Off we go in 3 days..

THE Romania-trip is approaching.. I've checked the weather forecast and omg, I'm so happily surprised that the whole week it'll be almost +30 degrees!! Suits me well indeed in this rainy autumn  and +10 degrees of ours. :D I will travel together with Sanni and my mum! We will fly about 7 hours altogether, first to Istanbul and then to Bucharest.. A long trip but totally worth it if I get summer back for even 5 days! :D

On Thursday there'll be a show called "Bucharest-winner" and Ninja's entered. I will also compete in JH with a spanish waterdog :) On Friday is the first day of the EUW-12 and Ninja's ring is that day. Also my junior handling where I will compete with the same pharaoh hound as in WDS this spring. On Saturday I've promised to help out with a saluki and, junior handling of course, also this day with the pharaoh. On Sunday then only junior handling and probably with the spanish waterdog :)

We'll see how the show goes, I have my goals and would like to be in the European Championship-final, this last year of mine. But that means I have to qualify on some of the days, which isn't that easy :) The judges are at least professionals, so I think it's going to be nice competitions!

We will also meet our friends from all around the world there, which makes the trip even better! Ninja's competing in Champion Class together with 3 other bitches. She's looking as good as always :P She hasn't dropped the coat yet, which is odd, but I don't mind! Keep the coat please, Ninja! :D

Nothing much to tell right now, I promise to keep you updated from Romania!

♥ Hilde ♥

Junior Handling - what is it?

Hey guys!

I have exam week going on and I do everything but read the books I should.. So I translated the article I posted here last time :p Voilá, now you can read it in English. It's written for the Finnish German Spitz-magazine, and that's why I talk about showing german spitzes (: Sorry if there are many grammar mistakes.. Still improving my English language skills! :) Please comment if you have anything to say - I'd love some feedback of this blog!

Ps. I've got some lovely chances for next year! I will have my first junior handling course in spring where I'm the teacher!! I will be so nervous but what an experience! I hope many juniors will attend :)

♥

The name says it all – juniors as handlers. There’s a competition for that too, called junior handling. “Everyone can run in a circle with a dog and keep it standing.” is a normal phrase heard from a person’s mouth or from an experienced breeder’s. Maybe easy, but it takes talent to bring the best out of a dog and to get an “ugly duckling” to look like a swan.

You’re allowed to compete in junior handling when you’re from 10 to 17 years old. The year you turn 18 you can’t compete anymore. There are two age groups, 10-13 years old and 14-17 years old and in both there are 5 juniors being placed. In the end of the day there are chosen “Best Junior Handler Of The Day” aka. BIS-JUNIOR HANDLER. The year you turn 18 you can’t compete anymore. I personally have the famous “last year” going on right now. Well, I do have competed now for 8 years.. Still it feels sad to leave this lovely sport. What then, when junior handling ends? Was there any advantage of all these 8 years?

I can tell you without any doubts, that yes there is. Many grown-ups act very suspiciously against this sport and the handlers. It’s really a huge shame, as we’re often the ones that become the experienced breeders, skilful handlers or at least active dog people. To become this, we do need the “old and wise” to be our teachers. How can we otherwise be leaded to the right path?

What’s the idea of junior handling then and why is the sport so teaching? If we would ask any junior handler herself, what they’ve gained from this sport, the first answer would probably be friends, which are actually candy for the whole dog show-world. So you get many, many friends. Via this there might build up long-lasting relationships with breeders, who help the junior handler further in her hobby and in the big dog world.

In junior handling you can choose freely which dog and breed you want to compete with. How beautiful the dog is doesn’t matter, as we’re talking about judging the handler. This allows that you have the ability to learn showing different breeds and individuals. I, myself aim to compete with lots of different dogs. That’s how you learn the most effectively. You don’t always have the Multi winner, perfectly showing dog in the end of your leash, and it’s very important to compete with difficult dogs. Of course, sometimes a dog that “knows its stuff” is nice too. You can focus better on the technical performance. Myself though like challenge more and it can be seen in my choices on the dogs I’ve chosen to compete with.

This is why the junior handler should be humble and when asking a dog to compete with, be prepared that there’s not always coming the Multi winner to your competition buddy. You should be humble to all the things people learn you. You don’t necessarily have to have the same opinion as others, of course, but then you just let the information go through. When juniors attend in different handling courses or somebody just gives some tips and tricks on dog showing, you need to focus on getting the right points out from there that YOU can adapt to YOUR style of handling.

Everybody’s not the same, and by this everyone’s creating their own ”key to success”. Usually this is the thing how the handlers are identified. “The calm one” or “She’s always so happy!”. This is the thing that every handler should aim for. This is at least what I’m aiming for. Not like in Austria for example, where there are rules in JH how many centimetres the leash should be above the dog’s head when stacking. Or how you should kneel down on a special way when you’re stacking your dog? Pfft. NOT dog showing. It’s not about rules.

That is, in junior handling the key is to judge handling according to the breed standard, who gets the dog to look its best, the cooperation between the dog and the handler and making contact even with strange dogs. Yes, it’s possible to switch dogs in junior handling between the handlers. This should be some kind of rule, because this is the level where you really separate the goats from the sheep. The handler should be able to show which dog she ever gets in the end of the leash. This is why it’s clever to compete with different kind of dogs. Many handlers freeze totally in this situation and don’t know how the friend’s irish setter should be stacked? That’s why it isn’t so good to always compete with your own little “Fifi”, if you really want to learn something.

This sport train the young for future breed rings. Or not necessarily the future, but nowadays you see more and more young handlers showing dogs in the breed rings too! That, if something is beautiful. We do have a guarantee for the future of this sport.

The technical stuff which should be in the back of your head in the ring are up-and down, a triangle and circle-figures. Everyone’s not getting how hard it can be to do a correct triangle? Try sometime for fun to do three straight lines which make a triangle from the angle where the judge stands. It’s not as easy as you think. Many times you think that, wow I ran so fine and Dusty ran too! But boy, from the angle of the judge it might have looked like anything but a triangle. It can be very irritating for the judge to try to judge the movements of the dog if the triangle looks more like a circle. The handler’s job is also to make the work of the judge easy.

Many times you can see dog owners, that want to show their own dog, but the dog could’ve actually performed with a more professional handler. There would be nothing wrong here, if the owner would have got any training when it comes to stacking and moving the dog. But the problem is that it’s not often like that. The judge’s job isn’t to give directions how he could see the front- and rear movements, but to judge the dog. Everyone wants a critique as good as possible of the dog? Then why oh why, aren’t they doing anything for it in the ring?

