dogs is a general description but they do not know what breeds will be in each ring. After final discussions the head teacher announces who has passed and at the last 5 or 6 courses all have passed as it is only the ones who the DK group feels will pass with a 99% chance that are invited whereas at earlier courses around 22-25 were present with always 5-7 who failed but this was considered unfair on the students and a waste of KC funds as the KC pay for all the students meals and hotel rooms and also the teachers and 2-3 KC staff.

Please do not think that these students are now judges as this is just the beginning of their training, they now have to go in the ring 3 times for the breeds they have applied for as a Pupil judge where they have to listen, learn and ask questions from the judge and not just under any judge but one that is from the Nordic countries, has judged the breed at least 5 times and been a judging for at least 5 years (special permission can be given for foreign breed specialists). When they have completed successfully one of their breeds 3 times they then become Student judges where they must write critiques on each dog in the ring and the judge can ask them questions about gradings and placings and will then assess them on their ability for each breed and check with his/her own critiques, if a student fails then he must go for another judge.

As soon as a student has completed successfully 2 student exams then they are now official judge for that breed. These new judges cannot apply for new breeds until they have judged all the breeds of their original 1-5 and 2 years must have passed but only 8 breeds a year! Examinations can be done in 3 different ways, in the ring as first Pupil then student or after judging has finished make an examination un-

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Photo 1 • Vet. Morten Nilsson explaining the veterinary surgeons viewpoint for healthy and sound dogs.

Morten did his judging exams in 2010 for GSD, Rottweilers and Portuguese Water Dog and he is a well known GSD breeder.

der 2 judges, one proposed by the breed club and one by the SKK of which a minimum of 5 dogs must be present also sometimes the SKK will organize evening or weekend examinations when there are usually 3 or more wanting to take the same breed.

To judge any breed which needs any kind of working test the student must participate in a test with an approved judge for these tests, so many of Group 1 breeds, Group 4, Group 5 Hunting Spitzes, Group 7 & 8 Gundog breeds that need a hunting test and this is done so that the student judge knows what is required in a breed and that it is correct for the function that it was designed for. To become a Group judge you must judge the 5 numerically largest breeds at shows plus 66% of that group so you can see it will take many years, usually at least 20 to become an All Breeds judge and this is not given automatically but is deemed an honour by the SKK and it is the Central Committee that authorizes this for a judge who has practical knowledge of judging all types of dogs, all different kinds of movements, 154

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all types of coats and most important to be a respected as a person and judge both nationally and internationally.

Torbjörn my partner of 35 years is now completing special exams to become an All Breeds judge and the DK gave him a special list of breeds which he needed to take exams in and some of the breeds were a very strange choice in my opinion, of course he had to take most of the Swedish national breeds which nearly all require Hunting tests but to find shows with Norrbotten Spitzes (a hunting Spitz that barks when it has found its game) entered is not easy so he will fly to the North of Sweden where the breed originates from and is more easily found in adequate numbers to attend a show. Torbjörns´ list is gradually getting smaller and hopefully by the time you read this he will be an All Breeds judge after 23 years of judging.

In 2016 I will celebrate 20 years as an All Breeds judge for the SKK but my regulations were a little different as I had completed nearly 150 breeds

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“It has always been

difficult to become an All Breeds judge in any of the Nordic countries as it is in Holland, France and Germany and some other countries which is probably the reason you can hear a lot of disgruntled comments when we see Allrounders being appointed after only a few years of judging experience”

Photo 2 • Three teachers/examiners Nina Karlsdotter, the late Kenneth Edh and Ann Carlström listening to student John-John Johnsson critique a dog on examination day.

Photo 3 • Teacher/examiner Paul H Stanton listening to one of the students critique a Portuguese Water Dog Photo 4 • Teacher/examiner Karl Erik Johannson explaining to the students about head shapes

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by examinations or receiving some free as they were minority breeds but was informed by the DK that they wanted to propose me to be an Allrounder but I did not have enough breeds in Group 5,6 & 7 so I was told to concentrate on those groups and after 1½ years I received a letter from the SKK that I had become an All Breeds judge much to my delight although this was never something I dreamed of! In later years we had some new Allrounders but they did not have to complete anything special but now at least the DK have made new regulations that are fair (?) so those being proposed know what is expected of themselves. It has always been difficult to become an All Breeds judge in any of the Nordic countries as it is in Holland, France and Germany and some other countries which is probably the reason you can hear a lot of disgruntled comments when we see Allrounders being appointed after only a few years of judging experience and it is not rare that it is contacts more than experience that paves the way for some especially in countries where there are not so many breeds registered or shown. Thankfully the Nordic KC.s realize this and that is why we are seeing more All Breed judges coming from these countries but again there is no short cut! .

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Best of Breed w i n n e r s

GCH JOVAL SWEET TIME Airedale Terrier

Owned by Valeria Rickard & John Rickard

GCH ALPINE’S HIGHWAYMAN American Staffordshire Terrier

Owned by Ed Thomason & Karen Thomason & Jessica Branch & Shartone Janga & Cyril Lefloch, Newman Lake

GCH TEMORA SAY IT WITH BACON Australian Terrier

Owned by Julie Seaton

GCH WRIGHTWYN’S POWER PLAY Bedlington Terrier

Owned by Sandra Bethea

Best of Breed w i n n e r s

GCH STARKWEATHER HOW SWEET THE SOUND Border Terrier

Owned by Paula Smith & Amelia Smith

GCH NOTORIOUS NEVER SAY NEVER Bull Terrier (Coloured)

Owned by Amy & Phil Jaspersv

CH LORDBULL LARRY Bull Terrier (White)

Owned by Zane Smith

SALIVA’S 3 COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN Cairn Terrier

Owned by Tine Mathari & Margit Mars

Best of Breed w i n n e r s

GCH ZLATAPRAHA GILLESPIE BLUEFIRE Cesky Terrier

Owned by Pat Huber & Nelson Huber & Tim Smith & Pamela Bale

GCH KING’S MTN FIEVEL MOUSEKEWITZ Dandie Dinmont Terrier

Owned by Jennifer Hecker & Sandra Pretari

CH ABSOLUTLEY OUT OF SIGHT Smooth Fox Terrier

Owned by J W Smith & Edward Boyes & Keith Jones

GCH HAMPTON COURT’S MONTE CRISTO Wire Fox Terrier

Owned by Victor Malzoni Jr

Best of Breed w i n n e r s GCH FINNABAIR ARDMORE NED Glen Of Imaal Terrier

Owned by Donal Doyle & Ann Doyle & Mary McDaniel DVM

GCH IRVONHILL LEAVE IT TO ME Irish Terrier

Owned by Anthony Barker & Thia Lahti

CH KRISMA’S XMAN FIRST CLASS Kerry Blue Terrier

Owned by Lois Grier & Ted Grier & Jana Deaton

CH SNOWTAIRES NEXT GENERATION Lakeland Terrier

Owned by Lauren Parker & Barbara A Decker

Best of Breed w i n n e r s GCH KINGSMERE RHINESTONE HOT TASHI Miniature Bull Terrier

Owned by Heather Rhine & Linda Lethin

GCH YANGA’S ALL THE TIME Miniature Schnauzer

Owned by Octavio Martinez & Hot Paws

CH ROSEROCK’S ATTICUS FINCH Norwich Terrier

Owned by Alejandro Garza & Manuel Lopez

GCH ARDSLEY RUN HEAVEN SENT Parson Russell Terrier

Owned by Janie Smith & Jane Gardner & Scott & Wendy Hudak & Gregory Stula

Best of Breed w i n n e r s GCH FELIXVILLES TRAVELING POOCH Rat Terrier

Owned by Theda Little & Ransome Little

GCH LYRICAL’S PREACHIN’ TO THE CHOIR Jack Russell Terrier

Owned by Dr Alan Hargrave

GCH WHISKYBAE LOCHRAVEN LOLLYPOP Scottish Terrier

Owned by Carla LaCoe & Anita VanRavensway & Judy Boughton

CH FORLEGD ZAZZY-SEVERUS. Sealyham Terrier

Owned by Fredrik Ahs & Olga Forlicz & Sarah Sweatt

Best of Breed w i n n e r s GCH CRAGSMOOR GOOD TIME CHARLIE Skye Terrier

Owned by Victor Malzoni Jr & Cragsmoor Kennels Reg & Nancy Shaw

GCH SERENDIPITY’S URBAN LEGEND

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

Owned by Richard Taylor & Camille Taylor

GCH FIREBROOK’S RETURN TO TARA Welsh Terrier

Owned by Anthony T Gaughan & Margaret A Gaughan

CH MAC KEN CHAR SKYHI ITS MY PARTY West Highland White Terrier

Owned by Jaimi Glodek & Mary Cross & John Jaacks II

Best in Show GCH HAMPTON COURT’S MONTE CRISTO Wire Fox Terrier

Owned by Victor Malzoni Jr

r.Best in Show GCH JOVAL SWEET TIME Airedale Terrier

Owned by Valeria Rickard & John Rickard

Best in Show 3rd GCH CRAGSMOOR GOOD TIME CHARLIE Skye Terrier

Owned by Victor Malzoni Jr & Cragsmoor Kennels Reg & Nancy Shaw

Best in Show 4th GCH YANGA’S ALL THE TIME Miniature Schnauzer

Owned by Octavio Martinez & Hot Paws

Bo Bengtson Story of a judge, writer, breeder and handler Interviewed by Anne Tureen

In the trailer for today’s interview posted on the fb page of The Literary Dog, I asked which book might be considered ‘The Bible’ of Canine Literature. I can think of two.

The first is the great milestone of all time, John H. Walsh’s Encyclopedic ‘The Dogs of the British Isles’, 1867, written under the pseudonym Stonehenge. This gentleman was passionate about sighthounds, wrote a number of books, and also became the editor of the influential magazine ‘The Field’ whose atricles inspired the creation of the Kennel Club in the UK, that great mother organization reproduced across the world. If reincarnation exists, it would be a reasonable explanation of the force behind Bo Bengtson, a leading Sighthound breeder, top handler, active organizer of events, expert judge, and thankfully, a prolific writer. He shares his amazing knowledge with the rest of

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us in the journal he founded and still contributes to ‘Dogs in Review’, as well as in his many books including a breed encyclopedia, and the volume ‘Best in Show The World of Show Dogs and Dog Shows’, compressed into just under 650 pages. This work enjoys complete pre-eminence in coverage of all professional aspects of the dog world: the breed standards, judges, handlers, breeders, and the history of shows in the USA and around the world just to list a few of the subjects covered in this masterly work. Mr. Bengtson is uniquely qualified to write on all of these subjects and more, since he has been active in dogs since his youth in native Sweden where he revolutionized his breed, and later distinguished himself in all aspects of showing in the USA. I was honored to say the least when he kindly agreed to speak about his life and work.

Photo 1 • Book-signing of the “Best in Show” book at Borders bookstore in New York in February, 2009 - concurrently with Westminster dog show in Madison Square Garden.

BIS: You have achieved so much in the disciplines of breeding, showing and judging, did you get an early start?

B.B.: I was born in Sweden and was animal-crazy from the start. We had a Cocker and a Dachshund when I was a kid, and when I was 14 years old I started going to dog shows. I knew right away that this was going to be my life’s interest — I’ve always said that dog shows at their best are like a combination of circus, zoo and high drama … and if I hadn’t become immersed in dog shows I’m sure I would have ended up being involved in any one of those.

(I did try to run away with a circus when I was a child, and later on I studied drama and theater history at university.)

BIS: Were Whippets always your main interest?

B.B.: My parents allowed my sister and me to get an Afghan Hound in 1959 — not the most practical breed for a couple of kids. We loved her, I showed her to her champion title and some Breed wins, and later we bred the first Bohem champions out of her.

I was working in an Afghan Hound kennel in England in 1961 when I met some Whippets that were so wonderful that I knew this would be “my” breed.

I have had Whippets for 55 years now… I was lucky to get involved with the Laguna kennel, which was then the most influential in England (or anywhere, for that matter), worked there for a couple of summers and got my first dogs from them. In 1963, when I was 18 years old, I won BIS at the big international show in Stockholm with Int. Ch. Laguna Locomite, and my Int. Ch. Laguna Leader was also a BIS winner and a great sire. Later I imported several dogs from other kennels in England, of which Int. & Eng. Ch. Fleeting Flamboyant was probably the most famous.

I didn’t breed much because I could only have a couple of dogs at home, but those English stud dogs were used by other breeders and helped improve Whippets in Scandinavia . From the few litters that I bred came some really influential Bohem champions. The Swedish Kennel Club awarded me their Hamilton plaque for “excellence in breeding” in the early 1980s.

Also in the 1960s I got involved in Greyhounds. In partnership with Göran Bodegård, now 198

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an international FCI all-breeds judge, I bred a litter that included the influential Int. Ch. Guld, who is behind pretty much all top Greyhounds in Scandinavia, and in much of the rest of the world also. In 1976 I showed her daughter Int. & Eng. Ch. Gulds Black & White Lady to Res. BIS at the international Stockholm show from the veteran class. Her daughter Int. Ch. Piruett, bred by Göran and myself, was also BIS at this show. Lady was the first foreign-bred Greyhound to become a champion in the U.K. BIS: So we find young Bo active both in Sweden and the UK , already on the international scene as a teenager which was uncommon at that time, what was your next step?

B.B.: In 1980 I moved first to Australia, then to California and have lived here ever since. I still have Whippets who descend nine or ten generations down from those old English dogs in Sweden, but I almost never bred more than a litter per year. I hardly breed at all anymore and only have two spayed veteran bitches at home. Nevertheless, there have been about 120 Bohem Whippet champions in many countries over the years, plus about 15 Greyhounds and those Afghan hound champions long ago. Even though I live in America, Whippets I’ve bred have taken several FCI World Winner titles, and more are sired by dogs I sent abroad.

BIS: Would you say you were always a writer or did that devolp with maturity?

B.B.: As a teenager I sent a couple of show reports from England to the Sight hound Club magazine in Sweden. They printed them and that encouraged me to send a few short items to the Swedish KC magazine, Hundsport. I was thrilled when they actually PAID me for this — I somehow hadn’t realized you could make money from writing! Eventually Hundsport asked me to take over all their show reporting; I wrote a lot for them in the 1960s and ‘70s and have continued to do so even after moving to America. I remember starting Hundsport’s annual Top Dog competition in 1965 or ‘66 — there was nothing like that in those days in Sweden nor in most other European countries.

Photo 2 • Winning BIS at the Stockholm International show in 1963 with the Whippet Int. Ch. Laguna Locomite.

Photo 3 • Judging the specialty at Santa Barbara, California, in 1977.

BOB from an entry of 180 Whippets was Ch. Gold-Dust Twenty-Four Karat, owner-breeder handled by Joan Goldstein. Photo by Bergman

BIS: So journalism was something that has accompanied you for much of your life, how did you begin writing books?

B.B.: Gradually I started writing more, first about dogs in general and then all kinds of pets in a couple of the big daily newspapers, but I realized pretty soon that I didn’t want to become a regular journalist: Most of the older journalists I met were more or less alcoholic, bitter and cynical — even the successful ones! I wrote my first dog book in 1966; it was just a pet-type “Family Dog” book, but it was translated into at least a few different languages.

Last year someone in Norway sent me her nearly 50-year old copy of that book, apologizing for the scribbles that her then 5-year old son had made in it. It’s a little disconcerting to realize that this kid must now be well past middle age!

In the 1970s I wrote a couple of other books, including an encyclopedia of dog breeds for a Swedish publisher. I didn’t think it was very good, so waived all rights to it for a fairly small sum. A few years later that book was sold to an international publisher, translated into many different languages and sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. (I remember seeing it in a bookstore when I was judging in Rio de Janeiro in the 1980s.) If I had gotten royalties I would have had a very nice income from that book for years …

In the late 1970s a British publisher asked if I’d like to write a Whippet breed book. It was a lot of work, but I learned a great deal about breed history and doing research. I’ll never forget going into the famous Foyles Bookshop at Charing Cross Road in London — the world’s biggest book store at the time — and seeing my book on the shelf … That first edition has been revised and expanded twice: the most recent book, “The Whippet – An Authoritative Look at the Breed’s Past, Present and Future” was published in California in 2010. It’s 350 oversize pages with plenty of color photos; it’s sold out now, but they keep telling me they will be printing copies “on demand” in the future.

BIS: Writing and publishing is something many people in the dog world simply cannot find time for regardless of their qualifications. Organizing your own magazine must have been a monumental undertaking, how did that develop, and what was the impact of this project on your life? ?

B.B.: It didn’t really occur to me that writing about dogs could be a real profession until I moved to the U.S. and was offered a partnership in a small publishing company that Paul Lepiane owned. We’ve been partners in life and work now for 35 years. Paul started The Afghan Hound Review, one of the first really big, glossy breed magazines in the 1970s, when he was just out of school. When he also began to publish Poodle Variety a couple of years later things got too big for him, and that’s when I entered the Best in Show Magazine

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picture. Then I started Sighthound Review in 1984, we took over a Setter magazine for a while, and in 1997 we began to publish Dogs in Review, which soon became huge and very popular worldwide: In the early 2000s we printed several issues that were more than 500 or 600 pages. I’m not sure how we managed to produce a big, monthly allbreed magazine and several bi-monthly specialist magazines from our at-home office with a very small staff … but somehow we did.

