SKK Alfta National Dog Show

[Gene]

Congrats to Carina and Lena (and their dogs) on a great showing in Sweden. Both posted updates down in the blog section. For major shows like this, let's create individual discussion threads so we can announce they are coming up and pictures can be posted. Did anyone else attend? Any pictures would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Laura Kolbach]

Hello, no show results yet, but I just got reminded about the show in Oberwart on Saturday. It will be an indoor show and no AC or ventillation in the halls, I was told. Those who plan to come, please do everything to protect the dogs (and even yourselves) from the heat. Towels, lots of water, ventilator (fan? or what' the English name?). Having vegetated in about 40 degrees this week, it will surely be hell to be there. I for sure will leave my old lady behind, so she can rest in a house where it is cooler.

[Laura Kolbach]

I copy-paste Alenka's show report here :) hope it is ok for her.

Oberwart International, Austria
Nice day at the show today for me and Laura. Her Ch Coppers Music and Paws went BOB (CAC/CACIB) and my young male Ch M'Eudail The Temptation was BOS (CAC/CACIB). This makes it his 4th CACIB in 4th country and he is only 17 months old. Hope Laura will add some photos to the blog. And let us know how you did in the group.

[Laura Kolbach]

and some from oberwart, sorry for the quality :-( dark halls, not only hot...
check my dirty feet :-)))

[Laura Kolbach]

SZOMBATHELY INTERNATIONAL, HUNGARY
Today we had a show on the other side of the border, in Hungary (it was a double show, Oberwart-Szombathely, arranged by two countries in cooperation), judge was Antonio Jose Amaral from Portugal. Danka won CAC/CACIB and BOB again and went on to be BOG-3!!! By winning the CACIB both days, it gives Danka another extra titel: SAVARIA WINNER '07. :-) I am so proud of her. And I am also very thankful to her that she did not let me down and was happy to run all those rounds required by the judge (really a lot) in this heat. Because she is quite a lot affected by warm weather otherwise - a real Scandinavian? :-)
(The group was won by my pointer friend's bitch and she even became Best in Show!!!).

[Gene]

Hi Laura - Thanks for the report and congrats to Danka and you. Glad that you both did great and survived the heat.

[Laura Kolbach]

Thanks Gene and all the others.
Now I write down the little story of our adventurous weekend as it was a total chaos :)
It starts early morning at 3.15 when we realize that the pointer bitch got into season... Thanks god it is allowed now to have bitches in season at shows as per FCI rules. Then we manage to drive off with 1 hour's delay. Arriving at the Hungarian-Austrian border, my friend realizes that she forgot to bring her passport/ID card. She is not allowed to cross the border of course. There I stand at the road, with a big dog, a pet-home, a bag, a chair, etc. I am lucky to meet a car with a very nice family with whippets who take me to the show in Oberwart. Have you ever hitchhiked to a dog show???? :-) Arriving in Oberwart, hot halls, hot outside as well. Do the winning :) Waiting for the group, despite the heat, I think one should just stay if becoming BOB. To honour the judge, etc. Then trying to find somebody who can drive me back to the Hungarian border. Also fixed. My friend waits there for me, we drive to the place we booked for the night. The room is ok but oh, so hot, at least 50 degrees inside, not suitable for humans... and definately not for dogs. In addition, a wedding is being celebrated in the restaurant of the guesthouse. Lots of noise, drunk people, music... We decide to leave, trying to find another place to stay at. Of course mission impossible, everything is fully booked. At 10 in the night we decide to drive to the show grounds and to sleep in the car. They let us in. We meet the whippet people who took me to Austria in the morning, we park the cars next to each other. Those very friendly people give us blankets and even a hammock that is going to be my "bed" for the night. It was the first time for me to sleep hanging as a banana :-) but soooo nice, not warm, under the trees, no mosquitos for some reason. Danka in the pet-home, enjoying the coolish summer night. It was just perfect. Getting up at 8, take a walk with the dogs, washing hands, feet and face in the rest room :) Good that we took a shower while still at the guesthouse, otherwise it would have been a smelly weekend to remember :-)
I am very grateful to Kati and Zsolt (whippet people) for all their help and humor during this weekend. It is so nice to know that there are still these kind of people on earth!!!!
So really a weekend to remember - what do you think? :-))))

[Alenka Pokorn]

Definitely a weekend to remeber. Things tend to go wrong at the slightest possibility. At least for me. Unfortunately this year (again) weather is soooo unpredictable. Going from hot to cold, from sun to practically snow in matter of days. The climate definitely is changing. But also the show season. When I started showing about 25 years ago we had shows in May/June and then Sep/Oct. They were mostly outdoor shows. Summer was considered too hot and winter too cold. Now we don't seem to have any time off, shows going on all year.
Alenka

[Alenka Pokorn]

Oh yes, next time you do these 2 shows (Obervart/Szombathely) I recommend booking a room in Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Austria. It is 5 km from the Oberwart show, lots of small guesthouses and big hotels with climatised rooms. And there is a wonderful spa where you can bathe. Prices are very affordable.
Alenka

[Gene]

Great story...shows that it pays to press on.

As a someone from Texas, it is hard for me to imagine life without air conditioning or as Alenka says 'climatised rooms'. I guess most of the time you don't need it. Although they don't seem to be a cold as they used to, indoor shopping malls here were up to 35 degrees F colder than outside during the heat of the summer. I believe that is close to 11 degrees C colder for translation purposes.

Sleeping like a banana is a great analogy. I have visions of my dogs wanting to join me and we all end up on the floor.

[Laura Kolbach]

I am against AI in general, I have to say. Because of the dogs... as I am not sure if it is healthy for them to be in an AI room all day long and then go outside for walks, play, etc, with a difference of many many degrees (or fahrenheit, hehe). It is even bad for me as a human (?) when I am in the office with AI of 20 C and then go out into the 40...

[Jelena Kreitmayer]

ok, I have to clarify something that just seems so obvious but at a first glance made me laugh very much.
Laura means Air Conditioning (AC), not Artificial Insemination in her last post - at least I hope. ;o))))
Made me laugh so hard I almost spit out water at my workdesk.
:))))))
nice job, laura ;o)
~ jelena

[Laura Kolbach]

yes, jelena, thanks for the correction, now everybody knows that i am stupid and crazy and whatever :-))))))))))))) maybe nobody would have realized as we spoke about air stuff, but YOU had to point it out... thanks... you are always welcome to hungary...or maybe not any longer??? :-)))