Junior handling is criticized often by outsiders. ”There are only the small girls in their suits who treat their dogs badly.” Of course there are the black sheep also, who treat their dogs badly, but I can tell you, there are not many of these. Overall seen, I can tell you that these are very rare. I think everyone’s very grateful if they’ve got a dog to compete with and takes care of it too very gently. And yes, many of us have suits on, just like me, but I see it as the best solution when it comes to clothing in dog shows. There are pockets in it, and yes, you do need pockets when you’re showing dogs because the dog needs a reward after good work. It’s a stylish alternative – the judge needs to be respected, not only with good behaviour but also with stylish clothing. I’m pretty sure the message you send to the judge about yourself is different if you’re a nice handler who’s stylishly dressed than that somebody who’s “hanging” behind the dog in her sweatpants. At least, if I were a judge – I would pay attention to this. The judge is also nicely, tidy dressed – in exchange you dress nicely too.

The ”circus”-side then. Sadly some of the judges has an impression of this sport that is clearly so wrong it can be. To ask figures like T, L, 8, H etc., asking different questions like ”how many toes does a dog have? Running around the dog watching, that the handler isn't in the middle of the dog and the judge at any time. This is SO not what the definition of this sport is. A translation of the Finnish Kennelclub’s definition of Junior Handling would sound like this: “Junior handling is a sport for the young how to show dogs. The sport is meant to increase the dog hobby of the young ones and improve the cooperation between the junior and the dog. The criteria of judging are breed typical showing and the cooperation with the dog.”
I don’t see any reference to that the judge should ask stupid figures where you have to switch hands many times. Or to ask questions like “how many toes does a dog have?” Does that have anything to do with dog showing? No.

Fortunately there are many judges and junior handlers that understand the importance of this sport. On the technical side you should be able to know how to move in the correct balance with the dog, know how to move in figures up-and-down, triangle, circle and also up-and-down in pairs (used in breed rings to evaluate two dogs with each other) and to know how to stack the dog in the right distance to the judge so he has a chance to actually see the dog and to judge it.

When a judge judges junior handling, it should be important to pay attention to the young people that are competing. Sometimes there are seen judges that say mean things to the handlers or are just rude. Like someone who’s competing for the first time would ever come back to the ring or to the dog world at all after that? The judge should look at the cooperation of the handler and the dog. A good handler gets also a difficult dog to perform and to take eye contact. An even greater handler gets a “not-so-good-looking” dog to look awesome.

The sport developes also self-confidence. Many grown-ups, who want, that I show their dogs in the breed ring, doesn’t often go there themselves because they’re afraid of ”being in the spotlight”. In this sport you need to be confident, in order to get the dog to perform as good as possible. If you’re unconfident, the dog will sense it immediately. There is often a big crowd watching the competition. It’s not easy for all to be in the spotlight and under the judge’s sharp eye.

When you’re showing german spitzes it’s good to remember that it’s a free-stacked breed, as all the spitzes are. Usually they’re looking their best when they’re stacked with a free, long leash from the front. This is, of course depending on the individual. Pomeranians can be stacked, because they’re so tiny, but if you’re setting a kleinspitz to standing, their natural carriage fades and makes them “hang”. Both pomeranians and kleinspitzes should be ”tiny, compact squares” and they look their best when they carry themselves. When moving you should NOT run – we’re talking about a tiny breed. If you’re running you’re just ruining the harmony in the movement. Yes it might look flashy, but really, the breed is not meant to have a movement that allows long-reaching movement, so it doesn’t NEED running. If your dog is a faster mover, you just walk faster. Easy as that! When stacking you can stand or kneel down in the front of the dog and give the dog space by letting the leash hang freely. That, if something, is beautiful free-showing. Invest in the dog’s performing.

If you have time and you want to, take part of watching the annual Finnish Championship in the Mess centre in Helsinki. There’s a beautiful competition which is full of the best juniors in Finland. Or if you have extra time in a show – why not go to the JH-ring and watch the competition? Sometimes you can learn something new – just like we learn by watching the breed rings.

What I’ve learnt in these 8 years of junior handling is that you can’t get lower than the bottom. The only way is up. So it’s not worth to depress yourself even if the succession doesn’t come in the beginning – in both junior handling rings and breed rings. You’re never a finished handler. You can ALWAYS learn something new, and the better you’ll be the more you compete and want to learn. You don’t succeed always, but the most important thing is, that you’ve learnt something yourself and that you’re happy with the dog and yourself. It’s worthwhile to take risks – nothing is more paying that to get a difficult dog to perform well. As a dog owner you can take a moment to think – would it be so horrible to lend my dog to a skilful junior handler? You can make someone so happy and the junior will be glad for a long time! Many juniors you see ask even strange dogs to junior handling. That is all about the willingness to learn.

Nelli  ♥

We were at my grandma's place in central Finland,
there were lovely places to take a great walk!

♥ Hilde ♥

What's up?

Yep, still here.. You can find the worst blogger in the world here! Sorry.. Haven't had inspiration to write anything and as my hard disk has been broken I haven't really had any photos either..

Now, sorry my English readers. I will publish a article that  I wrote to the Finnish German Spitz-magazine called "Pienpystykorvat" about junior handling. I have no time to translate it to English, so sorry for this!

What has happened here during these weeks, I was in Sweden on a great trip with awesome results - got placed all three days in JH with one win included and Ninja finished her SWEDISH & INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION-title!!!! WOHOO! Happy owner here <3

In two weeks we'll travel down to Romania.. We'll see how that goes ;)

Tässä siis kirjoittamani juttu Pienpystykorvat-lehteen 3/2012 (:


Junior handler

Nimi kertoo jo kaiken – juniorit handlereina. Sille on olemassa oma kilpailukin, lajin nimenä toimii junior
handler tai ’handling’, niin kuin ulkomailla sanottaisiin. ”Kaikki nyt osaa juosta koiran kanssa ympyrää ja
pitää paikallaan” on yleinen lause taviksen suusta.. Tai vaikka ihan ansioituneen kasvattajan. Ehkä helppoa,
mutta taitoa vaatii korostaa koiran parhaita puolia ja taikoa ankanpojasta joutsen. Se onkin handlerin työ.

