Calliope Savoy
I believe the number of dogs Jeff Luscott will have to judge in Barbados at the next Barbados Kennel Club’s All Breeds Championship Dog Show will be in the fifties. And in the UK where he resides, that could just be one breed on his judging schedule.
Some years ago, an All Breed Championship Dog Show in Barbados could easily attract about 120 entries. And there would be expensive imported dogs of several breeds and owners and handlers eagerly awaiting the opportunity to bring out their dogs and compete. Some of these dogs would be imported a few weeks before the show so that they would also be in full coat.
The very poor entries for this show have no reflection on the judge, Jeff Luscott, as he has not judged here before.
An unfriendly judge and maybe one who also writes a very harsh critique can turn off new comers from entering future shows. There is nothing wrong with a judge telling the truth about a dog he judges and all dogs, even Best in Show dogs, have faults. And a judge spotting an obviously very inexperienced handler in the ring, could still be pleasant and encouraging. I believe a critique should point out the dog’s good points and also touch on the areas of weakness.
I believe most Barbadians have a strong sense of fair play and of course, most exhibitors here, know their competitors’ dogs.
Last show there were only three German Shepherd dogs, a breed which at one time in Barbados was so strong, it could have its own breed show on a Saturday and then an All Breeds Championship Show on Sunday. It is possible at this show, the number may be even fewer than three German Shepherd dogs.
I always tell people who have a lone breed entry, to think of doing well in the group as you cannot compete with yourself. And if you are lucky enough to get an easy pass through to the Working Group, make the most of it as, in my opinion, it is a tough group and usually has, in my opinion, most of the top handlers of the show.
Also, a judge does not have to give an automatic CC because there is only one entry in the ring.
The UK judges usually stay on the South coast, usually in a hotel on the beach and at this time of the year, our sea water is usually fairly warm so judges who love the sea and beach although they might be disappointed in the number of dogs they have to judge in the show ring, and maybe the quality of some, should enjoy their holiday in the tropics. They usually come in a day or two before the show and stay a few days afterwards. For some of them, it would be their first visit to Barbados.
Seeing that the time for the Bouviers has been brought forward, I would suspect fewer entries in the Gundog group. The Working Group will comprise mainly of Rottweilers and Bull Mastiffs as in the last show.
“Savoy” (registered name Calliope Rupert) in the picture above needs one more CC to be made up as a Champion and maybe he will get it this show.
It can be more difficult for a coated breed to get a CC as a coat should be maintained on a regular basis and this breed cannot have a good quality coat unless it is well cared (undercoat combed out) and the grooming of the Bouvier is a key point in its presentation.
Savoy was not at the show grounds with his owner and he did not compete in the last show but I visited him and his 2 Bouvier companions this morning after I came from the show grounds with Rhapsody this morning
Ch. Rhapsody C.D.
Rhapsody was out with me for most of the morning, she went to show handling, then visited her Bouvier friends and family and then enjoyed being admired by people when we went for a roti for lunch and also the newspapers.
And she had some exercise at the grounds with Tommy Bentley doing show handling and saying that he wanted us to do some extra circles so he could be sure that the Bouvier could really herd if it had to. 🙂 I know Tommy must have been trying to see how fit I am and maybe I had better start some swimming and walking to lose a few lbs. 🙂
And this evening Rhapsody and Rita will go out walking with Savoy, Payton and Phoenix who are Calliope Bouviers but not owned by me. We normally walk on Sunday evenings.
I often wish there was someone around who liked dogs and would like to walk one of the other Bouviers with us as left at home are other Bouviers who would love to be out.
Because I still compete in shows, I tend to walk the ones who will have to gait in the show grounds as I want them in a hard condition.
Tags: Bouvier Des Flandres
Bouvier Des Flandres is Welsh Dog of the Year
Top show dog in Wales, 2009, is Ch. Benclutha’s Fortune Angel, known as “Arran”, and owned by my friends Steve Dallow and his wife Helen.
Lots of countries all over the world run an annual competition and have an award for the Top Dogs of the Year.
In the UK, as there are still Championship All Breeds shows going on, this will not be announced until later in the year. Up to the Belfast show, the top dogs in the Dog World/Arden Grange Top Dog 2009 competition were the Wire Haired Fox Terrier, Ch/Ir Ch Blackdale Carousel (terrier group), followed by the Boxer, Ch/Ir Ch Winuwuk Lust At First Sight (working group). Running in third place is the Maltese, Ch Benatone Gold Ring (toy group).