Gradually we’ve sold off most of the magazines since the early 2000s. Dogs in Review is now owned by a large company in Los Angeles, but I still write for them. Paul still publishes Poodle Variety, and after selling Sighthound Review many years ago I bought it back fairly recently. I’m having a great time writing, editing and publishing it all on my own — it’s a perfect retirement spot!

“When I was young I didn’t think there could be anything greater than becoming an all-breeds judge, but these days I enjoy specialty shows more than anything else.”

BIS: I’m convinced that Providence has awarded you more than the 24 hours in a day that the rest of us are allotted, because apart from showing and breeding and running a magazine (and dashing off a book or two in your spare time) you were earning your credentials as a judge.

B.B.: I started judging in Sweden and England in the 1960s, but I didn’t become an approved FCI judge until 1976. In 1977 I judged nearly 200 entries at the American Whippet Club specialty in Santa Barbara and two years later a similar number at the American Saluki Association’s show there. Those were fantastic experiences, the best any judge could have, but it probably also gave me the wrong idea about what to expect from most judg200

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Photo 4 • Judging the American Saluki Association supported entry at Santa Barbara Kennel Club in 1979. BOB from 206 Salukis entered was Ch. Shams Il J’Balie, twice the winner of this show and an influential stud dog. Photo by Bergman

ing assignments. I was also lucky enough to judge at Crufts, Westminster, several FCI World Shows and in many different countries around the world in the late 1970s/early ‘80s.

While I was still living in Sweden I was approved by FCI for more breeds than I had asked for, but mostly I had to give up on my judging career after moving here. It’s impossible to judge AKC dog shows and publish dog magazines simultaneously; I don’t know why it’s different in the U.S. than in other countries, but it is. I have judged some big specialties and all-breed shows in the U.S. during the time when I was not working as a publisher, but mostly I have judged abroad, at FCI shows in Europe, England, Australia, Russia, China, etc. I’m currently approved for breeds in 7 of the 10 FCI groups and have judged BIS a few times in Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and Mexico.

When I was young I didn’t think there could be anything greater than becoming an all-breeds judge, but these days I enjoy specialty shows more than anything else. It’s much more interesting to judge a large entry of one of your favorite breeds than judging lots of breeds with smaller entries.

I love traveling; everybody else complains about it, but I have no problem with airports or

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Photo 5 • Judging Group X at the FCI World Show in Verona, Italy, in 1980: the Whippet Eng. & South African Ch. Beseeeka Knight Errant of Silksone won the Group, and was later also Best in Show. Gary Kartsounis of South Africa was the owner and handler.

He flew from South Africa with the dog to exhibit at the World Show.

flyng. However, I don’t want to be away from home, so I don’t judge that much these days. I always like to go back to Sweden and visit, and in 2016 I have a couple of assignments in England that I look forward to — the Whippet Club show and later Best in Show at their Hound Association championship show. But now, for the most part, I prefer to stay home!

BIS: Do you still enjoy showing?

B.B.: I haven’t shown a dog for months … It’s much more interesting to sit at ringside and watch. This week we’ll go to Palm Springs with a few dogs for a specialty show. There’s a new puppy that I coown and a few veterans, but I wish some young kid would handle the dogs — I don’t enjoy showing the dogs myself that much.

There are not a lot of shows in the U.S. that are worth going to — I’m actually envious of those who show in England or Europe. Other than the specialty shows here in California there’s mostly Palm Springs in January, which is beautiful, and Santa Barbara in August, which is always fun and very 202

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international, and then Del Valle in northern California in October. The distances here are enormous; people from Europe tend to forget that — when I go to Westminster it takes almost as long to fly in from California as it does from Europe. I’m a big supporter of Morris & Essex, but the show is held only once every five years, and that’s also back East.

The American Whippet Club’s national specialty will be held in California in April this year, and I look forward to that. The national specialties we have in the U.S. are easily the best dog shows of that kind anywhere! The Whippet national will last a whole week and I expect we’ll get something like 500 Whippets entered. Everyone stays at a hotel with the dogs and there’s so much going on you’re exhausted by the end of it … but a good national specialty is everything that dog shows should be — but very seldom are.

BIS: How did you come to write the Best in Show book? This is a work of unparallelled breadth, dating from the pre-history of shows and providing detailed information concerning every aspect of the

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dog world and showing. So much information, both historical, anecdotal and plain factual (wins and statistics), is packed into the text, and I wondered how you were able to gather so much information together.

B.B.: It seemed to me for a long time that there must be a place for a comprehensive overview and history of the world of purebred dogs. None had ever been published, as far as I knew. I wanted this book to be worldwide in scope and to cover the entire period that there has been a “dog fancy” in the modern sense, from the beginning of dog shows in England in the mid-1800s to the early 2000s. Most sports and hobby activities have some sort of reference work where you can look up details of past activities and major events, but there just wasn’t one to be found about the dog sport.

It was really difficult to convince a publisher that this was something that realistically could be done, and that it would be a good book. Most people felt it was a far-fetched idea, at least if you wanted it to be as ambitious as I did. I wrote a book proposal for a publisher in late 2004, finally signed a contract in May 2005 and then worked on the manuscript and photos for more than two years. I couldn’t spend all my time on it, of course, since I had to keep my day job: You certainly don’t get rich from writing this kind of book! Half-way through 2007 they were ready for me to start working on proofreading the manuscript. The finished book was introduced at the AKC/Eukanuba show in Long Beach in December 2007; the official publication date was 2008.

Photo 6 • Judging Afghan Hounds at Westminster in 1982. Left, BOB (and later No. 1 of all breeds that year) Ch. Kabik’s The Challenger with owner-breeder handler Chris Terrell; right, the Australian import Ch. Jacosta Balenciaga, owner-handled by Glorvina Schwartz.

Photo 7 • In California, mid-1980s, with the English imported Whippet Ch. Hardknott Maestro of Bohem and his daughter, later Ch. Whippoorwill Bohem Aria.

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BIS: How much of this information was researched by you from primary sources and how much was culled from other texts?

B.B.: If you mean how much information I could copy from other books of this kind the answer is: pretty much nothing, since I found no similar book that had ever been published before. But of course I quoted from original sources a lot, both from old books and magazines that I had collected. One non-doggy book that turned out to be very important was Henry Mayhew’s wonderfully detailed “London Labour and the London Poor” from the 1840s; it told me more about the beginning of the dog fancy than any

other book. But I realized I had to go back much further in time to show that people have admired beautiful dogs of good breeding for as long as there has been a written tradition, or even longer — all the way back to the Odyssey, where there is a reference to dogs being kept for status and “show”…

The Greek philosopher and historian Arrian wrote a very affectionate treatise on his beautiful Greyhound in the second century A.D. – the dog even shared his bed! Later on there was Dame Juliana Berner’s famous “breed standard,” again of a Greyhound, and lots of various dog breeds are mentioned by both Chaucer and Shakespeare. I found an illustration of a really elaborate kennel building in France from the 1300s that we were able to print in the book. There is a portrait of a pair of really beautiful Salukis painted in China as early as in the 1400s, and there are those famous “Ten Prized Dogs” paintings from the 1700s. Records exist that tell of Louis XIV giving beautiful little toy spaniels — early Papillons — as a farewell gift to his discarded mistresses, etc. etc.

One of the things I regret is that we weren’t able to give enough space in the book to one of the great early dog paintings, “The Dog Market,” completed in 1677 by the Dutch-born artist Abraham Hondius, who lived in England. The original was owned by Walter Goodman, the famous Skye Terrier breeder and judge who has died since, and although he was kind enough to let us use a high-quality print, it was so late in the publishing process at that time that we were only able to squeeze it in on less than half a page … It ought to have occupied a 2-page spread! It’s an amazing painting and shows clearly that the concept of separate breeds existed long before we had dog shows.

Finding things like that made the research a lot more colorful and put the whole concept of the dog fancy and “breeds” as we know them into perspective. And of course I went back to the early kennel club records in both England and the U.S. a lot. Fortunately I was getting good help from the Kennel Club librarian in the U.K. and spent a lot of time in the AKC library in New York, going through old issues of The AKC Gazette.

“I realized I had to go back much further in time to show that people have admired beautiful dogs of good breeding for as long as there has been a written tradition, or even longer — all the way back to the Odyssey, where there is a reference to dogs being kept for status and “show” .”

BIS: So there is plenty of travel going on, as well as reaching out to the various organizations that keep archives of shows and show history. Your volume is also a visual reference book, there so many pictures of the dogs and people that made the history of this sport.

B.B.: It didn’t hurt that I have a magpie’s instinct of saving anything related to dog shows, or that I had worked on the international show coverage for Dogs in Review for many years. I have a garage full of old magazines going back to the early 1900s with tons of newspaper clippings, photographs and books. We inherited the photo archives from Kennel Review when they folded in the 1990s, which added to our already large photo collection. (I have no idea how many photos we have, certainly more than 10,000 old print photographs — and of course today’s images are almost all digital. The print photos are in folders sorted by breed in a large file cabinet.)

Especially Desiree Scott and Simon Parsons at Dog World in England helped me get information from the early big shows over there, and I compiled results from AKC shows since Best in Show was first made into an official award in 1925. It was more difficult getting records from other countries, but it helped that I had traveled a lot and had contacts in many places, so it was possible to write some kind of dog show history from most parts of the world. Eastern Europe and Russia didn’t have much known dog history before the fall of the Best in Show Magazine

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Soviet Union (although there were, in fact, imperial dog shows for Borzoi in Moscow before the Russian Revolution), and Asia has become a big presence on the world scene in recent years. I wish I had been able to write much more about those countries, but it was difficult to get reliable, first-hand information.

BIS: According to Wikipedia, the very first photograph was taken in 1827, but not until about 1900 was photography reasonably available to a large amount of people. It is interesting that the very first photographic sequence (1878) was of a galloping horse, were dogs also an object of interest? Are there many photographs extant of dogs and dog shows?

B.B.: Photographs were a huge problem — not that I didn’t have enough, but the opposite. Sorting through them and deciding what to use was a big undertaking. There were supposed to be “only” 500 photos in the book — we ended up using about 750 illustrations in a 656-page book, but it was still difficult to narrow them down. I remember hiring an assistant who helped spread out thousands of photos on the office floor and putting them in piles for potential use by breed, by year and by geographical location. It was almost impossible to get photos of all the most famous dogs that were flattering of the dog (and the people in the pictures!) and also interesting for a regular reader — plus of course the photos had to be of good technical quality, and we also had to deal with copyrights … I’m not sure how we managed. Fortunately a lot of the active dog show photographers around the world were very helpful and supportive.

Several times I was close to giving up: perhaps it really was impossible to complete a book like this one. Now the division into chapters looks pretty straightforward, but we were working without a model. (I had written a Swedish book about dog shows and show dogs a few years earlier, but it was much smaller and easier to complete.) I had a wonderful, patient editor who kept me sane, but by the time we got to proof-reading I was pretty frazzled … It was a huge relief to finally see the actual, printed book at the AKC/Eukanuba show. They did a beautiful job producing it, and a lot of dog people I respect were very enthusiastic about it. For several 206

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Photo 8 • Judging Miniature Poodles at Windsor in England, 1985. Dog CC and BOB was Ch. Jolda Joshua of Idadoun, owner handled by Mary Howarth.

Photo by Dalton Photo 9 • Judging Best in Show at the famous Skokloster Sighthound show in Sweden in 1986. The winner was the Borzoi Ch. Al Wintar’s United Astrachan.

Among the other judges, from left are Anna Marshall and Mary Lowe from England (to the left of Bo), then Ole Staunskjaer, Jennifer Dove, Vic Harrison, Don Wieden, Nenne Runsten and Chris Ormsby.

years afterward it would happen that even people I didn’t know came up to me at dog shows in various parts of the world and told me they kept the book permanently on their coffee table or nightstand …

The reviews were wonderful and the book got a lot of awards. I was particularly proud that it got the Independent Book Publishers’ Benjamin Franklin award for Best Reference/Directory 2009, with a book about child rearing and one on world history as runners-up. I don’t think any other dog book has done that!

BIS: You include many notes on the women who were part of this sport, in fact the role of women seems to be nearly parallel to that of men in this

Photo 10 • Winning Best in Show with the homebred Whippet Ch. Bohem Moonshine Lullaby in 1990 at Huntingdon Valley Kennel Club.

The judge was Eleanor Rotman.

sport from the very beginning. Do you agree?

B.B.: I couldn’t agree less! If Florence Nagle could have heard you say that you would have gotten a lecture in how men kept all the power in the dog world, as everywhere else, to themselves as long as they could! Mrs. Nagle fought long and hard for women to be allowed to become members of The Kennel Club (UK), but that didn’t happen until 1978 — more than ten years after she had succeeded in getting the Jockey Club to award trainer’s licenses to women. Sure, women were sometimes asked to judge at Crufts and Westminster early on, but not nearly as often as men. It was basically a man’s world, in dogs as in everything else — although that didn’t stop a few wealthy and strong-willed

women from being successful exhibitors and breeders. I’d love to have met Mrs. Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, who had the huge Giralda kennels in New Jersey and financed the fantastic Morris & Essex Kennel Club show, the biggest in the world in the late 1930s with over 4,500 dogs … or Mrs. Quintin Dick, later Lorna, Countess Howe, who won Best in Show at Crufts three times with her black Labradors around the same time. But they were the exception, not the rule, and if they had not had the positions they had, from inherited wealth or prestigious marriage, there’s no way they could have achieved what they did.

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Photo 11 • Judging all-breed Best in Show for the first time in Sweden in 1991. BIS was the Flat-coated Retriever Ch. Almanza Larry O’Grady with owner-breeder handler Ragnhild Hultén. Photo by Per Undén Photo 12 • At home in Santa Barbara, California, circa 1992, with Whippets (from left) BIS & SBIS Ch. Bohem Moonshine Lullaby, BIS & SBIS Ch. Bohem Delacreme Demoiselle, SBIS Ch. Whippoorwill Bohem Aria and BIS Ch. Bohem Of Thee I Sing.

Westminster, but she never did — I’d love to know what happened. (I remember Joe Braddon telling me that her Banchory dogs were not that great, but of course he competed with them …)

Things have improved a lot in recent years, but I just checked the websites, which I think are current, and as of January 2016 there were 12 men and one single woman on the Board of the American Kennel Club. Of the 24 directors of the General Committee of the Kennel Club (UK), 18 were men and 6 women. And there has STILL never been a woman chairman of the American Kennel Club, the Kennel Club (UK) or of the FCI…

BIS: Between your book and all of the writing done in your magazine and other formats, there is really nothing left to say about dogs and showing, or is there?

B.B.: There are still so many things to write about dogs that there is never space enough… Not only is there so much happening in the show rings and kennel clubs around the world that you’re never short of material, but the horizons for dog shows keep expanding all the time. When I grew up in Sweden in the 1950s and ‘60s everyone knew there were big dog shows in England, and maybe we had heard a little about German Shepherds and Boxers from 208

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Germany, but that was it. Then we learned there were big dog shows in southern Europe, in Australia, the U.S. and Canada… — I remember Hans Lehtinen coming back from Sydney in the mid-1970s and telling us about all the beautiful Afghan Hounds he had judged there. We were flabbergasted — nobody knew anything about dog shows in Australia then!

Just a few years later I went to live in Sydney for a year, and I’ve been back judging many times. South America has some of the best dogs and handlers in the world, but we didn’t know that until a couple of decades or so ago. Then things started to happen in Japan and some of the other Asian countries, and Russia became a serious player in dogs, as well as Eastern Europe, and now the FCI is planning to hold a World Show in China, which is of course very controversial. Last year I did an interview with FCI president Rafael de Santiago for Dogs in Review, and he comes from Puerto Rico. There’s no way anyone could have imagined all this a few decades ago when I started in dogs.

In the past I was probably ahead of most people in learning about dogs in foreign countries, but now I’m way behind. Things are happening so quickly. Most recently I got an article for Sighthound Review about dog shows in Egypt! You wouldn’t think a country with a predominantly Muslim population

Photo 13 • The first Australian Sighthound Association show in 1993. “I judged for three days, there were more than 500 Sighthounds entered, and I judged all of them.” Best in Show was the Afghan Hound Ch. Aboukir High Priority. He was owner-handled by Louise Hickie; also shown are co-owners Don Day and Ross Sinclair.

Photo 14 • The Top 20 competition at the Afghan Hound Club of America was held with the 2nd World Congress for Afghan Hounds in California in 1995. Judges were Frank Sabella (far left), Pauline Hewitt from Australia, Bo Bengtson and Andrew Brace from the UK. (Owner James Dalton is standing next to Mrs. Hewitt.

The winner was Ch. Applause Majic Show, owner-breeder handled by Cindy Chandler.

could have dog shows, but they do. It seems almost to be one of the first things people want to get involved in, once they reach a certain middle-class level of comfort: to gather around dogs in a sort of friendly and generally peaceful competition…

BIS: What does the future of literature regarding dogs and showing look like to you?

B.B.: I don’t know about books. I’m sure people will still be reading hundreds of years from now, but I don’t know in what form. Personally, I want a book or magazine that I can touch, feel and smell, so I can turn the pages, but that may change. I am pretty sure there’s a future for print publications, though, but they will have a very different purpose than they have now. It’s so easy to get news fast that the value of print publications won’t be to bring news but to sort through it, decide what’s important and needs to be saved, and to analyze and comment on the news so it makes sense to people.