Junior handlerissa saa kisata kaikki 10-17 vuotiaat nuoret. Siinä kilpaillaan kahdessa ikäryhmässä ja
molemmissa sijoitetaan viisi. Päivän päätteeksi valitaan päivän paras Junior handler. Sinä vuonna kun
täyttää 18, ei saa enää kilpailla. Itselläni on parhaimmillaan menossa tämä junnujen keskuudessa
kuuluisa ”viimeinen vuosi”. Onhan tässä tultu kilpailtua kaikki 8 vuotta.. Silti tuntuu vähän haikealta jättää
tämä rakas harrastus. Mitä sitten kun junnuilut loppuu? Onko tästä lajista mitään hyötyä?

Voin kertoa epäröimättä lainkaan, että kyllä siitä vaan on. Useimmat aikuiset suhtautuvat erittäin
epäröivästi junior handlereita kohtaan. Se on todella harmi, sillä useimmiten meistä junnuista kehittyy
pitkän linjan kasvattajia, ansioituneita handlereita tai vähintäänkin aktiivisia koiraihmisiä. Tämän
saavuttamiseksi me tarvitsemme ”vanhoja ja viisaita” opettajiksi. Kuka muuten meidät johtaa oikealle
polulle?

Mitä junior handlerissa sitten tehdään ja minkä takia laji on opettavainen? Jos kysyttäisiin keneltä tahansa
junior handlerilta mitä on junior handlerin ansiosta saanut, niin ensimmäinen vastaus olisi varmasti
ystävyyssuhteet, jotka ovatkin ihan koiramaailman yleistä herkkua. Saa siis todella monia ystäviä. Tämän
kautta saattaa muodostua pitkän linjan kasvattajaystäviä, jotka vievät junior handleriä harrastuksessaan ja
koiramaailmassa eteenpäin.

Junior handlerissa saa valita minkä koiran kanssa kisaa, rodun ja yksilön. Koiran ulkonäöllä ei kisassa ole
mitään väliä. Tämä mahdollistaa sen, että pääsee opettelemaan monen eri rodun esittämistä. Itse pyrin
kisaamaan mahdollisimman erilaisilla koirilla ja roduilla. Siten oppii parhaiten. Aina ei ole se valmiiksi
opetettu, täydellisesti kenen tahansa kanssa menevä koira hihnan päässä. Onhan semmoinenkin tapaus
välillä oikein mukava. Voi keskittyä tekniseen suoritukseen kisassa paremmin. Itse kuitenkin pidän
haasteesta, joten sen mukaan ovat kisakoiranikin tulleet valituksi.

Tämän takia junior handlerin pitäisi olla nöyrä, ja kysyessä koiraa lainaksi jh-kilpailuun valmistautua siihen,
että sieltä ei välttämättä tule sitä multi voittajaa kisakaveriksi. Pitäisi olla nöyrä kaiken opin suhteen. Aina ei
tarvitse olla samaa mieltä kaikkien kanssa, mutta silloin annetaan tiedon mennä toisesta korvasta sisään ja
toisesta ulos. Kun junior handlerit käyvät jh-koulutuksissa tai joku antaa muuten vaan vinkkejä
esittämiseen, pitää oppia valitsemaan sieltä ne niksit mitä sitten soveltaa omaan esitystyyliin. Kaikki eivät
ole samanlaisia, ja tätä kautta kaikille muodostuu se oma ”valttikortti”. Useimmiten handlerit
tunnistetaankin juuri heidän esitystyylistään, ”se rauhallinen tyyppi” tai ”se onkin aina niin iloinen!”. Tämä
on se, mihin jokaisen handlerin tulisi pyrkiä. Tähän minä ainakin pyrin. Ei niin kuin esim. Itävallassa missä
junior handlerille on säännöt kuinka monta cm koiran hihna pitää olla pään päällä seisottaessa ja kuinka
pitää polvistua toinen polvi maassa koiraa seisottaessa. Humpuukia ainakin omasta mielestäni.

Junior handlerissa siis arvostellaan koiran rodunomaista esitystyyliä, kuka saa koiran näyttämään

parhaimmalta, koiran ja handlerin yhteistyötä sekä kontaktin luomista vieraisiinkin koiriin. Kyllä, junior
handlerissa on mahdollista vaihdattaa koiria handlereiden kesken. Tämän pitäisi muodostua jonkun laiseksi
säännöksi jh-kisoissa, sillä tämä on se vaihe kun jyvät erottuu akanoista. Handlerin pitäisi siis kyetä
esittämään minkä tahansa rotuista koiraa ja yksilöä. Tämän takia kannattaa kilpailla monen erirotuisten
koirien kanssa. Monet menevät tässä vaiheessa lukkoon ja ei tiedäkään miten se kaverin setteri kuuluisi
seisottaa? Siksi sillä omalla fifillä kilpaileminen joka kisassa ei ole se paras vaihtoehto, jos haluaa oppia
jotain.

Tämä laji valmentaa nuoria tulevaisuuden rotukehiä varten. Eikä välttämättä edes tulevaisuuden, vaan
nykyään näkee entistä enemmän nuorisoa esittämässä koiria rotukehissä. Ja se jos jokin on upea näky!
Takaa tulevaisuuden tälle harrastukselle. Tekniset asiat mitä rotukehissä pitäisi osata ovat kuviot edes-
takaisin, kolmio ja ympäri. Ei moni uskokaan, kuinka vaikeata kolmion tekeminen voi olla? Yritä joskus
huvikseen tehdä kolme suoraa linjaa joista muodostuu kolmio tuomarin näkökulmasta. Ei olekaan niin
helppoa kuin kuvittelee. Monesti sitä luulee että; juoksinpas hienosti ja Murrekin seurasi, mutta tuomarin
näkökulmasta voi olla erittäin ärsyttävää yrittää arvostella koiran liikkeitä kun kuvio muistuttaa enemmän
soikiota kuin kolmiota. Handlerin tehtävä on siis myös tehdä tuomarin työ helpoksi.

Monesti näkee koiranomistajia, jotka välttämättä ovat halunneet kehään viemään omaa koiraansa, mutta
koira olisi voinut jopa esiintyä ammattitaitoisen handlerin kanssa. Ei tässä mitään, jos omistaja olisi saanut
edes jonkunlaista koulutusta koiran seisottamisen ja liikuttamisen suhteen, mutta kun usein asia ei ole näin.
Tuomarin tehtävä ei ole neuvoa miten saisi nähtyä ne taka- ja etuliikkeet, vaan arvostella koiraa. Ja
jokainenhan haluaa koirastaan mahdollisimman hyvän arvion? Miksi sitten ei tehdä asian eteen mitään
siellä kehässä?