In Ireland, the leader is an American Cocker Spaniel Ir Sh Ch & Am Ch San Jo’s Born To Party.
No doubt in checking around the world, there will be different breeds leading in different countries.
In Barbados, with one last show to go, I believe an imported Rhodesian Ridgeback (hound group) and a Miniature Schnauzer (utility group) are leading for the Dog of Year award, and for the best locally bred dog of the year, one of my Bouviers (working group) and a Golden Retriever (gundog group) are leading in points.
In Wales, the top show dog award is awarded based on a kind of knock out competition. The competition starts with 32 dogs and 32 puppies which come from all the groups and are picked by a committee. This competition is known as ‘The Welsh Kennel Club Top Dog Competition 2009′.
To be considered, the person entering the competition must live in Wales and have won a CC during the time frame August to August and puppies would have won an open show.
On the day of the competition, there are 2 judges and the dogs’ names are drawn out of a hat and put into 2 sections, each having its own judge.
The judges this year were Tom H Johnston (who judged the group my friend’s dog was in) and Frank H. Whyte. The competition was held last weekend.
The dogs then run in a knock out match, one vs one basis, to obtain a winner from each section.
The two judges then go over the 2 final dogs and pick the final winner between themselves. In the event that the 2 judges do not agree on the final winner, a third, neutral judge would be brought in.
Arran being judged
Steve received a beautiful trophy made by Patsi Ann Ward-Davey (Patsi Ann Sculptures).
Wales is roughly 170 miles North South and 60 miles East West (8,000 miles) and it has a population of 3 million people.
This competition must be exciting to watch and to compete in.
I begged Steve to send me some pictures so the vistors to this blog can admire the Welsh Top Dog for this year. And I am as pleased for him and his wife as if one of my own Bouviers had won it. 🙂
In Barbados, we always like to say that wherever you go in the World, you will probably find a Bajan (short for Barbadian). I had an aunt (now deceased)who married a Welsh man and lived the bulk of her life in Lampeter, Wales.
You can see more of Steve and Arran by visiting their website here
Congratulations and hugs from your Bouvier friends in Barbados
Final agility session for Rita for the year. Only 2 Golden Retrievers and 1 German Shepherd turned up for tonight’s class and although we did a course, there were no squatter toys as prizes. I don’t think Rita minded that as she prefers other rewards and it is more my other Bouviers who like squatter toys.
We ran a good course and Rita was in a good happy mood and ran fast and afterwards was a clown in that at the end of the course did her own mini course by herself 🙂 🙂 And people there clapped which encouraged her to do it again 🙂 And she did it at full speed.
Our final run had hand signals only, no voice commands and had obstacles, like tunnels, hoop, A-frame and jumps.
It is known that dogs watch their handlers and so if we have incorrect body movement, it can send the dog to an incorrect jump/obstacle.
In Barbados, there are Border Collies around but I am not sure if they are registered with our local kennel club. The Border Collie is regarded as the top breed for anyone looking to have a top dog in agility. With most of us, because we probably do agility only once a week, a working Border Collie would probably become very bored unless we could find other active things for it to do. German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers and Bouviers will find other things to do and be happy to also be just laid back.
In Barbados, we are just having some fun with our dogs who usually really enjoy agility.
Here’s a video which I like showing the sport:
First set of obedience trials
I took some photos from the Obedience trials held this evening. The trials were for CDX and CD. I believe one person passed the last leg of the CD and one person passed leg A of the CD. The results were not good and I promised that I would not post any scores and individual results. Just some photos taken at night 🙂
At this time of the year in Barbados, sunset is around 5:30 pm. and the trials were in a roped off area and started after 6:00 pm. Wayne Nicholls was the first judge and Sarah Hamilton was the second judge. The poles for the figure eight came from people watching the trials.
The breeds involved in the trials were German Shepherd Dogs, Malinois, my Bouvier Rita, Boxer, Akita, Golden Retriever, Flat C. Retriever, and Papillon. I am surprised to see very few, if any, mixed breed dogs coming to obedience trial competitions.
There will be another set of trials next week.
Most dogs failed with the off leash heeling.
Here, the dogs seemed to enjoy themselves as soon as the leash came off. And they sniffed the ground, walked at their slowest speed, refused to sit and generally made their handlers wonder what they were doing to come in the ring with dogs such as they!!!