Facebook is a potentially great medium that seems to be largely wasted on gossip and trivia so far. I don’t use it much, but I love email, because you can reach almost anyone you want anywhere in the world at any time, day or night, and they can respond whenever they want. And nothing beats the Internet for quick information: I Google

non-stop every day, and although I know Wikipedia isn’t always totally reliable it’s a fantastic source of information.

BIS: What is the meaning, in your opinion, of being Top Dog today? Is it the equivalent of most expensive dog, or is it really an indication of supreme quality in terms of showmanship and stock selection?

B.B.: Of course it isn’t, but what other way of measuring success do we have? I’m not sure it’s possible to produce a Top Dog point system that’s totally fair and will satisfy everyone. What’s more important, Best of Breed wins or Best in Show wins?

Is it more impressive to win ten BIS at shows with 1,000 dogs each, or two BIS over 5,000 dogs?

I just wish there could be a little more sophistication than we currently have in the U.S., where pretty much all point systems are based on who defeats the greatest number of competitors over a calendar year. If you win BIS you get points for all the dogs competing at that show except one (since you don’t defeat yourself), and if you place Group 4th you get points for all the dogs in that Group at the show except the first four placed in the Group. The result, of course, is that to be No. 1 you need to show as much as possible, so you have a chance to add up as many points as possible. The top dogs in the U.S. Best in Show Magazine

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are shown at least 150-200 times per year, which is really expensive, exhausting for both the dog and the handler, and of course also keeps any dogs that don’t have a full-time, well-financed handler out of the top rankings, regardless of how good they are.

In addition to the all-breed point systems there is also the “Breed” system, which is based only on how many dogs are defeated by going Best of Breed. Usually there is a small number of dogs that are shown so often that others can’t expect to be among the top few unless they also plan a full-time campaign all year. I always feel that if a dog is shown perhaps one or two weekends a month — maybe 25-50 times a year— it should at least qualify among the top 20 of its breed if it’s a good dog. For most breeds, qualifying for the “Top 20” competitions that are often held at the national specialties is really the best guarantee for a dog’s ability to win in the U.S.

Of course this doesn’t mean that the No. 1 dogs aren’t good. Nobody would spend all the money, time and work involved in campaigning a dog heavily unless it’s a really good dog! There are

“What surprised me when writing the book really was how little dog people have changed.

Dog show people were as crazy then as they are now!

There was a Pointer in the 1870s who was shown at least 60 times...” professional handlers and experienced breeders who make sure of that. But there are always a number of other good dogs that can’t get near the top because they are not shown as often as necessary.

It would be great if it were possible to come up with a loaded system, so e.g. only the best 25 or 50 results of the year were included, or only wins at the biggest show counted … but regardless of what you do it’s not going to make everyone happy.

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BIS: You point out in your book that the dog show circuit existed earlier and to a greater extent than is commonly believed, even without highways or airlines. Dog people just love showing! What other parts of your research were surprising to you?

B.B.: Yes, there were “circuits” in the U.S., with several dog shows held near each other even in the past — most people don’t know that. They could go on for a week or even longer. The big difference was that there were less than 150 AKC all-breed shows per year in the mid-1940s; by the early ‘70s that had increased to nearly 600, and in 1985 there were more than 1,000 AKC all-breed shows in a year for the first time. Now we seem to have settled around 1,500 AKC all-breed shows annually, none of which are particularly big by international standards: the average is less than 800 dogs, and few have as many as 4,000 dogs entered. Everyone agrees that’s way too many dog shows, but nobody seems to know how to change it.

What surprised me when writing the book really was how little dog people have changed.

Dog show people were as crazy then as they are now! There was a Pointer in the 1870s who was shown at least 60 times, maybe even more, in both Great Britain and Germany … Can you imagine how difficult that must have been, before the advent of cars, before telephones? How did they even find out where the shows were? How did they make their entries? How did they get to the shows? The fact that people from England on occasion showed dogs in America at a time when it took weeks just getting from one country to another is really amazing. I remember reading that an exhibitor from Japan was showing at Westminster — or maybe it was Morris & Essex — in the 1930s… I’ll have to find that article.

Otherwise, I guess what was interesting to me was to realize how old the fascination with different dog breeds is — it’s been going on for hundreds of years, even thousands, before there were dog shows. Also how universal it is: It all started in England, of course, but there really is a world-wide trend that people want to get together in organized dog shows and form a dog fancy. Whenever there’s a solid middle class, not necessarily wealthy but

obviously with time and money to devote to something more than just surviving for the day, then this is where a dog fancy will be forming …

Photo 15 • Judging Yorkshire Terriers at the FCI World Show in Puerto Rico in 997, BOB Ch. Ferrari De La Villa y Corte, with owner-breeder Ana Mesto of Spain.

Photo 16 • We had a Pekingese on both the 2003 and 2005 covers - and the 2005 dog, Eng. & Am. Ch. Yakee If Only, was No. 1 All Breeds. The 2005 Annual was 648 pages. I think that was the largest issue we did. It weighed nearly 2 kilos.

BIS: After sifting through all those photos, would you say most breeds have changed a lot over the years?

B.B.: It sure looks like it, but you really cannot judge from old photos. Some of the dogs from the past look so different that it’s difficult to imagine how they could win so much, but that’s looking at them with modern eyes. Many of the great movie stars of old, silent movies were famous for their beauty in their own time, and they don’t look so hot to us today either. Certainly human features don’t change that much over a few generations, so I think it’s primarily that what we select as objects of admiration is different now and then. If you add changes in presentation, grooming, handling, stacking and of course photography, it’s no wonder that some of the old winners look really odd to us.

On occasion there are dogs — or photos — that transcend the years. For instance, the Great Dane Ch. Etfa von der Saalburg from the 1920s looks like she could win anything today … and there are others, but frankly you see more in old film or videos. I remember seeing a glimpse of an Old English Sheepdog that was used for herding in England in the 1930s on TV, and that dog looked fantastic. There were a few Borzoi in a Russian film that must have been from before 1917 who looked wonderful. I found a clip from Whippet racing in England in 1915 — most of the dogs wouldn’t win today, but there’s a brief shot of a couple of men coming through a gate with their dogs, and one of them is particolor, bigger than the rest and looked like he could have been “the father of the breed.” It gave me goosebumps …

And before we get too smug about our beautiful dogs today, let’s imagine what people will think of them maybe fifty or a hundred years from now. And of course I’m wondering what their dogs would look like to us today if we could see them!

BIS: Several times in each chapter I found myself thinking: ‘Oh, I’d like to read more about that

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person.’ Which of the many fascinating figures in the history of dogs would you think merits a full-scale biography?

B.B.: One of the most interesting personalities in dogs, and probably the sharpest mind, that I can think of is Raymond Oppenheimer, who had the Ormandy Bull Terriers in England. He wrote a couple of fantastic books that ought to be compulsory reading for anyone who takes dogs seriously. (“McGuffin & Co.” and “After Bar Sinister” — difficult to get hold of and very expensive but worth every penny!) Obviously he wrote primarily about his own breed, but there’s so much that applies to dogs in general. I only met Mr. Oppenheimer once, but it left an indelible impression: I was invited to lunch with a Swedish Bull Terrier friend at Ormandy long ago, and afterward we were shown all the Ormandy and Souperlative dogs by his friend and kennel manager, Eva Weatherill. It sounds presumptuous if I say I wish I had known him, but just to be able to sit and listen to him talk about dogs would have been fantastic.

There was of course Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, whom I mentioned earlier. She has probably been profiled more often than any other American dog person. As the wealthiest woman in the U.S. of her time she was able to import all the top dogs she wanted from around the world. (A lot of German Shepherds and a legendary Doberman from Germany, primarily Pointers from England and many other breeds.) She was married to Hartley Dodge, of Remington Arms, and their son, Marcellus, was killed in a car accident in France when he was still quite young. I would love to know what she actually thought of the dogs she showed and bred. What were her thoughts on the American Kennel Club when they, according to some reports, scuttled her plans for the wonderful Morris & Essex KC shows in 1958, leaving it as lost for many years until a rebirth long after her death in 2000. (The recent 2015 show was a big success!)

In England, of course, Countess Howe would be a similarly august subject of interest. There’s one other person I’d very much like to meet … or if not meet, at least be able to study and listen to: Lady Wentworth, who is best known for her Crabbet Arabian Horses, but she also bred Toy dogs and 212

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Photo 17 • Judging BIS at the FCI international show in Terni, Italy, in 2009. Left, Res. BIS Scottish Terrier Eng. Ch. Tamzin Theadora, right BIS Alaskan Malamute Am. Can. Ch. Sno Quest’s King of Land Wood.

Photo 18 • The Hound Association championship show in England, 2009. There were over 300 Whippets, of which Bo judged 185 bitches and awarded the CC to Ch. Courthill Cast A Shadow. Males were judged by Magnus Hagstedt (left), who started in Whippets with a Bohem puppy in Sweden in 1971. Cast A Shadow was BOB and won BIS under Michael Quinney (right). She was owner-handled by Roger Stock. Bo will be judging Best in Show at the Hound Association championship show in 2016.

Photo Dewerstone.

wrote a classic book, “Toy Dogs and Their Ancestors.” She sounds like a fascinating person — she certainly knew what she wanted, and how to get it! Of course Florence Nagle would have been interesting to talk to — I missed the opportunity of meeting her when I could have and never saw her Sulhamstead Irish Wolfhounds at home. (Probably that was because I was a great fan of the Eaglescrag Wolfhounds, which were related to Mrs. Nagle’s dogs but very different in type. I showed some Eaglescrag dogs and got dragged into the Sulhamstead/ Eaglescrag type controvesy.) And speaking of Mrs. Nagle, I wish I had known Anastasia Noble better: her Ardkinglas Deerhounds are behind pretty much

everything in that breed. She was very nice on the occasions that I met her, and she must have led a fascinating life. She was a colorful “natural” breeder of the best and most influential Deerhounds ever.

In my own breed I would give a lot to have a few conversations with Stanley Wilkin and Willie Beara, the two brightest Whippet breeders of the 1930s and ‘40s. Both were gone long before my time, both were extremely talented breeders, and neither wrote down what they thought about the dogs that are way back in all our pedigrees. I would love to know! But of course I was lucky to be able to talk to the breeders who were still around in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, from Charles Douglas Todd to Dorrit McKay, and that’s something I really appreciate.

None of these Whippet people was particularly wealthy, as far as I know, but most of the other people I’ve mentioned were either wealthy or aristocratic or both. The fact is that if you wanted to be really successful in dogs, as in most other things, you needed that kind of background, especially in the past and especially to become well-known outside your own breed. But it’s what you do with your money and influence that matters; there were many who in spite of a privileged background failed to have much of an impact.

Of course money always helps, but I don’t think it’s as necessary today as it used to be. If you’re really talented and determined to succeed I think you can go far, even without tons of money or status.

Photo 19 • Ch. Bohem C’est la Vie, born in 2002 and “as close to the ideal of the breed as I ever got.” In her short career during the last half of 2005 she won all-breed and specialty BIS, but in February 2006 she was let out of her crate and lost at JFK Airport in New York the day after Westminster. In spite of hundreds of people searching for her for several months she was never found.

Photo 20 • I judged the International Junior Handling finals that year; there were kids from 36 countries competing, all showing a dog they didn’t know, loaned to them for the day. The winner was Adell Brancevich from Latvia (Pointer); runner-up was Emma McLaughlin from the U.K. (Papillon), and third was Juan Miranda Saucedo from Mexico.

Photo 21 • Winning BOB at the American Whippet Club’s specialty in Long Beach, California in 2013 with Ch. Counterpoint Painted

by Bohem. The judge was Wendy Paquette. Right, show chair Pam Magette. Photo Bergman.

BIS: What are your feelings about the future of purebred dogs and dog shows?

B.B.: I worry a lot about that, at least in the U.S. There are so many problems facing the dog fancy and we haven’t been very good at dealing with them. Everyone who comes from America to dog shows in Europe is so impressed by the fact that the shows are so big, there are so many ownerhandlers and so many YOUNG people at the dog shows! The AKC is trying to get more young people involved, but the way dog shows have developed in the U.S. that’s not going to be easy. We have lots of talented young handlers but not so many young people who are involved in breeding, club work, organizing dog shows, etc.

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Photo 22 • Judging Whippets at Westminster in 2009, with the BOB winner Ch. Sporting Fields Glory Bound, owner-handled by Anna Stromberg.

BIS: Your work has resulted in a series of achievements, I don’t think there is space to list them all, so what remains on your ‘to do’ list? Or, perhaps, there are some things you would like to change?

B.B.: I guess I’m a little disappointed that I haven’t been able to accept the opportunities to judge as much as I want. Probably I would make a pretty decent all-breeds judge: I have had the opportunity to develop a much deeper all-around background in dogs than many in this sport … But you have to choose, you can’t do everything, and to me it was much more important to be able to publish a really good dog magazine than to be an all-breeds judges. Some people at AKC are terrific, want to give me more breeds and ask me to get back to judging, but others at AKC are not so nice …

If there’s one thing I’d still like to do, it would 214

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be a dream project to publish a really big, beautiful book — “Sighthounds in Art.” (If it were “Dogs in Art” it would have to be several thick volumes, and I won’t live long enough to finish that!) It’s not going to happen, because it would be too expensive to print and probably impossible to get the copyrights to all the great paintings, but it could be a huge, wonderful book … When I was in St. Petersburg a couple of years ago I saw that wonderful painting at the Hermitage museum of Catherine the Great walking with her Whippet in the park — there are so many paintings like that, and I would have loved to present them all in one place.

Otherwise, I’m just happy to be around and see what happens with dogs in the future. I hope I’ll be able to have at least a couple of Whippets as long as I live. What more can you ask?

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International Dog Show Moscow, Russia 1 31st of October 2015 Photo credits: Boris Glukharev

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Group w i n n e rs Group 1 LUNAR LAKES IRBIS Collie Rough

Owned by L. Cherkasova Judged by Larive Jeannette (France)

Group 2 DIKAYA DIVISIA IZ RUSSKOI DINASTII Black Russian Terrier

Owned by Remeshevskaya T., Vorobieva O. Judged by Per Kristian Andersen (Norway)

Group 3 GEMMA STONEHENGE TAVEL Scottish Terrier

Owned by M. Khenkina Judged by Paula Heikkinen-Lehkonen (Finland)

Group 4 BALTIYSKIY TALISMAN ISTORIYA LUBVI

Dachshund Rabbit Size Smooth Haired

Owned by Y. Kuropatkina Judged by Angel Garach Domech (Spain)

Group w i n n e rs Group 5 SHOWTYME ADMIRAAL THE MIGHTY SVEN Keeshond

Owned by Hooper, Woodliffe and De Brun Judged by Christian Jonanchicot (France)

Group 6 JOLLY VOICE SKY FIRE Beagle

Owned by S. Provatorova and S. Kolzov Judged by Harry Lehkonen (Finland)

Group 7 APPLEGROVE BECHAMEL Irish Setter

Owned by I. Trusov Judged by Wim Wellens (the Netherlands)

Group 8 ADMIRAL’S SHOU NIGHT RIDER MORIS GERALD American Cocker Spaniel

Owned by A. Lyadova Judged by Svein Bjarne Helgesen (Norway)

Group w i n n e rs Group 9 ROYAL ROMANCE D’VOTION Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Owned by O. Chernishenko Judged by Hana Ahrens (Austria)

Group 10 BOURBON TULLAMORE GOOD STUFF Irish Wolfhound

Owned by O. Nalobin Judged by Markku Mahonen (Finland)

best in show w i n n e r SHOWTYME ADMIRAAL THE MIGHTY SVEN Keeshond

Owned by Hooper, Woodliffe and De Brun Judged by Horst Kliebenstein (Germany)

International Dog Show Moscow, Russia 2 1st of November 2015 Photo credits: Boris Glukharev

Group w i n n e rs Group 1 ANDVOL PINKERTON Welsh Corgi Pembroke

Owned by O. Shuvalova

Group 2 Satelit van Helsing Boxer

Owned by E. Gornova Judged by Bo Skalin (Sweden)

Group 3 GRAND OVACIA VIVA-VICTORIA Yorkshire Terrier

Owned by M. Sviridova Judged by Elzbieta Chwalibog (Poland)

Group 4 FORMULA USPEHA BIG BANG Dachshund Miniature Smooth Haired

Owned by I. Hapaeva Judged by Heliane Maissen-Jarisch (Austria)

Group w i n n e rs Group 5 REEDLY ROAD ILLUMINATED Pharaon Hound

Owned by M. Evteeva Judged by Saija Juutilainen (Finland)

Group 6 BLACK MAJESTY HALL OF FAME

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

Owned by T. Zaderenko Judged by Maria Teresa Mondo (Italy)

Group 7 APPLEGROVE BECHAMEL Irish Setter

Owned by I. Trusov Judged by Mike Kreiner (Austria)

Group 8 ZAMPANZAR HEMINGWAY DAIQUIRI Golden Retriever

Owned by N. Rozhkova Judged by Harry Lehkonen (Finland)

Group w i n n e rs Group 9 FASHION GIRL S TSVETOCHNOI POLJANY Miniature Black Poodle

Owned by O. Arhipova and D. Kazimova Judged by Michael Leonard (Ireland)

Group 10 LIBRIUM’S REMARKABLE JAZZ Whippet

Owned by M. Sheina Judged by Gerard Jipping (The Netherlands)

best in show w i n n e r Satelit van Helsing Boxer

Owned by E. Gornova Judged by Kari Järvinen (Finland)

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Linda Moore Spaniel Club President, USA Interviewed by Jovana Danilovic Photo Credits: Jeffrey Hanlin

BIS: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. You have bred healthy and typey American Cocker Spaniels for generations now. How did you get started with American Cockers and why?