Junior handleria arvostellaan usein ulkopuolisten toimesta. ”Siellä pyörii vain niitä pikkutyttöjä
jakkupukuineen jotka repii koiriansa seisomaan”. Toki niitä yksilöitä on, jotka kohtelevat koiriaan huonosti,
joka lajista löytyy niitä ”mustia lampaita”. Joka tapauksessa voin todeta, että näitä on todella harvassa.
Jokainen on kiitollinen jos on saanut koiran lainaan sen kanssa kilpailtavaksi ja varmasti hoitaa sen myös
kunnolla. Ja kyllä, usein monella on jakkupuvut, ihan niin kuin minullakin, mutta olen todennut sen kaikista
kätevimmäksi. Siinä on taskut, jota koiranesittämisessä tarvitsee, sillä koira tarvitsee palkkion hyvästä
työstä. Se on siisti valinta – tuomaria TÄYTYY kunnioittaa, ei pelkästään hyvällä käytöksellä, vaan myös
siistillä pukeutumisella. Tuomarille kehkeytyy varmasti myös erilainen ensivaikutelma koirasta, kun handleri
osaa asiansa ja on siististi pukeutuneena koiran taustalla kuin että joku röhnöttää verkkareissa ja
hupparissa koiran takana? Ainakin itse tuomarina kiinnittäisin heti huomion tähän. Tuomarikin on siististi
pukeutunut – vastineeksi pukeudutaan itse siististi.

Sirkuspuoli sitten. Harmillisesti joidenkin tuomareiden käsitys tästä lajista on erilaisten kuvioiden
teettäminen (T, L, 8, H..), kysely ja koirien ympäri hyppelehtiminen ilman että saisi jäädä koiran ja tuomarin
väliin. Tämä ei vastaa ollenkaan lajin kuvausta. Kennelliiton virallinen käsite on: ”Junior handler on nuorten
koiranesittämiskilpailu. Lajin tarkoituksena on lisätä nuorten koiraharrastusta sekä edistää ja parantaa koirien ja nuorten yhteistyötä. Arvostelukriteereinä ovat rodunomainen koiranesittäminen sekä yhteistyö koiran kanssa.”. Mielestäni tässä ei anneta minkäänlaista osviittaa siitä, että pitäisi teettää naurettavia kuvioita handlerille, jossa pitää vaihtaa koiraa kädestä toiseen monta kertaa. Tai osata vastata
kysymykseen ”Kuinka monta kylkiluuta koiralla on?”. Kuuluuko se koiranesittämiseen? Ei.

Onneksi lajin parista löytyy monia, tuomareita ja junior handlereita, jotka ymmärtävät lajin tärkeyden.
Teknisellä osastolla pitäisi osata liikkua koiralle sopivassa tahdissa, osata esittää kuviot edes-takaisin,
kolmio ja ympäri, myös edes-takaisin pareittan (rotukehissä tuomari saattaa pyytää tätä kuviota vertaillessa
kahta koiraa keskenään) ja seisottaa koira oikealla välimatkalla tuomarista, jotta hänellä olisi mahdollisuus
nähdä koira ja arvostella se.

Arvostellessa junior handleriä, olisi tärkeätä ottaa huomioon lajissa kilpailevat nuoret. Joskus on törmätty
tuomareihin jotka tiuskivat ilkeitä asioita nuorille. Ihan kuin ensikertalainen tulisi takaisin jh-kehään tai
koiraharrastukseen ylipäätään sen jälkeen? Tuomarin pitäisi arvostella koiran ja handlerin yhteistyötä. Hyvä
handleri saa vaikeankin koiran menemään ja ottamaan kontaktia. Vielä taitavampi handleri saa
huonommankin koiran näyttämään hyvältä.

Laji kehittää myös itsevarmuutta. Monet aikuiset, jotka haluavat, että esitän heidän koiriaan rotukehissä,
eivät yleensä mene sen takia kehään itse, koska pelkäävät olla esillä. Tässä lajissa pitää olla varma itsestään,
jotta koira esiintyisi mahdollisimman hyvin. Jos on epävarma, koira aistii sen heti. Yleisöäkin on useasti
paikalla. Ei ole helppoa kaikille olla huomion keskipisteenä ja tuomarin syynin alla.

Saksanpystykorvia esittäessä olisi hyvä muistaa että kyseessä on vapaasti esitettävä rotu, niin kuin kaikki
pystykorvat. Useimmiten ne ovat parhaimmillaan täysin vapaasti esitettynä edestä. Tämä riippuu tietysti
yksilöstä. Pomeranianit voidaan asetella, ne kun ovat niin pieniä, mutta kleinia asetellessa sen luontainen
ryhti pakkaa katoamaan ja saa sen ”röhnöttämään”. Molempien kun pitäisi olla kompakteja neliöitä,
parhaimmalta ne näyttävät kun luontainen ryhti pitää ne seisomassa täydellisessä neliössä. Liikkuessa ei
missään nimessä kannata juosta – pommit ja kleinit ovat kääpiökoiria, ne eivät vaadi juoksemista. Jos on
vauhdikkaampi tapaus, kannattaa kävellä ripeästi. Jos lähtee juoksemaan, se rikkoo koiran liikkeet.
Pomeranian näyttää usein paremmalta, kun liikuttaa kireällä hihnalla, se saa niistä entistä kompaktimman.
Kleinit taas liikkuvat mielestäni paremmin löysällä hihnalla, taas tietenkin yksilöstä riippuen. Kun
harjoittelee seisotusta, kannattaa pyrkiä siihen, että koira seisoo edessäsi löysän, pitkän hihnan jatkeena.
Se on jos jokin, on kaunista vapaasti esittämistä. Ei niin, että pitää hihnaa kireänä koiran kaulasta ja
röhnöttää itse vieressä. Jos haluaa, voi myös mennä polvilleen koiran eteen. Mikä itselleen tuntuu
parhaimmalta. Koiran esiintymiseen kannattaa panostaa!

Jos on aikaa ja halua, voi ottaa tehtäväkseen esimerkiksi Messukesksen jokavuotisen SM-finaalin
seuraaminen. Siinä on upea kisa täynnä Suomen junior handler-parhaimmistoa! Tai jos jossain toisessa
näyttelyssä on luppoaikaa – miksei mennä jh-kehän laidalle seuraamaan tulevaisuuden koiraihmisiä? Joskus
voi itsekin oppia jotain – ihan siinä samassa miten me junior handlerit opitaan rotukehiä seuratessa.