Lagging can be a sign of boredom but these dogs which usually did a brisk heel and good sits, in most cases, even refused to sit. Even on leash, I believe some would have failed as they did not sit when the handler stopped.
It was like a conspiracy on the dogs’ part. One after another. I think the people watching had a good laugh as some handlers grabbed the dog by the choke chain, and gave a jerk as if to wake up the dog and make it heel properly, some called the dog’s name loudly, some clapped their thigh and turned around to plea with the dog to come walk by their side. But to no avail. I was tempted to put some of it on video as it was hilarious. And Rita was not exempt from the lagging behaviour.
Trevor with his GSD
Here’s another German Shepherd Dog. This one is in the ring with his owner Rachel. He is still on his leash and doing the heel exercise.
Rachel and her German Shepherd Dog
And then here’s a photo of my favourite dog in the class, next, of course, to Rita. He is a young Belgian Shepherd Dog, a Malinois, whose name is Hydro and he is not yet a year old. People not knowing the breed may take the Malinois to be a small German Shepherd Dog as they look similiar. The Malinois breed is known as an excellent working breed. Hydro is a super fast dog.
Adrian and his Belgium Shepherd Dog
Tags: Dog training in Barbados
The above was reported in today’s issue of “The Nation” newspaper.
The newspaper reported that police at the scene said the elderly woman 83 years old, was attacked by a family dog, a pit bull, and she was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she died.
The police are said to be investigating the incident and the information carried by the newspaper has not been confirmed by the deceased’s family.
Barbados does not have a Dangerous Dogs Act but like the UK, several breeds are not granted import licences to enter the island. These breeds, I believe, are the Pit Bull Terrier, the Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Braziliero.
On Pit Bulls in Barbados, I know several people who have them and have found them to be loving and excellent pets. I think it all comes down to how the dog is reared, treated and trained, as well as the breed.
Golden Retrievers with their Bouvier friend
This photo was taken tonight after an agility class and yes, except for Rita, the Bouvier, a German Shepherd dog, a Papillon, and an Akita mix who were not in the photo, all the dogs were Golden Retrievers.
A couple of reasons for this. The chief trainers in Barbados from the Barbados Dog Training Club committee have Golden Retrievers and they usually run their dogs in agility.
The Golden Retriever, I believe, most people will agree, is a breed which is eager to please and train and therefore ideal for agility.
And there are usually different levels of agility in Barbados. Rita is at Novice level and so is Rhapsody. At each of the usually three levels there will be Golden Retrievers. At what is regarded as the Novice level most of the dogs running in agility are trained to CD level.
Next week should be the last session for the year and the last session of each class usually has a fun course to run with some prizes, such as squatter toys.
Rita is doing everything well and has been enjoying herself with the Goldens. She does not go out of her way to play with them but her body language is very friendly towards them and I think she is very well liked by the Goldens and their owners.
A dog does not have to be a pedigree dog to do agility. It must be obedience trained and should be under its owner’s control by commands when it is off leash. However, the bulk of the dogs I see here who participate in agility are the pedigree dogs.
Bouvier in Grenada
Oscar, one of Rick Lois’ and Jovi’s puppies, went at 9 weeks to live in Grenada. His owner keeps in good touch and we exchange pix. of Oscar and his family in Grenada with his family in Barbados.
Today’s e-mail included pix. of Oscar who is receiving training in protection. As a puppy he was one of the most amusing and affectionate puppies and I am glad he has gone to a nice home to people who love and care their dogs. While he lived in Barbados, his name was Romeo.
Bouvier and German Shepherd dogs
The German Shepherd Dogs who live with Oscar are also receiving training and here the handler has them all in a “sit, stay”.
Bouvier Oscar doing protection training
A Caricom world: location Grenada, Bouvier from Barbados, German Shepherd dogs from Trinidad 🙂
Bouvier Des Flandres Romeo/Oscar
Oscar, alias Romeo, at six weeks in Barbados. It is always challenging to get pix. of young puppies sitting quietly unless they are waiting on their food.
Tags: Bouvier Des Flandres
While we in Barbados may be struggling to get the “rescue” dog to socialise without being afraid of humans, or the mixed or pedigree dogs to obey simple commands like “sit”, “down”, “come” or a dog to stack in a show ring, here’s a video which shows the heights a trainer can achieve. Of course, the dog should also be the correct breed/breed mix and with the correct temperament.
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