L.M.: Thank you for asking me. I had a cocker spaniel when I was growing up and after I graduated from law school, I knew I wanted a cocker as a pet.

In looking for a pet cocker, I met a lady that showed cockers, I bought one and I became hooked.

BIS: Which dog do you consider the foundation of your own breeding program?

L.M.: CH. Casablanca’s High Five. He was a son of CH. Glenmurray’s High Noon.

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in showing?

L.M.: My greatest achievement in showing cocker spaniels has been breeding the litter that includes GCH Casablanca’s Thrilling Seduction – Beckham.

Besides Beckham, who is the top BIS-winning sporting dog in the United States and was the No. 1 Dog All-Breeds in 2011, the litter included 3 other champions, one who was also a Sporting Group Winner and another who was a Best in Specialty Show winner, and an obedience champion who is still showing in obedience.

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BIS: How many dogs do you have at home (living with you) and how many you coown? How many litters approximately you have a year?

L.M.: I have 5 American cocker spaniels living with me at this time and I co-own two more that do not live with me. I have not had a cocker litter in approximately 4 years, but Linda Pitts and I have cobred a litter that is due in 2 weeks, so I am very excited.

BIS: Please mention 2 or 3 American Cockers which are not owned, bred or shown by yourself, that you particularly admired, and tell us what you most admired about each.

L.M.: Because I breed black cockers I tend to think first of black cockers: CH Frandee’s Forgery, CH Glenmurray’s Solid Black, CH Westglen Blak-Gammon and CH Sweetheart’s Space Jam, but CH San Jo’s Born To Win, a parti-color, also stands out. They all had beautiful movement and breed type.

BIS: With how many kennels and who are the kennels you cobreed? How important was cooperation between breeders through the time?

L.M.: I have co-bred several litters with others: Beth and Jane Williams (Jan-Bet), Linda Pitts (Silhouette) and Sharon Elliott (Elliott). It is important to cooperate with other breeders because

“Type is the essence of the breed. It is the combination or the whole of the characteristics that are typical of the breed and “make” the breed... ” you can learn from others and breeding with others can improve your own lines.

BIS: Do you think it is important to work with a team of people and why?

L.M.: Yes, I think it is important to work with a team of people because of the different perspectives of each person. Plus, I do not think you can ever stop learning and you continue to learn when working with people you admire and respect.

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BIS: Did you have a mentor when you got started?

And do you mentoring someone at the moment?

L.M.: Yes, I had two wonderful mentors that helped me get started: Dee Dee Wood (Frandee) and Lois Wilson (Glenmurray). I am not currently mentoring anyone.

BIS: Tell us please the main characteristic you admire in the breed? What are your goals in the breeding program?

L.M.: The breed standard states that first and foremost the cocker must be merry and that is the main characteristic I admire in the breed. My goals as a breeder are to breed healthy dogs that are as close to the breed standard as possible.

BIS: In which ways breed has change over the time since you first got involved with the breed?

L.M.: The number of American cocker spaniels being bred and shown has dropped dramatically.

BIS: How do you define “type”?

L.M.: “Type” is the essence of the breed. It is the

combination or the whole of the characteristics that are typical of the breed and “make” the breed.

Type is one of those things that is difficult to describe but you know it when you see it.

BIS: Every breed has some common problems.

Which is the most common problem in your variety seen from a breeder’s point of view?

L.M.: Unfortunately, we have several common problems in American Cocker Spaniels. From a confirmation stand point common problems are top lines and poor rears. From a health stand point it is cataracts.

BIS: In order, name few traits you look for in the ring.

L.M.: Reach and drive when moving, sloping topline and overall balance.

BIS: When did you become a president of American Cocker club in US? And what are the main goals of the club?

L.M.: I will become the President of the American

Spaniel Club in January 2016. I have been the First Vice-President for the past 4 years. The main goals I have for ASC are to better promote the American Cocker Spaniel and to improve communications with the general public, the media, ASC members, participants in ASC events, and judges.

BIS: Beside showing your dogs, are you involved in any other kind of work with your American Cockers?

L.M.: Right now I am not showing any cocker spaniels, but I am showing a pug I bred. I would like to show one of my cockers in obedience and hope to do that in the future.

BIS: What would be the most important single piece of advice you would give to all serious young breeders?

L.M.: Ask questions of breeders you admire and respect. Ask how they got started and how have improved their lines.

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Very Vigie - American Cockers

by Laurent Pichard Interviewed by Jovana Danilovic

BIS: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. You have bred healthy and typey American Cocker Spaniels for generations now. How did you get started with American Cockers and why?

L.P.: I just fell in love with the breed in 1972 at a dog show in England. For me they are magnificient.

BIS: Which dog do you consider the foundation of your own breeding program?

L.P.: A buff bitch that I imported from USA WW Multi Ch Kargàs Pina Colada, daughter of Ch Memoir’s Billy Hilder. she has been winning a lot and has produced 8 champions.

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in breeding?

L.P.: My greatest achievement as a breeder is to have been elected in 2013 Top breeder all breeds in Finland which was an unbelievable achiement and to have been the first non-Finnish breeder to receive this award in the history of the Finnish kennel club.

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in showing?

L.P.: Definitely to have won in 2007 the Eukanuba World Challenge in Long Beach California with the buff Multi Ch Very Vigie Vamos à La Playa. That was an incredible success for my reputation as 256

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a breeder. Vamos will stay in the memory of many American people as he was the first American Cocker ever to win such an event with a long tail in USA. BIS: How many dogs do you have at home (living with you) and how many you coown? How many litters approximately you have a year?

L.P.: At the moment I have 17 American Cockers living with me in my home and I co-own many other dogs in different countries. I breed between 7 to 9 litters every year. I have a full-time person loving and caring for them, the same one for 15 years.

BIS: Please mention 2 or 3 American Cockers which are not owned, bred or shown by yourself, that you particularly admired, and tell us what you most admired about each.

L.P.: I admire many dogs that I did not breed, own or show. I´m far from being kennel blind and I believe that has been helped me a lot to built my breeding program. My first litter was born in 1974 and Multi Ch Empirés Brooklyn Dodger is one of them. I had the pleasure to judge him at my first assignement in USA. I believe that flashy black and white have had a strong influence in the breed. Frandeés Top Brass, Ch Kamp’s Captain Kool and Ch Lurolàs Sarah B. Are other specimens that are still in my dreams.

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BIS: With how many kennels have you worked, and which are the kennels you cobreed with? How important was cooperation between breeders through time?

L.P.: I especially work with Sanna Vartiainen from Finland as she has the same passion than I do for the breed and we have been close partners for almost 15 years now. I believe that it is very important to be able to share the same passion with other breeder.

Very Vigie dogs have a strong influence in France, Switzerland, and Mexico. I also have had close relations with Gazon and Darkehavens kennels in USA but time is flying and these talented breeders do not breed that much nowadays.

BIS: Did you have a mentor when you got started?

And do you mentor someone at the moment?

L.P.: Norman Austin has definetely been my mentor in the breed. He taught me a lot and I have been really blessed by the angels to have had such a mentor.

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BIS: Tell us please the main characteristic you admire in the breed? What are your goals in the breeding program?

L.P.: Soundness, temperament and beauty are the essence of the breed. If one of these points is missing than it is not be possible to breed outstanding specimens.

BIS: How do you define “type”?

L.P.: Breed type is requested by the standard. Type is the little plus that a breeder can ad through a well-defined breeding program.I believe that I have been able to fix a type through a excellent line of line bred bitches. Very Vigie type is mostly defined by the great temperament of real showdogs, beautifull head and sloping topline. I’ m also very much fixed on correct coat texture as it makes the daily care of the coat accessible to all.

BIS: Every breed has some common problems.

Which is the most common problem in your variety seen from a breeder’s point of view?

L.P.: I believe that common problems in American

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“I would promote more sportmanship and better standard knowledge from the exhibitors.�

Cockers are topline, lack of personality and specimens lacking class.

BIS: In order, name few traits you look for in the ring.

L.P.: Showmanship, character, and soundness, breed type is for me an evidence.

BIS: What, if anything, do you feel non-breeder judges get wrong about the breed?

L.P.: Mostly judges putting up oversized dogs lacking breed type. The biggest is very seldom the best.

Movement of an American Cocker for sure has to be with reach and drive. Moving fast is not always a positive point if it is lacking drive. Bad front is a problem in the breed and wrong movement can show this very clearly.

BIS: If you were in charge of everything regarding the dog shows what change would you make first?

L.P.: I would promote more sportmanship and better standard knowledge from the exhibitors. Winning is important, but finishing a medium quality specimen is lacking interest. I would definetely cancel the cheap champion titles as they are not bringing anything positive to any breeds. A champion dog should be only be given to a great and beautiful dog.

BIS: What would be the most important single piece of advice you would give to all serious young breeders?

L.P.: Be clever, look at old pedigrees and respect old breeders with studying why and what they have done for the breed. Always remember that breeding one generation of pretty dogs is great but fixing a breed Type after 8 or 10 generations is better. Do not breed with medium quality animals, or unsound ones, you’ll have the back pay sooner or later. Coat is an asset in our breed but it is not everything. Movement, topline and temperament is much more important since American Cockers is a sportive breed, do not exagerate with crating or growing their coat at the cost of their freedom.

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Galaksi & Cockergold

by Lotte & Michael Kristensen Interviewed by Jovana Danilovic

BIS: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. You have bred healthy and typey American Cocker Spaniels for generations now. How did you get started with American Cockers and why?

Lotte & Michael: We, Michael and Lotte Kristensen, are very happy to get the opportunity to present our breeding of American and English cocker spaniels. Our kennel is located in Dianalund, in the countryside at the western part of Zealand in Denmark.

Our breeding of Galaksi American cocker spaniels go way back to the 1970s, when Michaels parents started the kennel, at the same time kennel Cockergold was founded by Lottes parents. Galaksi and Cockergold has now been passed over to the next generation and are now run in partnership since we got together 15 years ago.

Michael got involved in the dog-world very early in life and managed to be junior-handler of the year in Denmark two years and 2 year in Monaco, with final competitions at Crufts.

BIS: Which dog do you consider the foundation of your own breeding program?

Lotte & Michael: Both kennels have existed for more than 40 years, and has produced top-winning dogs of both breeds. In kennel Galaksi it is hard to point out one specific foundation bitch or dog, but it all started with CH Pepplestone Sound of Music.

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Another dog worth mentioning is CH J-R’s Rebel Strike, he came to Denmark in 2003 and has had a tremendous impact on the Galaksi American cockers producing very well-constructed off spring with excellent movement including CH Galaksi Million Dollar Baby.

For the last 10+ years the foundation bitch at kennel Cockergold has been CH Carillo Cover Design – she was a birthday present from Michael and is currently in most pedigrees named Cockergold. She was an amazing showdog and producer. She had 4 litters all with several champions.

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in breeding?

Lotte & Michael: Both kennels have achieved the honor of being breeder of the year in Denmark all breeds. Most recently kennel Cockergold in 2010.

Kennel Cockergold has also achieved stud-dog of the year with CH Carillo Cover Girl in 2007. It is very fulfilling as a breeder to win these titles confirming consistency and quality in the breeding program.

On the more personal level greatest achievements have been the breeding of particularly successful litters, the results obtained after hours of studying pedigrees, attending shows, looking at photos, spotting the right combination and then see the result in real life with high quality throughout a litter, with top-winning dogs.

Photo 1 • Ch. Galaksi Back to Back “Drys” Danish & Swedish Champion, Junior European Winner Photo 2 • Ch. Galaksi Million Dollar Question - Dog of the Year all breeds in Denmark.

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in showing?

Lotte & Michael: Dog of the year all breeds in Denmark with CH Galaksi Million Dollar Question, and recently in 2015 Dog of the year 2 with CH Galaksi This is Me. Furthermore CH Galaksi Read all about it was dog of the year all breeds in Iceland.

We have had several World Winners over the years, WW 1992 Galaksi Sound of Nikita was even BIS 2 and WW 2014 PBJ Back in Black was BIS 4 shown

by Michael. CH Cockergold Credit card took the title in 2010 and CH Cockergold All my Life achieved the WW title in 2015, in both cases with more than 200 entries in the breed. Kennel Galaksi had BIS breeding group and BIS stud-dog at the WW show in 1989, another great win.

In the US CH Galaksi This is Me won the AKC Eukanuba National bred by Sporting group in 2013 and BIS owner handled in 2015. He is the only undocked American cocker to ever win the Sproting groupthree times.

We have been awarded Cocker of the year in Denmark more than 10 times, American cocker more than 20 times and multiple Spaniels of the year and both kennels are consistently represented among the top-dogs in both breeds every year.

Both kennels have been winning the group and had several BIS placements all over Europe at International and specialty shows.

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litters approximately you have a year?

Lotte & Michael: In total we have approximately 25 dogs in the kennel living with us, half of them American, half of them English cocker spaniels. Approximately 10 dogs are co-owned living with other families, sometimes only for showing, sometimes we have co-owned bitches at the kennel for breeding. Co-ownership is always a delicate balance, a matter of mutual trust and clear agreements, but when it works it is an excellent way of expanding the breeding material available.

We have had the privilege of being trusted by other breeders to house and show some excellent dogs, these include American cockers like CH PBJ Back in Black from the US and CH Azels Always bet on the Black from Australia, and English cockers like CH Coastline Johnny be Good from Finland. To the owners we hope they have benefitted from the results these dogs have achieved, and to us it has been a possibility of adding valuable new genes to our current lines.

The number of litters during the last 10 years has varied from 1 to 6. Our rule of thumb is only to breed if we would like to keep a puppy from that specific combination – not saying that we always do, but it’s a way of securing internal quality control.

BIS: Please mention 2 or 3 American Cockers which are not owned, bred or shown by yourself, that you particularly admired, and tell us what you most admired about each.

Michael: Going way back worth mentioning are CH Tagalong’s Macho Man and CH Empire’s Brooklyn Dodger, both excellent specimens, well-constructed

“We never compromise on quality and though we do have stud-dogs in both breeds, we tend to use stud-dogs from outside the kennel in more than 50 procent of our litters.”

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with excellent movement. Both were top-producers and would do extremely well in the show-ring today.

Still going strong CH Casablanca Thrilling Seduction, is another dog of very high quality, and we have the pleasure of having these lines represented in CH Galaksi Smashing Seduction, being his half-sister.

Lotte: One English cocker we would like to mention is CH Travis Vital Spark, he was a well-build dog with excellent movement, but most of all, he was an excellent producer, siring multiple champions all over Europe. He was very successfully bred to our CH Carillo Cover Design twice, producing 5 champions out of 6 puppies. Another cocker worth mentioning is CH Midnight Train vom Rauhen Holz, bred in Germany and living in Sweden where he was cocker of the year a number of years in row. He was moderate all over, but an excellent mover. Finally we would like to mention CH Lynwater Dawn Shimmer winning the Gundog group at Crufts back in 1994, she was representing the kind of English cocker spaniel we see today and was an excellent representative of the breed.

BIS: With how many kennels and who are the kennels you cobreed? How important was cooperation between breeders through the time?

Michael: We have had an excellent collaboration with the US kennel PBJ and Moody’s over the years; Lotte: We will be ever grateful to Kari Graanas kennel Carillo in Norway who gave us CH Carillo Cover Girl and another kennel worth mentioning is kennel Travis by Kari Haave. A number of Travis dogs are present in the lines of the Cockergold cockers and combining Cockergold and Travis lines have turned out very successful several times.

That being said, we have no formalized collaboration with any kennel being in American or English cockers. We try diligently to identify what we find is the best combination and then we travel, if necessary overseas, no matter what kennel name the dog has as prefix, and only very seldom have we experienced to be rejected, though challenges have occurred, the dog world is competitive. We never compromise on quality and though we do have stud-dogs in both breeds, we tend to use studdogs from outside the kennel in more than 50% of our litters.

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Photo 3 • Lotte & Michael in America 2015

BIS: Did you have a mentor when you got started?

And do you mentoring someone at the moment?

Lotte & Michael: As mentioned previously both kennels have been running in the family for decades, hence mentorship and parenthood has kind of been the same. Over the years we have had excellent discussions with breeders and judges all over the world, and you never get too old or too experienced to learn or at least consider the opinion of others.

We have a passion for the junior-handling competition, and we have had the pleasure of supporting/ mentoring a number of young talented handlers to success in this competition.

BIS: Tell us please the main characteristic you admire in the breed? What are your goals in the breeding program?