Mitä itse olen oppinut näiden kahdeksan vuoden aikana on, että pohjalta ei pääse kuin ylöspäin. Ei siis
kannata masentua vaikka menestystä ei tulisikaan heti – niin junior handler- että rotukehissä. Ikinä ei
ole ”valmis” koiranesittäjä. AINA voi kehittyä ja kaikki vinkit kannattaa ottaa vastaan. Jos on aloittamassa
junior handlerin, rohkeasti mukaan vaan, ja sitä paremmaksi kehittyy mitä enemmän kisaa ja haluaa oppia.
Menestystä ei aina tule, mutta pääasia on, että itse on oppinut jotain ja on tyytyväinen koiran ja itsensä
suoritukseen. Kannattaa ottaa riskejä – mikään ei ole sen palkitsevampaa kuin vaikean koiran saaminen
esiintymään! Koiranomistajina voi ottaa tuokion ja miettiä – onko se sittenkään niin kauheaa lainata
koiraansa taitavalle junior handlerille? Niin ison ilon se tuottaa nuorelle ja siitä ollaan varmasti pitkään
kiitollisia! Monet junior handlerit nimittäin kyselevät, ihan tuntemattomiltakin koiria lainaan. Se on juuri sitä oppimisen halua.

♥ Hilde ♥

Here I am still..!

Hey you!

Sorry for not being here.. Don't have any excuses, well I could always blame it on the school... Anyway!
I will skip some weekends' stories and tell you that Ninja attended the National Speciality for kleinspitzes on Sunday. I was so happy to have her back in the ring. And what a great job she did!!

First Ninja won the Champion Class with a CQ out of 6 CH bitches. I was so proud! And at the end she managed to end up as RES. BEST BITCH!! I couldn't be happier - so great job at the most important show for this breed this year! My sweet little Ninja <3 There were 36 entered other color kleinspitzes!

Now on Thursday we will pack our things and head up to Sweden with Ninja! There will be the 3xCACIB-show in Högbo, and we will try to get the last CACIB for Ninja. We'll see how it goes! Wish us luck :)

Ninja pictured at the beautiful park in Helsinki where the show took place

Ninja 2 years

♥ Hilde ♥

Pori/Mikkeli-trip!

Heyy!

Earlier this week I was taking care of 7 poodles at the Harjanne family together with Sanni when they were abroad. When they came home on Friday night, we drove on Saturday morning (27th July) to Pori INT show! I was actually again entered to an another show in Mikkeli, but decided to help out with dogs in Pori.

The weather was amazing! +30 degrees and sun! First show without rain this summet! Whoopee!
First I was showing a champion class bearded collie, Memorylane Show Me The Party "Diesel". "Diesel" had decided to do it very hard for me and pooped in the ring 3 times.. And yes, he had done his business earlier this morning, so it wasn't about that :D The judge though just laughed and joked about it.. I wasn't that happy :p "Diesel" ended up as BM/3. Next up was a champion bitch, who took BB/2.

best male-class in bearded collies. I'm the 2nd from right with "Diesel"

Kennel Memorylane's breeder's group took once again BOB-BREEDER. In the finals we also got success- BIS-3 BREEDER! Congrats Nina!

kennel Memorylane BIS-3 BREEDER!

I'm not at all a poodle person, I personally think that they're one of the "hardest-to-show"-breeds. I was handling a cute brown dwarf poodle, that I had earlier this week taken care of. She was performing very well, and we wanted a CACIB for her BUT we had to settle with RES-CACIB :p She was also BB/3.

dwarf poodle "Elin" stacked by her owner here

I was also quickly helping out with a tibetan spaniel breeders group. Kennel Tuuling went BOB-BREEDER out of 3 breeder's groups! Congrats Tuula!

kennel Tuuling BOB-BREEDER!

After BIS-BREEDER we started driving back towards Espoo and the next morning the same thing again - though just the other direction. It was time for Mikkeli INT show!

In the morning (28th July) in Mikkeli INT show (2600 dogs) I showed a black havanese Bellezza's Black Diamond "Musta". Musta performed very well and got EXC and placed 2nd in junior class. He's only 10 months old! I was helping Noora-Liia with her dachshounds, they both got VG and placed as 2nd & 3rd in their classes.

Humisevan Harjun Vogue "Saimi"
© Noora-Liia Rautio

Humisevan Harjun Vegas
© Noora-Liia Rautio

I had time to watch the junior handling where my friends competed. I wasn't allowed to compete, as yesterday because I've already won the qualification competition for the Finnish Championship. Ellen did very well, and in my honest opinion she should've got a placement but the judge thought she didn't "shine" from the others.. Hmm.

Nea did very well with her lhasa apso and placed third! Congrats hun <3 Sanni competed with a silky terrier, without placement which she should've deserved. I wasn't really on the same level as the judge :p

Nea going 3rd in junior handling!

In the finals then I got to show a lovely smooth collie-veteran in the BIS-VETERAN. Unfortunately we didn't get any success, but she showed herself very well. Kennel Bellezza's havaneses had been BOB-BREEDER so I helped out in the BIS-BREEDER. And guess what? They went BIS-BREEDER!! Whoopee! The judge was Mrs. Leni Finne from Finland.

kennel Bellezza's havaneses BIS-BREEDER!

I was really happy to be there when a black kleinspitz went BIS-VETERAN!! It's really not common that kleinspitzes succeed in the finals even though we do have the best kleinspitzes in Europe.. So I congratulate Henna Virtala for Max's success! Max is officially Pienenpolun Max Millenium.

Pienenpolun Max Millenium BIS-VETERAN!

So this weekend was over with great results again.. The next weekend we took a trip to eastern Finland 6 hours away.. 3xCACIB in Kuopio! I'll write about that later!

♥ Hilde ♥

Forssa NAT!

On July 14th-15th I was showing in Forssa NAT show with 2600 entered dogs.. This time I decided to stay close and not travel to Oulu INT 8 hours away.. A wise decision for once :p

So I jumped in Rauni's car and we drove to Forssa. I was showing her and Heidi's cairn terrier puppy. Heckler's Written In The Stars "Ester" is a lovely puppy who showed herself so well! Stood free-stacked perfectly and the table was no problem. There was 2 or 3 pups entered and "Ester" won BOB-PUPPY! In Finland we don't have BIS-puppy competitions so no finals for her.

U like the mud? :p

I stayed a while at the cairn-ring because my friend Riina needed some help with grooming and showing. I quickly handled a cairn "Selma" in the ring and she was BB/2 :)

I started to rain very heavily so we enjoyed our time in the ring soaking wet.. Again. Finnish summer <3 The show are was very beautiful, a park by the lake, but thanks to the rain it turned to a mudcave. Seriously, I was all over in mud!!