Lotte & Michael: The wonderful temperament characterizing American as well as English cocker spaniel is, and always has been, the driver in breeding these two wonderful breeds. The eager will to please, the ability to chill out in the living room and then in a second being ready to go for a walk, and have some fun. We are very much aware that both

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breeds are hunting dogs, and even though we do not go hunting ourselves, we have had the pleasure of experiencing skilled owners of Cockergold dogs using them in the field. This combined with a beautiful exterior and the characteristic sweet expression featuring both breeds makes it the obvious choice for us. Other breeds have been part of the Galaksi and Cockergold kennels including Standard poodle, Wirehaired foxterrier, Löwchen, English springer spaniel, and Lhasa apso, but our main breeds always have been American and English cockers.

The overall goal in our breeding is to maintain these characteristics: the merry cocker, well-constructed with excellent movement and attitude.

BIS: In which ways breed has change over the time since you first got involved with the breed?

Lotte & Michael: An amazing thing with the American cocker is the fact that you can go back 30-40 years and find photos of dogs looking quite like topwinning individuals today. We are right now planning to use frozen semen from an American dog that died more than 20 years ago.

In the English cocker spaniel much more has happened, the breed has improved in general construction with better and sounder angulation front and back, and much better movement. Coats have improved, and the grooming and way of showing has changed as well.

It should not be a goal in itself to change a breed over time, and the American cocker is the living proof, that if quality is high enough only minor adjustments are needed. In our opinion the English cocker spaniel has changed for the better and we hope to have contributed to this development.

BIS: How do you define “type”?

English cocker: Talking about type in the English cocker is quite common, and what we hear most is classic type and Scandinavian type, where the classic type is defined as a more moderate type of cocker, short and very compact with very moderate feathering and the Scandinavian type is slightly longer with more angulation front and back. We actually think and try to take what is best from both worlds. We want a well-build dog and it has to be able to walk, to cover ground well with reach and 274

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Photo 4 • Ch. Galaksi Smashin Seduction “ Bissen” Photo 5 • Ch. Galaksi All My Life “Lava” Multi Best in Show & Group Winner Photo 6 • Ch. Galaksi All Time Favourite “Victor” Multi Best in Show & Group Winner

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drive, which is one of our hallmarks. Too us, some of the very classic typed dogs are beautiful when stacked but they simply can’t move, they are short stepped with no drive – the classic type also sometimes have too arching crops and low set tail, that we don’t favor. On the other hand being too long and low is the risk in exaggerating the Scandinavian type.

We have used a few American bred English cockers, and we are impressed by the style and showmanship these dogs possess, but it is a balance. In general we find the American type English cocker, to be too straight in the front with very poor fore chests, hence we have only bred to selected individuals with a strong and consolidated front.

American cocker: When it comes to the American cocker, discussion about type is not that common.

The origin country of the breed, the US, is by far the largest producer of the breed and kind of defines the type. We believe that we in Scandinavia have excellent representatives of the breed, but very few lines are purely Scandinavian and US dog are involved in most pedigrees. One thing though we have to mention, is the focus on topline – and you might consider that a type – a lot of breeders are so focused on the top-line that everything else gets lost, often you see very straight shoulders and poor fore chest and we am proud to say, that we believe we have demonstrated the ability to breed American cockers with excellent neck and well-angulated shoulders, we like to see the neck naturally fit into the shoulder and try to avoid a sharp angle separating neck and back.

In our opinion the discussion about type is not that interesting, you have to be true to the standard and to define what you like, and then don’t compromise.

If one thing should be mentioned as most important to us, it must be movement. Breeding gun-dogs sound and healthy movement is essential.

Photo 7 • Galaksi This Is Me “Dukse” Multi Champion International Champion Grand AKC Champion

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BIS: Every breed has some common problems.

Which is the most common problem in your variety seen from a breeder’s point of view?

Lotte & Michael: In both breeds x-raying for hip dysplasia has been common practice for many years in

Scandinavia, but the cases are very rare and both breeds almost never show symptoms even if diagnosed.

In the English cocker spaniels the genetic screening for PRA and FN has turned out to be a very valuable tool reducing a previous challenge in this breed. A number of breeders are very keen on only breeding non-carriers, but with the genetic test it is perfectly okay to breed a carrier to a non-carrier.

We have experienced that people have turned puppies down due to genetic status though quality was top, that we don’t really understand though it may be about understanding inheritance of the diseases. Sure we acknowledge that breeding noncarriers to non-carriers may be more convenient, but never compromise on quality.

Currently, we only breed parti-color English cockers spaniels, we have had a number of solids, but though somewhat tabooed, we find that some challenges still remain in the temperament of the solid English cocker spaniels. Serious colleagues are working to improve this, but for now we stick to the parti-colored variant.

In American cockers we are eagerly awaiting the genetic test to determine cataract. This disease is a serious challenge in the breed, and breeders claiming never to have experienced this, have been very lucky, not bred that many dogs or are simply not telling the truth. We have had the frustrating experience of diagnosed juvenile cataract, and with the unknown hereditary nature of this disease it tends to strike without any clear pattern of lines, combinations or specific dogs. We hope to see a new test within a couple of years to guide the breeding and to the benefit of the breed.

BIS: In order, name few traits you look for in the ring.

Lotte & Michael: For both breeds we can say it quite short and simple: true to the standard, wellconstructed all over and excellent movement topped with style and attitude.

BIS: What, if anything, do you feel non-breeder judges get wrong about the breed?

Lotte & Michael: In general we have to say, that judges all over the world, are doing a great job.

Once in a while you run upon a judge, that being a breeder or a non-breeder judge, where you don’t agree. But that is actually okay, if you can see what the judge wants and the judging is consistent throughout the classes. Some judges are very focused on type, when compromising on quality, we don’t agree, but again, if consistent we do acknowledge the opinion of the judge.

Seldom have we experienced, and we guess that has been non-breeder judges, with an eye on one specific point in the standard i.e. the coat, but then you just have to say – comes another day comes another judge.

BIS: If you were in charge of everything regarding the dog shows what change would you make first?

Lotte & Michael: In Denmark and Scandinavia in general it should be the fee for shows. Shows are well arranged, running smooth and professionally – judges are competent and surely costs must be covered. But travelling both Europe and the US is costly in travel and accommodation, and limiting the number of entries due to high fees is a pity. We have experienced entrance fees of around 150 euro (160 US dollars) for World winner and other prestigious shows and as a consequence we have tried to limit number of dogs to enter. We believe that is a challenge not only to us but on a more general note.

BIS: What would be the most important single piece of advice you would give to all serious young breeders?

Lotte & Michael: When you want to start breeding carefully consider your starting material. Seek advice, identify approachable successful breeders (and most are, you just have to ask) for advice and information. Try not to be and act as a world champion breeder after only a couple of years, with the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man, history shows that being a successful breeder takes time and experience only can be obtained over time.

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Travis - English Cockers

by Kari Haave Interviewed by Jovana Danilovic

BIS: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. You have bred healthy and typey English Cocker Spaniels for generations now. How did you get started with English Cockers and why?

K.H.: I started learning as a young person from a Swedish breeder who had brought some high quality bitches with her from Stockholm to my native town of Bergen Norway where she lived with her new husband. She became a member of a very capable and creative group of breeders with different breeds such as Airedales, Sealyham Terriers, Giant Schnauzers and Kerry Blues .

I was eleven years old and helped with the dogs, learned to groom, and came along to listen to talks and discussions. Subsequently my parents allowed me to have a Cocker from her (early sixties) and later I made contacts in England, to be able to buy my first, red imported bitch from the Kavora kennels.

She was No Ch Kavora Sarah Jane (late sixties) and was to be followed by many more from these kennels. She produced a champion and a certificate winner in her first litter, mated to Mr Geir Flyckt Pedersen’s Swedish import No Ch Örlidens Black Boots. This dog was of a very modern type, a result of mixing parties and solids, which was done with great success at that time. (This is also the case in the work over the last twenty or so years in Scandinavia) Although I initially really wanted a Shetland sheepdog, I was taken by the Cocker through my experience with my Swedish mentor and the more I 312

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learned the more I was impressed with this breed’s will to please and sensitive, loving and intelligent personality.

BIS: Which dog do you consider the foundation of your own breeding program?

K.H.: My early breeding was based on the Kavora lines in England. Ms. Pam Trotman was a good teacher and I was allowed to groom and go to shows with her as well as visit her breeder friends and listen to their ideas and thoughts about breeding , preparing, handling as well as politics. Ms Trotman was very organized and also very devoted to her dogs being single with no children. She did not allow any laziness and sloppiness- and forgetting to close a door or a gate was not accepted to say the least! One really learned about keeping a kennel. Every single dog was loved and cared for, though numbers could be around forty, in addition to several litters of different age. All veterans were also kept and cherished! Later I moved to Sweden and stopped breeding for a while. Many of my best dogs were acquired by new, skillful breeders, such as the Greentree kennels of the much-used Swedish dog photographer Lillemor Böös. Starting again, I had to acquire new lines and I wanted to add particolours, buying from Helenwood and Dewell kennels. Now I was lucky, being able to breed several all-breed group and BIS winners from a “klick” combination that I repeated several times. However, it was very difficult to find quality particolour

been truly sound and good tempered with correct attitude and coat texture.

I have bred Cockers from the early seventies so I take pride in the fact that I have managed to stay on the top level for 45 years. My newest English import won the European winners title this year. We won the dog certificate at the World Winners show and I have two new champions and another five on their way to their title, so I don’t feel burdened by my age just yet…

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in showing?

K.H.: I have won more than a hundred gundog groups at all breed show level throughout Scandinavia, and have had several different dogs on Sweden’s top ten lists through the years. I have bred two World Winners, owned or bred two European Winners and numerous Scandinavian Winners. Also I have exported several dogs who won their titles in the US- one of them was even BIS at their main Spaniel Specialty. One of my blacks was runner up Dog of the Year in Sweden. However, it is the variety of different winners that I cherish the most, not a single dog’s achievement. stud-dogs to match to my top winning bitches at the time. PRA and kidney failure had become a problem in several lines. I thought of early days mixed colour breeding and was extremely lucky to be able to buy Ch Leavenworth It’s a Pleasure, a red multiple group-winning dog with an amazing pedigree. He sired five different “Cocker of the year” winners in Sweden and Norway as well as a huge amount of top winning stock for different breeders. I inbred to him and was able to turn out one group winner after another, often combined with my blue roan bitches.

Therefore, no single dog has founded my stock, but rather a combination of unrelated lines brought together and concentrated through planned close breeding.

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in breeding?

K.H.: I am proud that so many top winning cockers throughout the world still carry my prefix and key stud-dogs in their pedigrees, and that they have

BIS: How many dogs do you have at home (living with you) and how many you co-own? How many litters approximately do you have each year?

K.H.: I always keep a variety of dogs to be able to compare the old with the new, to assess their quality and the progress or regression of my work. I now have about 20 at home. I love my old ones and love to keep them around. They tend to reach a high age and keep themselves in good vigor.

I like to run on several promising ones to compare their development. I also love good males and tend to keep more than I can really make use of in my breeding program. I co-own very few. Moreover, if I do so, it is with people I have a near relation to.

It is very easy to fall out with friends in this business.

Not worth it, I think.

The amount of litters differ. I own a busy grooming shop in Oslo and it is difficult to combine business with breeding sometimes. In addition, it is even difficult to get hold of suitable staff nowadays. The

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glamour of showing and handling seem to attract more youngsters than the basic work in a kennels. A pity, when I think about how I learned the tricks of the trade in my youth. However, I try to have two or three litters a year.

BIS: Please mention 2 or 3 English Cockers which are not owned, bred or shown by yourself, that you particularly admired, and tell us what you most admired about each.

K.H.: I am afraid that I have to go years back in time to find the dogs that really made me rave, but I am sure that this is quite normal. When you are young you might be easier to impress - or possibly, you are more open-minded. However, quality might even have been better during some of the golden periods of history- who can really tell?

Two blue roans immediately spring to mind, the bitch Sh Ch Wilholme Waltztime and the dog Sh Ch Courtmaster Mr Magic. The first, a dark blue- my favourite colour. This bitch taught me that a particolour could look solid colour in type and outline. And she made me want to start breeding parties. The second was a brilliant light blue that simply blew me away with his radiance and movement, winning BIS at London Cocker (if I remember correctly) before going to France.

In solids, it has been a long line of top blacks in England. Sh Ch Lochranza Newsprint. I just loved him and purchased a younger sister and a son. Sh Ch Canigou Cambrai. I had a super half-brother.

Among others.

BIS: With how many kennels and who are the kennels you cobreed? How important was cooperation between breeders through the time?

K.H.: I don’t co-breed. I always do my own thing.

Mostly I keep my own breeding material but I occasionally go out for new and additional lines. I always choose something I feel can link with mine in type and pedigree, no matter who owns them. In addition, I always let accomplished breeders use my dogs, as long as the bitches are well bred, sound and of a likeable type.

You have to create from your own sense of art and style within the standard, but you also need to share with others for the best of the breed.

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BIS: And are you mentoring someone at the moment?

K.H.: I had the opportunity to have several Swedish, Finnish and above all English breeders to confer with and learn from. And I always like to share knowledge and advice with new people if they want my opinion.

BIS: Tell us please the main characteristic you admire in the breed? What are your goals in the breeding program?

K.H.: I love the way Cockers are so eager to please and understand their owner. They can read ones state of mind, and are great companions, devoted to their chosen people. You have to treat them with love and respect or they will be very frustrated and unhappy. They do need both time and attention.

My goal has always been to create a beautiful, true-to-standard dog with powerful gait and charisma, who can carry himself naturally without having to be over-handled and strung up to show himself up. I just hate unnatural handling and harsh treatment of dogs, and the Cocker is a sensitive dog who needs understanding and kindness to make the most of himself. This is very important to me. In addition, I do not want a high strung, overly active dog. They should make easy and relaxed pets at home, yet show the typical working ability and energy in the fields and woodland as well as in the show ring. Will -to -please is the main characteristic of the breed.

I also want easy births, good, healthy mothers and clever stud dogs who are sensible to keep along

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you see one. Cockers should be a combination of power, compactness, yet nobility. It should be sturdy but never loose or coarse. It is the true balance of all these characteristics that is the art.

with bitches in season. Moreover, they should never fight or be individual leaders, the owner is the leader of the gundog pack and the dogs should naturally pay attention to what we wish.

BIS: In which ways has the breed changed over time since you first got involved with the breed?

K.H.: Not much overall. Perhaps the solids’ temperaments are better, the soundness regarding eyes and hips are better, the compactness and head types were better before, but toplines and tailsets might be overall better now. Fronts, especially set on of shoulders were probably better when I started.

Movement is somewhat different now; the dogs are trained and handled differently and are looking flashier in a way. Sometimes I find this a bit overdone. But this is a discussion in its own right. And my viewpoint might well be influenced by my age…

BIS: How do you define “type”?

K.H.: Type is difficult to define with few words. To me it is the quintessence of each breed- the characteristics that make a dog different from any other breed. The dog should fulfill the standard’s acquirements of course, but type is something beyond this. It lies in the expression, how the dog handles himself, his outline and balance, how he moves, how naturally he stands on his legs. It is the sum of all parts, coat and colour included. It is a stamp of quality that is difficult to describe, but which is understandable to those who really know their thing. Type can differ slightly within the standards of course, but you should be able to recognize a typey dog when 316

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BIS: Every breed has some common problems.

Which is the most common problem in your variety seen from a breeder’s point of view?

K.H.: This is basically a sound and healthy breed. We have to observe over-groomed and heavy coats, which is flashy but rather untypical. This can be a problem for the pet owner- and it makes people clip them down to the skin, so ugly, unhealthy and unnecessary.

Judges have to look under the coat- not just fall for expert presentation as many do today.

We have fewer outstanding males at the momentbut are in the position of seeking new bloodlines throughout the world in a greater extent than before.

Newer breeders sometimes seem to have less knowledge of basic anatomy than earlier, spending more time and effort on coat care and handling.

The structural faults are still present- but are sometimes neglected due to” bling of the ring”. Otherwise, the breed is very popular as family dogs here, a very good proof of the true qualities. On the other hand, fewer dogs are being shown, and fewer breeders keep a number of dogs- many potential stud dogs “disappear” from our breeding programs due to this.

“It lies in the expression, how the dog handles himself, his outline and balance, how he moves, how naturally he stands on his legs. It is the sum of all parts, coat and colour included. ”

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BIS: If you were in charge of everything regarding the dog shows what change would you make first?

K.H.: I would take away some of the fancy Hollywood-show feeling and bring it back to “Cruftsstyle”- honest, knowledgeable, stylish events with respect for the dog’s feelings and the breeders and judges know-how in the ring. Turn down the music and the sometimes overdone extra entertainment.

The dogs themselves should easily fill this role themselves.

The judges must judge there and then, to their own conviction and ability and be able to bring this fact across to the public. Only then, will this sport survive and keep up the respect of the fanciers.

BIS: Please name few traits you look for in the ring in order of importance.

K.H.: I look for great movement, noble carriage, compactness, merry temperament with will-toplease attitude, balanced outline and tail carriage and the correct coat quality. I don’t care about colour or markings as long as they are within the standard. There has been a trait of smaller specimen in a period of time. I also look for the correct size. This is a working dog- not an “ornament”.

BIS: What, if anything, do you feel non-breeder judges get wrong about the breed?

K.H.: This you can read from the answers above! It surprises me how little emphasis some lay in the structure and balance of dogs and how overly important presentation and handling have become.

Not good for the future of breeding dogs.