Anyway, the show must go on, so I found myself in the norvegian buhund ring with the lovely CH Kimura's Dina "Dina". "Dina" had no coat today so she ended up as 3rd best bitch under judge Mr. Tino Pehar from Croatia.

Putting the hair on the right place,
a havanese as a swapdog
© Sonja Kaurola

Today I had also junior handling. The juniors were judged by Mrs. Viva-Maria Soleckyj-Spunar from Poland. It's not often we get judges from abroad to judge jh here in Finland, so I was excited. I had no junior handling-dog when I came to the show but Riina kindly lent me her "Selma". Selma showed herself beautifully. The judge asked to do a triangle and up-and-down. She picked us to her shortlist and swapped dogs. I got a havanese-male, no new breed for me so it went great :) We got our own dogs back and the judge had made her decision. We placed as 1st with "Selma"! I was really happy and the judge told me "You're so ready for Cruft's! Very professional". I'm glad she liked us because she seemed to really know about junior handling. The BIS-JH competition was held right after the older group and we placed as BIS-JUNIOR HANDLER with "Selma"! <3

Free-stacking "Selma" <3
© Sonja Kaurola

Afterwards the judge came to talk to me and told about junior handling and how she's been coaching juniors in Poland. I was really happy to talk to her but I'm disappointed about the entry number of juniors in today's competition. When we for once have a judge who know's what she's doing we're only 19 entered.. 50 would've been better :p

2 of the 4 junior handling-trophies :p

After the junior handling-competition I handled a lovely kanichen dachshound Tuptusia Brzdac "Tuksu". I got to know this dog in Laukaa NAT and she's a tough piece BUT we're working on it. And the training shows results already as she actually walked nicely in the ring without any stubborn stops! I was really happy. The most rewarding thing in dog showing is to get a challenging dog to really work with you. That's why I love difficult dogs! "Tuksu" was also judged by Mr. Tino Pehar, he gave BB/2 and RES-CAC with a great critique for "Tuksu". "Tuksu" will be a shining star in the future!

I had nothing to show in the finals so I just enjoyed watching and taking pictures! Nice to be at the ringside for a change :)

a beautiful face of a klein, Mustaojan Pilke going BOB

I stayed the night at Tuija's and Jari's caravan, thanks for that! We had a nice evening with dear friends :)

"Madde" in movement
© Sonja Kaurola

Sunday then started with junior handling.. Of course I didn't have a dog for this competition but I found a lovely dog. Kristiina Bergström kindly lent me her PBGV Nightdream Karla Du Pont "Madde". "Madde" was only as a tourist there and was not groomed. I didn't have time to do anything about it so we went to the ring with some knots in the coat.. And yes I did hear about this from the judge :P I was sure that Ms. Maija Sylgrén who judged the juniors would say thank you and goodbye because of that. BUT the opposite happened and she took us to her shortlist. We did some figures and at the end she placed us as 1st!! She said "Despite the knots.. You're the winner!"

Free-stacking "Madde"

"Madde" on the table

To the BIS-JH competition I went to groom her as much as I could. In the final we swapped dogs with Jonna who'd won the younger group. I got a lovely samoyed which barked a lot :D But otherwise it went good. The judge pointed me and "Madde" to winners out of 29 juniors! Two times BIS-JUNIOR HANDLER in one weekend! Awesome!

A samoyed as a swapdog

I ran straight to the beardie-ring because I had promised to Nina that I would help out. Unfortunately the timetables didn't quite match so I had time just to show CH Memorylane A Flash Of Magic "Viivi" in the BB-ring. She ended up as 2nd! :)
Our breeder's group got BOB-BREEDER with an HP.

In the finals kennel Memorylane ended up as 3rd BEST IN SHOW-BREEDER under judge Ligita Zake! Congrats once again Nina!

kennel Memorylane BIS-3 BREEDER

It was a great weekend, though a bit muddy but hey, we're kinda used to it already.. The next weekend it was time for Pori/Mikkeli-tournee :)

♥ Hilde ♥

Kokkola - Karjaa trip

Summergreetings from Finland! I'm glad to say the weather forecast looks great for this week Finally!! Do they really call this summer?

I'm of course announcing myself now to the world's worst blog writer as I'm always two weeks late. And no, I don't have any excuses now. Well, enough with the daydreaming, I'll tell you about my trip first to Kokkola and then to Karjaa! I was entered on Sunday to Kokkola, but ended up being there on Saturday and then on Sunday went to Karjaa.. Why? Don't know! Like to pay 10 euros for fun.. Love ya mum ♥

Nina Brusin was the one who tempted me on this trip because she needed a handler for her lovely beardies. Of course I was going! We drove on Friday evening to Kokkola about 6 hours and took Saana with us from the middle of the trip.. This start on Friday was a "brilliant" idea, we stayed in Nina's show tent on the shjow area and slept on an up-blown madress which took 2 hours to fill.. awesome!! We got to bed about half past 2 in the morning and woke up at 4 thanks to some idiot (sorry if you're reading this!!) who was screaming to his dog "Come come!!! Get the ball!!". Who's taking their dogs out at 4 am? Gaah! Well, they for sure got our screams right back at them :p

The show area at night..:D

Anyway, we woke up in the morning and well, the face's of the others were pretty hilarious when they realized someone's actually slept in the tent.. :D It was for ONCE a sunny and warm day! And we for sure enjoyed it. So the bearded collies started. Our judge was Mr. Joe B. Purkhiser all the way from the USA! Exciting :) I was showing one of Nina's breedings, an open class male Memorylane Had To Be Ewe "Billy", he showed himself beautifully and got EXC. He ended up as 2nd in his class, unfortunately without CQ. In the BM-competition I showed Memorylane Show Me The Party "Diesel". He ended up as 2nd with a CACIB. Team Memorylane got all the prizes, BOB, BOS etc.. The breeder's class also got a really beautiful critique, Nina can be proud of her breeding! Mr. Purkhiser really liked her dogs and he seemed like a really kind judge.

Memorylane Got Some Mighty Magic "Nöpö"

After this I went to watch the kleinspitzes and one of my friends asked me to show her klein in the BOB-ring, if her both dogs won their sexes. And so they did. I went quickly to the ring with Ticapon Young Rebel "Hans". He ended up as BOS. Thanks for letting me help out :) I miss the klein-rings sooo much.. I'm glad to tell that Ninja will be back in the ring to the speciality in the end of August and then we'll take a trip to Sweden to a 3xCACIB-show ;) There she can finish her C.I.B-title, hopefully she'll do that! Her half year-break will end there...

I also went to the ring with a lovely champion class bitch finnish lapphund. She was showing really outstanding and got EXC. There were many champion class bitches and she ended up as 3rd! Unfortunately without CQ due to her hind movement. Thanks Taina for letting her in my hands!

Now it was time for a break and also a little time for tanning (at least trying to.. always ending up red as a crab). I had time to watch the junior handling qualification competition and my dear friend Sanna Martikainen one it and therefore the ticket to the Finnish Championship-final! Congrats honey ♥

"Rekku" in the finals

The finals were about to start and I was taking "Rekku" to the finals of FCI group 1. He ran and stood beautifully but that wasn't enough for the judge today, so no success. Later "Rekku" was 4th BIS-VETERAN shown by Nina under their breed judge.

"Rekku" in the finals

We also presented Nina's breeders class under Mrs. Murrel Purkhiser from the USA. He really liked our group and we ended up as RESERVE BIS-BREEDER! Congratulations Nina for your awesome results!! ♥

kennel Memorylane RES. BIS-BREEDER

The day was over for us and we started our 6-hour drive back almost to Helsinki. I stayed over at Nina's place and we drove in the morning to Karjaa. Only an 1 hour drive!

When we arrived we got the car close to the rings but there was a little problem - the ground was very unlevel. How would we drag the whole thing with crates, dogs and other stuff in it? Well. Ended up carrying everything separately - also the dogs! Believe it or not, beardies are lapdogs ;) Almost...

"Ukko" going BIG-3!

Bearded collies were today judged by Ms. Irina Poletaeva from Finland. I showed some dogs of Nina's and all of them got reserve-placements. So no BOB or BOS today. The breeder's group was BOB-BREEDER though! We naturally stayed for the finals and I was asked to show an american akita there. I was really honored and this Inuline Nut Flush "Ukko" got BIG-3 under judge Natalia Nekrosiene!! Congrats to Ukko's owners and breeder! :)

We presented the beardies breeding group in the finals and as yesterday, kennel Memorylane placed as RESERVE-BIS BREEDER under judge Otto Krcal! Congrats once again!! ♥

RES.BIS-BREEDER - kennel Memorylane in pink!
© TEXTerri

So the crazy weekend was over and we left home. Nina gave me a ride all the way home - thanks for that, really appreciate it! Looking forward to the next adventures ;)

See ya later!

♥ Hilde ♥

Laukaa NAT show

Heyy!

Pheeuf! I've had two weekends now with adventures to dogshows! Really adventures :D I will write now about Laukaa NAT show 30.6-1.7. I was traveling with Sanni and we had a really fun trip staying with my 92-year old grandma who lived 3 kilometers away.. I caught two birds with one stone visiting her at the same time :) Laukaa is situated about 300 km away from Helsinki so we took the train on Friday afternoon there.

havanese Bellezza's Black Diamond "Musta" 

On Saturday we didn't have any junior handling, only showing dogs. Or Sanni was taking a calm tourist day being my photographer yeyy! :D The show area was amazing, very short grass and it was very clean. First I was showing havaneses under the respected Finnish judge Mr. Hans Lehtinen. My job was to show the little cutie Bellezza's Black Diamond "Musta". "Musta" is a nice junior male who I showed in the havanese speciality earlier this year when he was still a puppy. Now it was time for his first performance in the junior class! "Musta" was showing himself very well competing with one other male in this class. "Musta" got EXC and won his class, unfortunately without CQ because he needs time to develop. Nothing new when it comes to a junior male? :p Anyway, his critique was fine and I'm happy about his perfomance. "Musta" will do great in the future.

havanese Bellezza's Black Diamond "Musta"

I helped out also in the Best Male-competition showing Bellezza's White Diamond "Salsa". He did great job and won the males! Miia was showing him then in BOB and he went BOS :) Thanks again for letting me help out with your awesome havaneses!

Now we went chilling with our lovely friends Tuija and Jari in their showtent. Thank you for always taking care ♥

I had been taken contact from a dachshound owner who wanted me to show her wire haired kaninchen dachshound Tuptusia Brzdac "Tuksu". "Tuksu" is a bit stubborn dachshound girl who does really now how to stand great but doesn't like to move.. So we trained and trained and sometimes she moved really well but in the ring she unfortunately didn't. She got Very Good with a really awesome critique, but where it was written "excellent movement but no drive" which is totally correct. She placed 2nd in her class behind the really nice bitch who took excellent. Our next performance will be in Forssa NAT show and hopefully she'll move a bit better :-) Thanks Johanna for trusting your girl in my hands!

kaninchen dachshound Tuptusia Brzdac "Tuksu"

After this my work was over for this day and we stayed until the finals and watched them and later went on pizza.. mmm :)

On Sunday my first dog to show was a super-cute almost white finnish lapphund which caught the judge's eye because of her color. She could easily be mixed with a samoyed puppy! It was his first time in a dog show so I took it easy and he ended up showing very well! Peikkovuoren Bocahontas "Väinö" got Excellent and placed as 2nd without CQ. The judge told she would want to have a bit more "lapphund-marking" in this dog, because now he had some samoyed features. But he'll mature and he will be a great lapphund in the future!

finnish lapphund Peikkovuoren Bocahontas "Väinö"

finnish lapphund Peikkovuoren Bocahontas "Väinö"

Next up was my lovely usual dog to handle, buhund Kimura's Dina "Dina". She's always performing very well, though we've had our problems sometimes when she wants to jump on me instead of standing still.. But today - no problems! She is a champion bitch and got Excellent winning her class with CQ. In the Best Bitch competition she placed 2nd after the same owner's veteran bitch :)

the Best Bitch competition in the buhund-ring

It was almost time for junior handling, but before that I showed a rhodesian rigdeback, which is a totally new breed for me. We had a male judge, and this rhodesian rigdeback had some problems with men... So when he came to judge him the dog didn't let him touch him. So.. Good this time for him. He did stand good though and ran beautifully too. I hope his owner gets his frightfulness for men away.