It must be a balanced combination. Therefore, it is always useful to watch the breed in England. The English are still essentially stockbreeders I feel.

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BIS: What would be the most important single piece of advice you would give to all serious young breeders?

K.H.: Learn everything from the bottom. Make use of different longstanding breeders, it is not about putting on a show suit and groom your dog all night before a show. It is about knowledge, care, and even more knowledge. You must never stop learning. Appreciate the generations of hard work that

“The judges must judge there and then, to their own conviction and ability and be able to bring this fact across to the public. Only then, will this sport survive and keep up the respect of the fanciers.”

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Francini’s - English Cockers

by Angela Francini Interviewed by Jovana Danilovic

BIS: First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. You have bred healthy and typey English Cocker Spaniels for generations now. How did you get started with English Cockers and why?

A.F.: I started in 1991 but my Father and my Mother bred English Cockers as of 1967.

BIS: Which dog do you consider the foundation of your own breeding program?

A.F.: Many dogs I consider as foundation dogs in my breeding program so I cannot choose only one or two.

BIS: Please mention 2 or 3 English Cockers which are not owned, bred or shown by yourself, that you particularly admired, and tell us what you most admired about each.

A.F.: In the past 2 blue out French Kennel, Du Plates De Chambles and now one nice blue from Glowill Kennel and some from Kyna Kennel in particolour and in solid one red, Claramand Code Red owned

by Yvonne Heinze (D).

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in breeding?

A.F.: I have all my dogs tested for Hip displasia, sleeping patella, oculistic official control, DNA test for nepropathy familiar and progressive retinal atrophy.

BIS: How important was cooperation between breeders through the time?

A.F.: Cooperation between breeders is the most important thing to work well in every breed, exchange information on the heath problems and understand which dog is the right reproductor.

BIS: What do you consider your greatest achievement in showing?

A.F.: I do believe one of the most winning dog bred by me is Francini’s Day By Day who was Top dog in England.

BIS: Did you have a mentor when you got started?

And do you mentor someone at the moment?

A.F.: My Father started to breed in 1967 and now I keep in mind his every word. Franca Simondetti too (Delle Grandes Murailles) was a great friend and gave me great help. Personally I am always avalaible for any person who would like to ask me for some suggestions.

BIS: How many dogs do you have at home (living with you) and how many you co-own? How many

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litters approximately you have a year?

A.F.: We have 20 litters in one year and 50 dogs, many of them, obviously are old.

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BIS: Tell us please the main characteristic you admire in the breed? What are your goals in the breeding program?

A.F.: This breed is great, full of temperament, happiness and sweetness and they are strong dogs.

My goals in breeding program? The biggest goals in my breeding program I think is to breed dogs in type and all tested for PRA and familiar nefropathy with a DNA test, oculistic control, hip and sleeping patella displasy.

BIS: In which ways has the breed changed over the time since you first got involved with the breed?

A.F.: I think now the breed is improved in temperament and health BIS: How do you define “type”?

A.F.: For the “type” I would say it is the best attinence to the standard.

BIS: Every breed has some common problems.

Which is the most common problem in your variety seen from a breeder’s point of view?

A.F.: English Cockers have the main problem In solid temperament and hip and sleeping patella displasy.

BIS: In order, name few traits you look for in the ring.

A.F.: That for sure would be top line, temperament and head.

BIS: What, if anything, do you feel non-breeder judges get wrong about the breed?

A.F.: The specialist Judges look more at type but sometimes the opinion of non-breeder Judges can help for look for some problems that we forget while we pay more attention to type. However many times some Judges think about the English Cocker like an American but his exageration is not typical in our breed.

BIS: If you were in charge of everything regarding the dog shows what change would you make first?

A.F.: Start earlier with the main ring.

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BIS: What would be the most important single piece of advice you would give to all serious young breeders?

A.F.: Look to health! Now we have all the things weneed to maintain the breed in good health!

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Eukanuba World Challenge Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2015 p h o t o s t o ry b y l i s a c r o f t - e l l i o t t

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Bearded Collie • Best in Show at World Dog Show ‘15 Ch. Ops I Did It Again Del Cuore Impavido

Owned by Olga Klimova

Fox Terrier Wire • Best in Show at European Dog Show ‘15 Ch. Kingarthur van Foliny Home

Owned by D. Uiterwijk, R. Munter & V. Mazoni

Scottish Terrier • Best in Show at CRUFTS Ch. MCVan’s To Russia With Love

Owned by Marina Khenkina

Miniature Schnauzer Black • Representing Austria Ch. Steadlyn Zoomin’ in, Miniature Schnauzer

Owned by Maximilian Mayer

Kerry Blue Terrier • Representing Australia Ch. Torum’s Calico Jack at Irisblu

Owned by J. LeCourt, K. Brown and R. Gray

Weimaraner • Representing Belgium Ch. Camelot’s Heaven Can Wait, BROM

Owned by E. Lenaerts, T. Hart, L. Sichel

Basset Hound • Representing Brazil Ch. BR Lake Park Sullivan

Owned by Luciana and Leonir Bampi

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen • Representing Croatia Ch Black Majesty Gives U Goose Bumps

Owned by Iva Raic & Marko Ljutic

Bloodhound • Representing Czech Republik Cayenne Od Hadiho Potoka

Owned by Martina Hegr Klivarova

Lhasa Apso • Representing Finland Ch. Chic Choix Cleopatra Eurydice

Owned by S. Kopola-Hirsimäki & P. Helistola-Laurila

Bullmastiff • Representing Denmark Ch. Librrani’s High Performance Alonso

Owned by I. Durrani, M. Libstrup Sørensen, V. Alaluusua and S. Timlin

American Cocker Spaniel • Representing France Ch. Very Vigie I Don’t Know

Owned by Mathilde Leonard-Nolle

Sealyham Terrier • Representing Germany Ch. All About Aksel of Cesky Dream’s

Owned by Michael Weser

Old English Sheepdog • Representing Hungary Ch. Bottom Shaker Zephyre Dream

Owned by József Koroknai

Papillon • Representing Iceland Ch. Hálsakots Someone Is On Fire

Owned by Asta Maria Gudbergsdottir

Italian Greyhound • Representing Italy Failabrava Del Barone Rampante

Owned by Dorella Goldoni

Toy Poodle - Representing Ireland Ch. Tirkane The Big Issue

Owned by A. Ingram, K. Ryan, L. Nelson, L. Bryant and M. Morzi

Xoloitzcuintle • Representing Mexico Indio

Owned by Aldara Isabel Camarena Alquicira

Bearded Collie • Representing The Netherlands Beardie Connections Kenji

Owned by M.C.H.B. Otto

Australian Shepherd • Representing New Zeland CH Sutter’s So It’s Karma

Owned by L. Lynch, M. Harvey and L. Dawkins

Kerry Blue Terrier • Representing Norway Shyloch Qosmos

Siberian Husky • Representing Poland Zaltana Fearless Flame

Owned by Helge Kvivesen

Owned by Mary Louise Franklyn

Basset Hound • Representing Portugal Youra Dos Sete Moinhos

Owned by Joses Homem de Mello

Irish Wolfhound • Representing Russia Bourbon Tullamore Good Stuff

Owned by Oleg Nalobin

Shih Tzu • Representing South Africa Ch. Midnightdream Thril’F Victory

Owned by Mrs H. J. Erwee

Pembroke Welsh Corgi • Representing South Korea Ch. The Goodboy Lovely Catherine

Owned by Jong-Oh Kim

Basset Hound • Representing Spain Ch. Bombay de Wilmadamar

Flat Coated Retriever • Representing Finland Castlerock Simply Magic

Owned by M. Lucena Moreno & D. Alvarez Ariza

Owned by Anette Dyren

Chihuahua Short Haired • Representing Switzerland Ch. Romeo Innamorato de la Vannia des Corbes

Owned by Dominique Mengolli

Beagle • Representing Thailand Ch. Perfect Companion’s Bruce Almighty

Owned by C.Phongthep & P.Peerapong

Candinds

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Candinds

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Sanna Kopola-Hirsim채ki

Hugueh Schuh

Zsolt Hano

Ann Ingram

Anette Dyren

Peerapong Pisitwuttinan

Andrew Goodsell & Warren Bradley

Candinds

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Michael Weser from Germany

Riekie Erwee from South Africa

Piia Helistola-Laurila and Elvira

Jong-Oh Kim from South Korea

Rebbeca Sarah Joy and Knoppa

Monique Van Brempt

Candinds

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Zsolt Hano & Jagger

Iva Raic from Croatia

Riekie Erwee

Rony Doedijns

Openning ceremony

Raffael de Santiago, FCI president

Candinds

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Mia Ejerstad

Claudio Da Cruz Cpnceicao from Brazil

Iva Raic, Marko Ljutic & Damir Skok

Opening ceremony

Piia, Sanna & Elvira representing Finland

Riekie Erwee

Candinds

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Daniel A. Ariza

Warren Bradley with King

Anette Dyren from Sweden

All representives in the main ring

Eukanuba judges

Candinds

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Zsolt Hano & Jagger

Helge Kvivesen

Olga Klimova & Rony

Celebration time

Eukanuba W.C. Best in Show

Martina Hegr Klivarova

Portraits

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Anette Dyren

Hugues Schuh

Daniel Alvarez Ariza

Zsolt Hano & Jagger

Iva Raic

Jong-Oh Kim

Raquel Colaco

Riekie Erwee

Portraits

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Asta Maria Gudbergsdottir

Mary Louise Franklyn

Anneke Otto

Mark Harvey

Imran Librrani

Helge Kvivesen

Ann Ingram

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Gregor Nemanic

Flint Teeravedj

Edwin Lenaerts

Portraits

Michael Weser

Sanna Kopola-Hirsimaki

Warren Bradley

Jorge Flores Martinez

Claudio Da Cruz Conceicao

By Lisa Croft-Elliott

Simon Briggs

Gaetano Caldarone

Portraits

Olga Klimova

Mia Ejerstad

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At International show in Topla, 16th of May, Best in Show won Standard White Poodle - Jasenak Hedonist, owned by Tamara Krmpesic, second placed was Serbian Tricolour Hound - Laki, owned by Milan Bulija and third placed was Cane Corso - Ahil Strajno, owned by Strajno kennel. Best in Show was judged by Dr Mahmud Al Dagistani, President of Serbian kennel club.

At International show in Sokobanja, 25th of July, Best in Show won Posavatz Hound - Singer od Jovana Pavlovica, owned by J. Pavlovic, second placed was Miniature Black Poodle - Bhanyanan Solens For Me, owned by C1rita Lund and third placed was Labrador Retriever - Armagedon, owned by Beautiful Angel Star kennel. Best in Show was judged by Dr Mahmud Al Dagistani, President of Serbian kennel club.

At International show in Subotica, 24th of May, Best in Show won Newfoundland - Skipper`s Aramis, owned

by Laszlo Kovacs, second placed was German Roughhaired Pointing Dog - Malomkozi Gilde, owned by Ištvan Nagy and third placed was Irish Wolfhound Candy Casidy Ray, owned by Robert Chalas. Best in Show was judged by Dr Mahmud Al Dagistani, President of Serbian kennel club.

At International show in Belgrade, 6th of December, Best in Show won American Stafordshire Terrier - Top Gun Long Step, owned by Darko Zvanovic, second placed was Lhasa Apso - Shutle Dell Alberico, owned

by Stefano Paolantoni and third placed was American Akita - Redwitch Born This Way, owned by Nikita Ivin.

Best in Show was judged by Dr Mahmud Al Dagistani, President of Serbian kennel club.

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At International show in Rijeka, 7th of February, Best in Show won Australian Shepdog - Vivienne Westwood del Whymper Delle G., owned by Gabriella Lovati, second placed was Whippet - Rivarco Candy Tuft, owned by Martina Capri and third placed was Jack Russell Terrier - Touchstar Private Collection, owned by Scorza Massolo Maurizio. Best in Show was judged

by Mrs Joyce Crawford Manton from Ireland.

At 4 International shows in Zadar, 30.04-03.05., Best in Show winners were American Cocker Spaniel - Afterglow Dragon Quest (owned by Csaba Havasi), Standard Black Poodle - Atastar Love Unlimited (owned

by Langdon Philip) who won two times Best in Show in a row and Supreme Best in Show, and on the last Zadar show, Best in Show winner was Lakeland Terrier Aiola vd Schonenbergen (owned by F.W.Schoneberg).

At both International shows in Split, 24th and 26th of July, Best in Show was Maltese - Cinecitta Ian Somerhalder, owned by Stefano Paolantoni, under judges Mr Francesco Cochetti and Mrs Hassi Assenmacher-Feyel.

Cinecitta Ian Somerhalder won Supreme Best in Show in Split under Mr Paolo Dondina At International show in Zagreb, 28th of November, Best in Show and Supreme Best in Show wan Bichon Frise - Kamians Petite Coquette, owned by Ana Vladimirova. Best in Show was judged by Mr Hans van den Berg, and Supreme Best in Show judge was Mr Edd Bivin.

Best In Show at the International Show of the Greek KC, on 3d of May, under judge Mrs. Barbara Muller from Switzerland, the American Akita, MYNYDDHAF’S KING OF THE RING, owned by Vasilis Panopoulos, 2nd the Bichon Frise, LUXURY LOVE ILONA, owned by I.Smirnova, 3rd the Afghan Hound, BOOGIE NIGHTS OF THREE GRACES, owned by Dimitris Chatzis & Evi Traggali, 4th the Golden Retriever, GULDRUSCHENS’ YOU MAKE ME HAPPY, owned by Alexia Kammenou.

Best In Show at the International Show of the Greek KC, on 19th of June, under judge Mr. Ligita Zake from Latvia, was the Epagnuel Breton, LOGO DEL DND SERBIA, owned by Thanos Theoharis & Giannis Fraggidis, 2nd the Whippet, ABSOLUTE MANN BETTY BOOP, owned by Fabrizio Manni, 3rd was the American Akita, MYNYDDHAF’S KING OF THE RING, owned by Vasilis Panopoulos, 4th the Bulldog, SOUL GUADIAN ATLAS, owned by Manos Matsakis.

Best In Show at the Greek Winner International Show of the Greek KC, on 20th of June, under judge Mr. Jorge Nallem from Uruguay, the Whippet, ABSOLUTE MANN BETTY BOOP, owned by Fabrizio Manni, was the Epagnuel Breton, LOGO DEL DND SERBIA, owned by Thanos Theoharis & Giannis Fraggidis, 3rd the Doberman, WILMA OF KRAFT HILL, owned by Ioannis Xenos-Klonarakis, 4th the Mioritic, AIDA, owned by Theodoros Tsakiris.

Best In Show at the International Show of the Greek KC, on 21st of June, under judge Mr. Zlatko Kraljic from Croatia, was the Belgian Shepherd Groenendal, CUERNO DEL DIABLO CLEVER CANIN, owned by Kostas Ioannidis & Alexandros Ioannidis & Pantelis Tsikriteas & Margarita Stampoulidou, 2nd the Golden Retriever, GULDRUSCHENS’ YOU MAKE ME HAPPY, owned by Alexia Kammenou, 3rd the Bulldog, SOUL GUADIAN ATLAS, owned by Manos Matsakis, 4th the Pug, IRON MAN OF SMILING FARM, owned by Soulis Vythoulkas.

Best In Show at the International Show of the Greek KC, on 9th of October, under judge Mr. Deutcher Erwin from Austria, was the Whippet, ABSOLUTE MANN SEAWORLD, owned by Fabrizio Manni, 2nd the Yorkshire Terrier, SHARMNATAN’S ALWAYS SANNY, owned by Hara Proskefala, 3rd the Standard Dachshund Wirehaired, DOLCE FONTANA DI TREVI, owned by Annaluce Saletti, 4th the Golden Retriever, SERENDIPITY LOUKIANOS, owned by Alexia Kammenou & Irene Klida & Anthony Tabakos. Photo by Mirja Aro. Best In Show at the International Show of the Greek KC, on 10th of October, under judge Mrs. Carla Molinari from Portugal, was the German Shepherd Dog, ARDELIA CLEVER CANIN, owned by Kostas Ioannidis, 2nd the Yorkshire Terrier, SHARMNATAN’S ALWAYS SANNY, owned by Hara Proskefala, 3rd the Afghan Hound, KARAKUSH THE MEOW FACTOR, owned by Alkis Papadopoulos & Thiseas Kokkinos, 4th the Golden Retriever, GULDRUSCHENS’ YOU MAKE ME HAPPY, owned by Alexia Kammenou.

Best In Show at the International Show of the Greek KC, on 11th of October, under judge Mr. Rafael De Santiago from Puerto Rico, was the American Akita, MYNYDDHAF’S KING OF THE RING, owned by Vasilis Panopoulos, was the Whippet, ABSOLUTE MANN SEAWORLD, owned by Fabrizio Manni, 3rd the Golden Retriever, GULDRUSCHENS’ YOU MAKE ME HAPPY, owned by Alexia Kammenou, 4th the German Shepherd Dog, ARDELIA CLEVER CANIN, owned by Kostas Ioannidis.

Best In Show at the International Show of the Greek KC, on 15th of November, under judge Mr. Andrew Brace from England, was the American Akita, REDWITCH BORN THIS WAY, owned by Ivin Nikita, 2nd was the Belgian Shepherd Groenendal, CUERNO DEL DIABLO CLEVER CANIN, owned by Kostas Ioannidis & Alexandros Ioannidis & Pantelis Tsikriteas & Margarita Stampoulidou, 3rd the Boxer, ATROTOS LOVE CHASER, owned by Yiannis Vlachos & Aggeliki Siemou, 4th Afghan Hound, KARAKUSH THE MEOW FACTOR, owned by Alkis Papadopoulos & Thiseas Kokkinos.

MOUSCRON 2015 This shows keeps on breaking its own record. From 1995 entries last year, 184 more dogs were entered, or no less than 2179 in total and as Mouscron is within easy reach for British exhibitors, the show attracted no less than 71 entries. Best In Show was the blond American Cocker Spaniel “Very Vegie I Don’t Know”, bred by Mr.Laurent Pichard and owned by Mathilde Leonard-Nolle from France. In his color class he had 9 competitors to beat.

He was entered in Open class at the age of just over two years.

HOOGSTRATEN 2015 In 2013 the show had 1619 entries, two years later 2377 dogs are in competition, amazing! Last year the hall with the main ring was divided so that the available space was reduced drastically. There was hardly space to move around. It was now decided to bring the main ring to the entry hall and regroup a little. And that was a splendid idea. “Beardie Connections Kenji”, multi BIS winner in Belgium, was picked out from 29 Beardies to go to the main ring and won the group. Owner Otto Rinus , from the Netherlands, came back on Sunday as there was one chance on 10 to become Best In Show. Kenji had no problem to beat the rest and climb to highest podium.

BRABO 2015 Brabo too had a raise from 2094 entries to no less than 2439 dogs, or plus 16,5%. If this splendid result was only due to the title of Crufts qualifier is not certain and it will have played an important role, but the reputation of the BRABO dog show has increased enormously. In 2004 the entry was less than 1500 dogs. It’s only since a few years that the show regained it’s former glory and fame. Mr. Jacques Arnold from Belgium, owner and breeder, was extremely surprised that a Cavalier was chosen BIS and even more as it was his own “ My Little Poppy of Maesllyn “, a 2 years old blenheim bitch. 36 Were entered .

WIEZE 2015 After the crisis of a few years ago it was doubtful if there would be a future for this show. But a new committee brings often a new spirit and the success of last year was not just a coincidence but has clearly perpetuated. It’s “only” a CAC show, but many will envy their 1441 entries, only slightly less than last year’s number. Best In Show dog was the shorthaired Weimaraner “Camelot’s Heaven Can Wait”. Heaven is bred in America by Duane Mary

Ann and co-owned now in Belgium by Lenaerts, Finch and Van Der Sichel. Weimaraners are among the popular breeds as Heaven had to beat 15 competitors before getting the BOB card and the Group winning ticket.

GENK AMBIORIXTROFEE 2015 Don’t mistake the LKV Show in Genk for the Ambiorix Trofee that is also in Genk, both in the very same halls. The Haspengouwse Kynological Society is the youngest and had the ambition to have its own CACIB. As that caused a problem for the Belgian Kennel Club (same area, same halls, etc) it was decided that the CACIB was given alternatively to each club. So for the first time the Ambiorix Trofee was granted this honor on its 17th edition. BIS here was the British bred and owned Australian Shepherd “Allmark Fifth Avenue”. Owner Allan Neil entered this 5 year old bitch in Champions Class. 21 Were entered in total.

LIEGE 2015 Liège had a decrease and certainly when we compare to the big success of last year when they reached a fabulous number of 2035. This year it was only 1879, but which is still very good. Usually this show attracts a lot of foreigners, people , I suppose, that combine several shows while on a holiday, and much depends on when their holidays start. I think that 1879 entries is far from bad and also a serious increase compared to only a few years ago. BIS went to the Best of Sunday dog which was a German West Highland White Terrier, as the Best of Saturday did not come back. “Royal Gigolo van Deipen Brook” is 3 years old and owned by Deipenbrock. Gigolo won it from a strong competition, there were 21 all together.

CHARLEROI 2015 The Royal Club Canin de Hainaut, organizers of this show, have had several turbulent years behind them. A few years without show, but now a slow and steady comeback. Unfortunately, the typical date, the first weekend of October, there was a CACIB show in the Netherlands, in Zwolle and another one in Germany, Rostock, and that must have affected the number of entries compared to last year. There was a drop down from 1725 back to 1514, but many organizers would be happy with such a good number. During this show the Belgian Great Dane Club organized the European Championship for Great Danes in a separate hall, but that could not make the difference.

Ultimate winner of this show was the Weimaraner shorthaired “Doc N’Camelot Heaven Can Wait”. 11 Were entered. Doc is 5 years old and imported from the USA and is now owned by Lenaerts-Finch-Van Der Sichel.

At International show in Sarajevo, 18th of July, Best in Show won Affenpinscher - Tamarin Ticket To Ride, owned by A. Bizin & I. Stepina, second placed was Shih Tzu - Unique Style Ohana, owned by Irina Telpakova and third placed was Barzoi - Dmitrij Reny Destiny Mraja, owned by Renata Krystof-Schwarzova. Best in Show was judged by Mrs Natalja Skalin.

At International show in Gradiska, 20th of September, Best in Show won American Akita - Redwitch Born This Way, owned by Nikita Ivin, second placed was Lhasa Apso - Shutle Dell Alberico, owned by Stefano Paolantoni and third placed was Fox Terrier Smooth Absolutely Oh My, owned by Schoneberg, Gabel & Smith. Best in Show was judged by Roberto Valez Pico.

At International show in Sarajevo, 19th of July, Best in Show won Giant Schnauzer - Gently Born Champion, owned by Anna Vlasova, second placed was Dachshund Rabbit Size Wire - Energy Elegance Maserati, owned by Philippe Meier and third placed was Spanish Waterdog - Basilio De Sinkovic, owned by Marika Fredrikson. Best in Show was judged by Mr Boris Chapiro.

At International show in Posusje, 30th of August, Best in Show won Tornjak - Ban Sokol, owned by Ante Brajko, second placed was Chihuahua Short Haired - Cheery Charm Diesel, owned by Tajana Toplak and third placed was German Shephard - Zoro Splitberg, owned by Miro Jukic. Best in Show was judged by Mr Srecko Kukic.

LUXEMBOURG SPRING 2015 It was a special show this year as it was the 90th edition of the popular Luxemburg show. The amount of entries was again largely over 5000, 5288 to be precise.

Mr. Frank Kane was granted the honor to pick out the Best In Show. The Chow Chow “King of Egypt de los Perros de Bigo� was the only one in Open Class. He won BOB from a strong competition of 25., Mr.Kane could not ignore his strong impression. Owner Nuria

Vigo Navajon from Spain had to make room in the car for the many giant trophies, before returning with King to Spain.

LUXEMBOURG AUTUMN 2015 No wonder the success of this Luxembourg edition would be affected by the concentration of CACIB shows prior and following the show. For this edition 3944 dogs were entered. There were not that much Russians, with 34 only half of last year. I suppose they

focused on Oslo and skipped Luxembourg this year.

60 Dog came from the United Kingdom and 15 from Ireland, and no less than 9 dogs were US dogs and there was one dog entered from as far as Mexico.

There was a new carpet in the main ring, green. Besides the bar code scanning at the entrance of the main ring, there was also a professional camera for the life streaming, which brings this show one step higher on the professional ladder. It was warm in the halls, the result of a sunny weekend and the hard work inside. The main ring finished early for Luxembourg standards. While rumors circulated about the future of the halls, the committee is more relaxed now as the halls

will not be broken down, at least not those that are used for the show. The final winner was a Russian entry, an Irish Wolfhound named “Bourbon Tullamore Good Stuff�, a 9 year old male, bred by Ivana Joklova and owned by Oleg Nalobin & Gregor Nemanic. 9 Years is really old for this breed. Impressive!

Review from

GIBRALAR R E P O R T BY M I L L A K A N N I N E N

At International show in Gibraltar, 18th of September, Best in Show won Yorkishire Terrier - Ch. Heart Breaker De L’Elpazeor owned by Valerie Magoarou, second placed was Border Collie - Ch. Brannasdale Star Saphire owne dby Ramon Freire and third placed was Spanish Water Dog - Ch. Rayaragua Volcon owned by Oscar Garcia. Best in Show judge was Hassi Assenmacher from Germany. Photo credits: Sylvia Garcia Andrade

At International show in Gibraltar, 19th of September, Best in Show won Chow Chow - Ch. King of Egypt De Los Perros De Bigo owned by Nuria Vigo Navajon, second placed was Yorskire Terrier - Ch. Heart Breaker De L’Elpazeor owned by Valerie Magoarou and third placed was Doberman - Marvin De Akido San owned by Cristina Linares Garcia. Best in Show judge was Andrew Brace from United Kingdom. Photo credits: Sylvia Garcia Andrade

Review from

ROMANIA

R E P O R T BY C R I S T I N A S A B A U

At International show in Timisoara, 9th of May, Best in Show won Samoyed - Silverswhite Tom Sawyer ownd

by Buda Lavinia and Cornel Raileanu, second placed was American Satffordshire Terrier - Karballido Staffs Shere Khan owned by Jose Carballido and third place was Ciobanesc Romanesc - Nordic Delight’s Nothern Star owned by Simutiu Sorin. Best in Show judge was Chie Ejima from Japan.

At Dracula Golden Trophy IDS, 12th of September, Best in Show won Fox Terrier Wire - Agria Icebreaker owned by Nadia Pervina, second placed was Black Russian Terrier - Atlantic Europica Varietas owned by Henriett Palocska and third place was Old English Sheepdog - Bottom Shaker Zephyr Dream owned by Korknai Jozsef. Best in Show judge was Petru Muntean from Romania.

At International show in Timisoara, 10th of May, Best in Show won Clumber Spaniel owned by Lana Levai, second placed was American Staffordshire Terrier - Millenium La Vision Iz Doma Alvik owned by V. Lipatov and third place was Cane Corso - Reggae Nobile Corso di Mogosoaia owned by Alex Cosmin. Best in Show judge was Zvi Kupferberg from Ireland.

At Romanian Championship show IDS, 13th of September, Best in Show won Whippet - Absolute Mann Betty Boop owned by Fabrizio Manni, second placed was Dachshund Rabbit Size Smooth Haired - Picollo Teckel Infanta owned by E. Pikul and third place was Basenji Enigma Walking The Red Carpet owned by M. Ferrini.

Best in Show judge was Anca Giura.

Two International shows «GOLDEN GATES 2015», Ukrainian Kennel Union held the international dog shows of all breeds “Golden Gates 2015” and “Ukraine 2015” in the International Exhibition Center in Kyiv on April 18-19, 2015. More than 4 thousand dogs from different countries of Europe were examined in 26 rings by 26 worldknown judges from 14 FCI member-countries. More than 20 thousand visitors from Ukraine and abroad shared the joy and positive emotions of the exhibitors.

At first Golden Gate International show, 18th of April, Best in Show won Alaskan Malamute - White Chocolate Sausimayok, owned by Sinitsa I., second placed was Toy Poodle - Rio Rita Top Stiel, owned by Shalata-Simkina I. and third placed was Hungarian Pointing Dog - Easy Charm Kievskie Kashtany, owned by Mirutenko I. At second Golden Gate International show, 19th of April, Best in Show won Toy Poodle - Rio Rita Top Stiel, owned by Shalata-Simkina I., second placed was Schnauzer Miniature Black - Victorious Star World Is Mine, owned by Belska I. and third placed was Yorkshire Terrier - Dupont Blue Delight, owned by Zhukova .

3 International Shows «GOLDEN PECTORALE 2015» «GOLD OF SCYTHIANS 2015» «SOPHIA OF KYIV 2015» Ukrainian Kennel Union held the international dog shows of all breeds “Golden Pektorale 2015”, “Gold of Scythians 2015” and “Sophia of Kyiv 2015” in the International Exhibition Center in Kyiv on August 28-29-30, 2015. The beauty of more than 4,5 thousand dogs of more than 170 breeds were examined in 20 rings by honored and well-known dog show judges.

These dog shows were the part of the celebration of the 25-th anniversary of Ukrainian Kennel Union and a kind of rehearsal of the “European dog show 2017” which will be hosted by Ukrainian Kennel Union in Kyiv on the same last weekend of August in 2017.

Show Olympus represented the best dogs of the weekend!

At International Show “ GOLDEN PECTORALE”, 28th of August, Best in Show was judged by Mrs Monika Blaga from Austria. Best in Show winner was Fox Terrier Wire - Agria Icebreaker, owned by Peryina N.S., second placed was Papillon - Fashion Rid Diamond Of My Heart, owned by Drubetska R.I., and second placed was Beagle - Fairytaleoly Arthur Hasty Lightning, owned by Stepanova K.O. At International Show “GOLD OF SCYTHIANS”, 29th of August, Best in Show was judged by Mrs Dorota Witkowska from Poland. Best in Show winner was Siberian Husky - Floyd Mayweather Karnav Valda, owned

by Belokrynytska A.O., second placed was Fox Terrier Wire - Agria Icebreaker, owned by Peryina N.S. and third placed was Pekingese - Moy Sultan Chinese Rose, owned by Karsliyan A.K. At International show “SOPHIA OF KYIV”, 30th of August, Best in Show was judged by Ramune Kazlauskaite from Lithuania. Best in Show winner was Fox Terrier Wire - Agria Icebreaker, owned by Peryina N.S., second placed was Siberian Husky - Gentle Boy Blue Bricassart, owned by Mezhirov A.Y. and third placed was Beagle - Bergamo La Casa Demiani, owned by Razvodova Y.V.

At International show in Graz, 7th of March 2015, Best in Show winner was Irish Red Setter - EIREAN CALIFORNIA LIGHTYEAR owned by Kantor Bence, second placed was Lhasa Apso - RADICALLY´S BROOKLYN, owned by Cervenikova Lubica and third placed was Dachshund Rabbit size Wire Haired DRAGONNEKAPITOL DEL WANHELSING owned by Pascarella Gabriel. Best in Show judge was Mr Erwin Deutscher from Austria.

At International show in Wieselburg, 10th of May 2015, Best in Show winner was Schnauzer Black - GENTLY BORN LIGHT RAY owned by Bonifacio Giovanni, second placed was Shetland Sheepdog TYCANCY BARDOLINO owned by Dorer Christina and third placed was French Bulldog - EXCELSIOR MAXIM D’OVILAVA owned by Hofmeister-Akkad Daniela. Best in Show judge was Best of Sunday Mag. Heliane Maissen-Jarisch (AT).

At International show in Klagenfurt, 6th of June 2015, Best in Show winner was Whippet - ABSOLUTE MANN BETTY owned by Fabrizio Manni, second placed was Bobtail - BOTTOM SHAKER ZEPHYRDREAM owned by Vörös Zsuzsanna and third placed was Tibet Terrier - TRIPITAKA BITE THE BULLET, Lydon Sean & Cathy. Best in Show judge was Horst Kliebenstein from Germany.

At International show in Klagenfurt, 7th of June 2015, Best in Show winner was Clumber Spaniel - BIG BOOM’S BANDITOS DEX owned by Lana Levai, second placed was Tibet Terrier - TRIPITAKA BITE THE BULLET owned by Lydon Sean & Cathy and third placed was Boxer – CRONO owned by Cagnazzo Andrea. Best in Show judge was Mr. Stefan Sinko from Slovenia.

At International show in Innsbruck, 15th of August 2015, Best in Show winner was Siberian Husky ANKALYN IRIS GOO GOO DOLLS owned by Tomei Paola, second placed was Bracco Italiano SOBERS ATTICUS owned by Havasi Csaba Attila and third placed was Tibet Terrier - TRIPITAKA BITE THE BULLET owned by Lydon Sean & Cathy. Best in Show judge was Mr. Andras Korozs from Hungary.

At International show in Tulln, 26th of September 2015, Best in Show winner was Whippet - SOBRESALTO XXX owned by De Gaspari Enrico, second placed was Phalene - MAGIC SUNRISE GREAT GENTLEMAN owned by Ilze Fraimane and third placed was English Cocker Spaniel - FRANCINI’S DAY BY DAY owned by Francini Angela. Best in Show judge was Mrs. Lisbeth Mach from Switzerland.

At International show in Tulln, 27th of September 2015, Best in Show winner was Papillon - ANTON VOM POSTBERG owned by Weber Yvonne, second placed was Whippet - ABSOLUTE MANN BETTY BOOP owned by Manni Fabrizio and third placed was English Setter - FAMOUS FRED ONFIRE VON DER GULDEGG owned by Götz Michaela & Stephan. Best in Show judge was Mr. Phyllis Poduschka-Aigner from Austria.

At International show in Wels, 5th of December 2015, Best in Show winner was Newfoundland SKIPPER’S ZERO ZERO SEVEN owned by Lukacs Agnes, second placed was Afghan Hound - SHAIRA BINT BENASID VON HAUSSMAN owned

by Heilmann Erika and third placed was Sky Terrier - GOLD MONARH TRAMONTANA owned by Kanasova Martina. Best in Show judge was Mrs. Yolanda Nagled from Israel.

At International show in Zaragoza-Pirineos Aragon Winner, 8th of February 2015, Best in Show winner was Akita - Ch. Taikou Go Shun You Kenska owned by Silvia Exposito, second placed was Chihuahua - Ch. Dartan The Valiant Aladar owned by Hector Ceballos and Jose Armas and third placed was Australian Shepherd - Ch. Heart’s Choice Tyler Of Crystal Lake owned by Sonsoles Hevia. Best in Show judge was Jorge Nallem from Urugay.

Photo credits: Sylvia Garcia Andrade

At International show in Badajoz, 10th of May 2015, Best in Show winner was Beagle - Estoico Lancelot owned by Jairo Cuartas Ramirez, second placed was Spanish Water Dog - Nenucolisid de Ubrique owned by Antonio Garcia Perez and third placed was Pomeranian - Jacob de Karland owned

by Julio Martinez de Marigorta. Best in Show judge was Otto Schimpf from Austria.

Photo credits: Kennel Club of Extremadura

At International show in Madrid, 24th of May 2015, Best in Show winner was Chow Chow - Ch. King of Egypt de Los Perros de Bigo owned by Nuria Vigo Navajon, second placed was American Cocker Spaniel - Ch. Afterglow Dragon Quest owned by C.A. Havasi and third place was Petit Brabancon - Ch. Tajinastes Quiereme Mucho owned by Luis Martin de Rio. Best in Show judge was Miguel Angel Martinez from Argentina.

Photo credits: Sylvia Garcia Andrade

At International show in Talavera de la Reina, 4th of October 2015, Best in Show winner was Lakeland Terrier - Chelines Fly Me To The Moon owned

by Alberto Velasco, second placed was Akita - Ch. Taikou Go Shun’You Kensha owned by Silvia Exposito and third placed was Miniature Schnauzer - Barro del Berrocal owned by Manuel Moreno.

Best in Show judge was Rafael Malo Crudo from Spain.

Photo credits: Sylvia Garcia Andrade

At International show in Malaga - Sun Coast Winner, 18th of October 2015, Best in Show winner was Pug Ch. Del Sur Andalusi Run ‘n Gun owned by Juan Perez Sanchez and Mireia Cabre, second placed was Basset Hound - Ch. Bombay de Wila Damar owned by Daniel Alvarez and Marta Lucena, third placed was American Staffordshire Terrier - Ch. Falkon Warrior of Duty owned by Viktor Aleksovski and fourth place was Dogo Canario - Ch. Grando Presa de Casa Goxy owned by Felipe Lliano Palacios. Best in Show judge was Giulio Bezzechi from Italy.

Photo credits: Marcelino Pozo

At International show in Bilbao, 29th of November 2015, Best in Show winner was Basset Hound - Ch. Bombay de Wila Damar owned by Daniel Alvarez and Marta Lucena, second placed was Newfoundland - Ch. Berengaria de Andaba Xez owned by Pedro Lozano and third placed was Briard - Ch. Midnight Cowboy de los Niegos owned by Jon Ander Hormaetxe. Best in Show judge was Martin Baskaran from Spain.

Photo credits: Antonio Garcia Lopez

At International show in Milano, 7th of March 2015, Best in Show winner was Bulldog - CHEWBECCA DELLA CA DEL CONTE owned by Pagliero Rossella, second placed Fox Terrier Wire - FOXTAN’S GOLDEN GUY owned by Savini Stefania and third placed was Bearded Collie - CH. OPS DID IT AGAIN DEL CUORE IMPAVIDO owned by Olga Klimova.

At International show in ALessandria, 1st of May 2015, Best in Show winner was Dandy Black & Blue Just For Balboa owned by Meda Filippo, second placed was Whippet - ALMAGLO SARAH owned

by Carpone Mauro and third placed was Dachshund Rabbit size Wire haired owned by Alperatz kennel.

At International show in Piacenza, 13th of March 2015, Best in Show winner was Schnauzer Black - GENTLY BORN LIGHT RAY owned by Bonifacio Giovanni, second placed was Shetland Sheepdog TYCANCY BARDOLINO owned by Dorer Christina and third placed was French Bulldog - EXCELSIOR MAXIM D’OVILAVA owned by Hofmeister-Akkad Daniela. Best in Show judge was Best of Sunday Mag. Heliane Maissen-Jarisch (AT).

At International show in Busto Arsizio, 31st of October 2015, Best in Show winner was Great Dane YOU ARE NOT ALONE DEL PICCOLO JIGO owned

by Del Piccolo Jigo, second placed Australian Cattle Dog - BANANA BENDER THE GOVERNOR owned by Banana Bender kennel and third placed was Barzoi - RUSSKIY AZART ROMANTIC owne dby Jaquier Christine.

At International show in Parma, 14th of March 2015, Best in Show winner was Whippet - ABSOLUTE MANN BETTY owned by Fabrizio Manni, second placed was Bobtail - BOTTOM SHAKER ZEPHYRDREAM owned by Vörös Zsuzsanna and third placed was Tibet Terrier - TRIPITAKA BITE THE BULLET, Lydon Sean & Cathy. Best in Show judge was Horst Kliebenstein from Germany.

At International show in Reggio Emilia, 15th of March 2015, Best in Show winner was Clumber Spaniel - BIG BOOM’S BANDITOS DEX owned

by Lana Levai, second placed was Tibet Terrier TRIPITAKA BITE THE BULLET owned by Lydon Sean & Cathy and third placed was Boxer – CRONO owned by Cagnazzo Andrea. Best in Show judge was Mr. Stefan Sinko from Slovenia.

At Insubria Winner, 1st of November 2015, Best in Show winner was Whippet - SOBERSALTO XXX owned by De Gasperi Enrico, second placed Dachshund Standard Wire Haired - DOLCE FONTANA DI TREVI owned by Annaluce Saletti and third placed was Samoyed - CH. CABAKA’S BOBBIE OF STORM CAT owned by Moreschi Barbara.

At the Dog Of The Year comptition, 30th of December 2015, Best in Show winner was Maltese - CINECITTA’ IAN SOMERHALDER owned by Prosperi Franco.

At International show Fehova Budapest, 12th of February 2015, Best in Show winner was Pomeranian - pomstyle efim lovely hooligan pomeranian. owned by I.V. Peregudov Best in Show judge was Mr. Peter Harsanyi from Hungary.

At International show Fehova Budapest, 13th of February 2015, Best in Show winner was Fox Terrier - AGRIA ICEBREAEKER owned by Nadina Pervina.

Best in Show judge was Mr. Lokodi Zsolt from Romania.

At International show Fehova Budapest, 14th of February 2015, Best in Show winner was Pumi KARVAKORVAN ELOHIRI PUMI owned by Terhi Wallin. Best in Show judge was Mr. Andras Korozs from Hungary.

At International show Fehova Budapest, 15th of February 2015, Best in Show winner was Fox Terrier - AGRIA ICEBREAEKER owned by Nadina Pervina.

Best in Show judge was Mr. Blaz Kavcic from Slovenia.

At International show in Miskolc, 18th of April 2015, Best in Show winner was American Cocker Spaniel - AFTERGLOW DRAGON QUEST owned by Csaba Havasi . Best in Show judge was Mr. Cristian Stefanescu from Romania.

At International show in Miskolc, 19th of April 2015, Best in Show winner was Chihuahua Long Coated MISTY MEADOW’S PROMISED YOU A MIRACLE owned by Linda Wallmark . Best in Show judge was Mr. Tino Pehar from Croatia.

At Budapest Grand Prix #1, 1st of May 2015, Best in Show winner was Newfoundland - SKIPPER’S ARAMIS owned by Kovacs Laszlo. Best in Show judge was Mr. Nicola Imbimbo from Italy.

At Budapest Grand Prix #2, 2nd of May 2015, Best in Show winner was Siberian Husky - FAY MAY OF SIBERIAN LADY owned by Mirjana Prpic. Best in Show judge was Mrs. Monika Blaha.

At Budapest Grand Prix #3, 3rd of May 2015, Best in Show winner was Newfoundland - SKIPPER’S ARAMIS owned by Kovacs Laszlo. Best in Show judge was Dr. Tamas Jakkel from Hungary.

At International show in Szekesfehervar, 20th of June 2015, Best in Show winner was Clumber Spaniel - BIG BOOM’S BANDITOS DEX owned by Lana Levai. Best in Show judge was Mr. Zsuzsanna VacziBalogh from Hungary.

At International show in Szekesfehervar, 21st of June 2015, Best in Show winner was French Bulldog - VANESSA V. NEW GLANDORF owned by Pongracz Eleonora. Best in Show judge was Mr. Peter Harsanyi from Hungary.

At International show in Debrecen, 18th of July 2015, Best in Show winner was Basenji - HOLLYWOOD STAR OF SWALA PALA owned by Aksana Sosnovika. Best in Show judge was Mr. Zsolt Lokodi from Romania.

At International show in Debrecen, 19th of July 2015, Best in Show winner was Old English Sheepdog - BOTTOM SHAKER ZEPHYR DREAM owned

by Koroknai Jozsef. Best in Show judge was Mr. Peter Harsanyi from Hungary.

At International show in Komarom, 10th of October 2015, Best in Show winner was Puli - LUDAS MATYI PITYKE owned by Antal Ferenc. Best in Show judge was Mrs. Zsuzsanna Vaczi-Balogh.

Juha Kares Blog

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The Top Breeder’s best friend is a good puppy buy

how to build up a team

by Juha Kares

Breeders do need good homes for their puppies. This January 2016 I got my 500th Champion. These kind of results are only possible if the breeder realizes how important the ordinary families are in their breeding. I would say at least 100 of these Champions went to live in average families who never were originally interested of showing.

Help the family get started. It is the breeder’s job to inspire. It is simple really. Go and see the puppy as it is growing up. Or invite them to your house. Make sure you see every potential show puppy as they have matured a bit. If the puppy looks very nice, tell the family what a special puppy they have. Ask them to go a dog show. Make sure you or some other puppy buyer of yours is there. So they will have a nice day in a show. Make sure the judge is nice.

There are many judges who do not have patience or understanding for beginners. Usually the judges who breed themselves, and try to get

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average people interested of showing, understand beginners much better. So the first judging is really important. The first time showing is an opportunity to create inspiration or destroy it totally.

Use positive feedback a lot. Remember to tell people that this is not so serious. A good sense of humor is best way to build up a strong connection.

It is like a marriage. If you want it to last, and the same sense of humor is a must.

The first shows and judging is very important. It is breeder´s job to pick the right show and judge to make a good start. If all goes well the day will be nice. Judging is a pleasant experience and there will be some positive feedback. Remember to tell yourself what a nice job the family has done.

Very often the family will get interested by themselves. If not, invite them to another show.

In many cases, families will get interested in showing. Not, of course, all families get interested and that is fine. However in my experience some

70% of the families get interested of showing to some degree. Families with young or teenage children are very good. It is often the teenagers that are interested of showing. These people are also the future of the hobby.

Too many breeders are lazy and do not understand the great potential of involving families Too many breeders are lazy. They do not understand what great potential lies in ordinary families.

If the breeder is willing to make an effort there may be a great response. I have made lifetime friends and supporters already 30 years ago. Some of these families still have dogs from me. As their children move away from home. They often want a dog from me for their new homes.

Many of these people understand what a nice dog they have. Often they are not interested of breeding themselves. So they let me plan the pedigrees. I can use their best dog for breeding. The family is happy and I am happy. It is really a win-win situation. Over the years great trust and friendship is built up between families and a breeder. These people are the key to future top breeding. By accident my kennel turned out to be a team.

Breeders must develop himself and need to have something to offer. The breeder must have something to offer for every puppy buyer. Otherwise you are not interesting. Every good and lasting relationship is about give and take. Breeders can offer knowledge and inspiration. The family offers good homes, good company, support and advertisement with their new Champions. A good breeder must

“I believe that team work is the future of dog breeding, and it is the breeder who can make this happen or not.”

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Photo 1 • This is what I do and what I love. The best hobby in the World is breeding and having best breed in the World. That is of course Tibetan unique breed Lhasa Apsos. These unique dogs and their wonderful owners make my life heart emoticon So my kennel Chic Choix was best breeder in Finland second time in a row. Thank you all. Special thanks to all those active, loving and talented friends having my lhasas

develop his know how all the time. So that even the most experienced puppy owner will learn something new every now and then.

As some families really get close to you it requires time to take co-operation to next level.

I have learned this, and if you trust the people they will trust you. They also respect this trust a lot.

It is wonderful to plan future generations together.

There are more eyes and ears available to learn and hear. Soon you have much more resources available to be used in breeding. At the moment about half of my litters are born in my families. This makes my life much easier. I can breed more and be sure the quality of life of my dogs is as good as possible.

Every now and then there will be problems. The co-operation and connection between the breeder and family do not work out. That’s life, take it in stride. The breeders should not take disappointment too seriously. It is learning experience.

Next time you will better know what to do. You will know how to pick better families.

I believe that team work is the future of dog breeding, and it is the breeder who can make this happen or not.

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I WOULD NOT SAY 2015 WAS A BRILLIANT YEAR FOR THE DOG WORLD

by Ante Lucin

2015 was certainly not one of the best years for me, as I lost both of my grandparents, and looking back on many positive points they had I still think it was one of the worst years for me. But I must say, and I am sure you are more interested in this than in my private things, that it was also not a great year for the dog world. In general I think there is too much drama going on about everything. If I think of the last year the first things I start to think of are the chaos with the handling of the BIS Scottie at Crufts, the Luxembourg story with confiscated dogs, China getting the WDS and all the hysteria created after that causing almost the breaking of the FCI. Then I think of all the dogs that stayed in the quarantine in Oslo because of the wrong paper work, stolen BIS trophies and the drama of the Shih Tzu handling at the EDS.

Every weekend there is a new thing on social media – change of the country of origin for the Tibetan breeds and now the new thing of docked & cropped Dobermanns not being able to

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be shown at any FCI International shows after the 1st of August 2016. There were many changes in Breed Standards that caused big problems. Professional handlers were generally under attack not only from the animal rights people and media, but also fellow exhibitors. So, to make a long story short, I would say 2015 was filled with negativity, while most of the things were just unnecessarily exaggerated.

“ But we, dog lovers, breeders, exhibitors, judges, handlers – we should all be united now, more than ever and try to protect the sport we love so much.”

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I completely agree there are many problems in the dog world, and not the FCI, not any other association can change them all. But we, dog lovers, breeders, exhibitors, judges, handlers – we should all be united now, more than ever and try to protect the sport we love so much. We know there is corruption going on, we know there are bad handlers and good handlers, bad breeders and good breeders, bad judges and good judges. But we must stay united; we must fight for the same cause.

All the bad things and all the bad people should not be a part of our sport, but there again bad exists in everything we see in life and it is not so easy to avoid it. Still, I think there is so much more good in the hobby or profession we all love so much. We should not feel like criminals, explaining to other people why the dogs are in their pens, why we bath and dry them, why we travel with them. More and more the general public starts looking at us, at dog shows, at dog people as some freak society. That we need to change, not let anyone go after us like we are the worst in the world and photographing and filming everything that for them doesn’t look normal and then crucifying us.

We need to stay united, we need to show to the world how much we do for the welfare of the animals, protecting the breeds and bringing young people into a very rewarding sport that will keep them off the streets getting involved with alcohol and drugs and will teach them about friendship, different cultures, passion, care of animals and so much more. I must say that the best point of the last year was the World Dog Show in Milan, which was a fantastic event, excellently organized, with style, good dogs and we all enjoyed every moment of it.

On the other hand the European Dog Show was completely “killed” by the China drama, by the Shih Tzu handling and stolen trophies. I don’t remember when was the last time we didn’t stay to watch live the BIS of one European show. There was just too much depression about the event. Also, we must say, 2015 was a year in which we lost a few of the very important, loved and famous judges and breeders. It would not be fair to mention some and not all, but I am sure we will all miss some of the dog

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world’s top names who passed away in 2015. The New Year is already here, dog shows are going on every weekend, many (if not too many) of them. I hope we have all learned from our own mistakes, I really hope we can have a better year for the sport.

I am looking forward to new trips, new dogs, and new friendships. At the end of the day, we should not feel ashamed but privileged by the fact that we are a part of the dog world. All of us and each one of us in his own way should try to improve the things.

Show organizers should start to take more care of the exhibitors, exhibitors should take care more of the dogs, and judges should start to pay more respect to the exhibitors and their dogs. Each one of us, in our own small way, can make 2016 better year for a dog world.

I wish in 2016 there would be more good dogs winning top awards, better organized dog shows, more breeders and judges giving seminars and sharing their knowledge. I think what we urgently need is knowledge, more knowledge, more strong people who are ready to fight, who are able to explain what the dog world is all about, who are prepared to speak the truth and not turn a blind eye to dishonesty and injustice. Changes are necessary but to make these changes well we should all try to give of our best. Every country should put forward their best people – breeders, veterinarians, handlers, judges (based on ability and integrity rather than politics) – and the FCI should unite them. Talk to them, see different points and different ideas, and make changes together. I am sure every person can offer something positive to the sport. And if we put in one place the best we have, no one will be able to beat us. I am very positive and I am sure good times are ahead. But the bad ones can also easily win this battle. I do believe we are living in the years that will define the future of our sport. Let’s not let others define it, let’s do it ourselves.

I wish you all a great 2016 and look forward to all the adventures ahead.

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Photo 1 • Book-signing of the “Best in Show” book at Borders bookstore in New York in February, 2009 - concurrently with Westminster dog show in Madison Square Garden.

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