Then junior handling! I was competing with the loooovely soft coated wheaten terrier Venita's Fidelma "Martta". I just love this dog! Not the easiest one, has just enough challenge! We've trained a lot together and competed pretty many times too (: Thank you Jennamari for lending "Martta" for me! Love u! Our judge today was Mr. Jarmo Hilpinen. We did a great performance and "Martta" was just great. We swapped dogs once and I got a lovely lhasa apso girl "Maybelle". It went pretty good I think. The judge thought so too as he placed us with "Martta" as the winners in the older group! My friend, Sanni, who competed with "Maybelle" got 2nd place! Congrats honey ♥

Me and "Martta" playing while Sanni is brushing "Maybelle".
The one reason I love not to brush dogs in the ring :D So stressful :p

Swapdogs, me with a golden retriever

It was a very hot day and I thought the BIS-JH final would be with the other finals. I was already returning to "Martta" owners when I realized the final would be held right after our competiton.. So back in the game the same second! The winner of the younger group was Sara Jokela with a golden retriever. The judge wanted us to switch dogs and I got this golden which name was also "Martta" :D In the beginning she might have looked horrible because she didn't let me extend her rear legs more behind. But after a run around the ring I got her stacked the way I wanted and it went good. We got our own dogs back and took a lap of honour when the judge pointed at me and "Martta" to the winners! We won BIS-JH :) Yeey! Thank you judge Jarmo Hilpinen!

junior handling with "Martta"

I was asked to help out in the lapphunds' breeders group, but because of that we were totally reliant to the bus schedule we couldn't stay to the whole finals. So we watched the beginning and the headed for our bus. It took about 45 minutes and from there we ran to Hesburger (like Mc Donald's) to get some food. We had like 5 minutes until our train would leave so we really were in hurry! But we managed and jumped on the train glad about the weekend. On the train the there were a screaming child so we sat the whole 3,5 hours with our earplugs in our ears and talked via our chat on the phone.. lol :D

BIS-JH with "Martta" 

Thanks everyone involved for the weekend, especially Sanni of course ♥


♥ Hilde ♥

Helsinki INT show part II

Hey!

Yeah I'm really bad at this! Last post posted for 2 weeks ago.. Sorry but I'm working at the moment and running in dogshows throughout the country :p

So: Aptus INT show at Helsinki on Sunday 17th June. What a rainy day! Really horrible weather, rain pouring down ALL day! It was really "raining cats and dogs". At the end people looked really nice all wet.. me included. BUT we're dog people, and dog people prominently don't mind the weather ;) I lost my contact  lenses in the morning so I had to put on my glasses and I wasn't that pleased! It wasn't the best thing to wear in rain...

I had only junior handling this day. Yesterday I had thought about which dog to compete with and the kind people of Team Original helped me! I got the chance to compete with a really lovely irish setter, the same as I showed the day before in the breed ring, "Ines".

First up was our District Championship. The ones who are allowed to compete are all juniors from Helsinki and suburbs outside. We were 20 juniors competing in this competition. Our judge today was ex-junior handler Hanna Lemmetti. I did a great performance together with "Ines" despite the weather. The judge picked some juniors to her shortlist and we switched dogs. I got a hairless peruvian dog. I've got this breed once before when we've swapped dogs, it was a "big version" though. The dog (can't remember the name, I never do...:p) was a bit after her mommy so I had to work extra hard with it. I survived okay!

Apparently the judge thought so too, and she picked us to her top-3! In our District Championship we place only 3, otherwise 5. The final was judged at the main ring in the afternoon.

A cavalier kingcharles spaniel as a swapdog

So it was time for the younger group where lovely Ellen competed with my love "Nelli" ♥. Nelli isn't the easiest dog to show because of her movement, you really have to keep eye on the feet. This was Nelli's 2nd time in JH with someone else, the first time was about 4 years ago.. She used to be after me a lot, but now she showed great! Ellen did a great job with her and the judge thought so too as they went 1st! In the rain they both looked awesome, thanks Ellen for competing with "Nelli"! Ellen is only 13 years old and really experienced already. She's really a hope for the future as she's already so great! I'm really proud of both of you.

A glad pair 1st in junior handling!

A bit dryer pic.. Ellen with Nelli res. BIS-JH!

After the young group us "old ones" were competing. There where 26 juniors entered in the older group. I was competing this competition too with "Ines". Poor dog had to stand in the rain.. She did a great job and our performance went really good again. The judge picked us again to her shortlist and we swapped dogs. I got a little cavalier kingcharles spaniel. This dog too was a bit after her mommy.. We managed though and her owner came to say to me that the dog hasn't ever showed that good with anyone strange. So I was really pleased :)

a very wet pair 4th in JH!

The judge said thank you to some more juniors and we were still there. We did a up-and-down in pairs. The judge was ready to place us. The pointed me out to the 4th place! I was really glad, this was my first time competing with a setter! It went so good that I started to think about competing with a setter in the Finnish Championship in December.. Do you think it's a bad idea?

2nd in the District Championship

Through the whole competition we thronged ourselves in Elina's tent which thank god was there! We all were soaking wet.. not so nice! We got some very "stylish" clothes to wear but DRY! A real rescue. Thanks Harjanne family..!

Well, the day wasn't over yet! Ellen was competing in the BIS-JH final, she went RES. BIS-JUNIOR HANDLER. I'm really proud of my girls ♥ The District Championship had to be finished. My setter had to go home before the afternoon so I got permission to switch my dog. I asked Janette from Aziz salukis if they could lend a dog, and yes they could! I competed the final with a lovely saluki Aziz Jalila "Lilla".

2nd in the District Championship

We all three got scottish terriers as swapdogs, as the judge had competed with this breed in her former junior handling-career. Scottish terriers are known for their stubborn character. The one I got was okay, and we did a nice performance :) We placed as 2nd and my friend, Nea Harjanne won with her golden retriever! Congrats dear ♥ This was my last Disctrict Championship. I got the chance to compete 6 years in this competition, 6 competitons. I was 5 times 2nd and last year I won :D

A scottish terrier a swapdog

Nina asked me to help out in her breeder group, and of course I helped! I showed a little beauty beardie "Maija". Unfortunately our group didn't get a placement today in the finals.

kennel Memorylane's breeders group

I was already heading home when Tiia Nyberg called me. She was on her way in the train to the show area, as she was in Kotka INT show earlier the day. Yesterday she had showed an english setter to win the group and she was supposed to show him in the BIS-final today. Unfortunately, because of the rain, the finals went really fast and she asked me to show the dog if she didn't make it in time. I of course said yes, I was really honoured to help. The sad thing was, that Tiia didn't make it in time and I showed the english setter Warmahill's Funny-Funny ET "ET". I'd never touched this dog before but I did my best and hoped he looked great. He didn't get a placement in the BIS-final, but showed himself beautifully. A lovely tibetan spaniel Down-Goblin's Fernando won the BIS-final, really deserved! Congrats to his owner and handler!

in the BIS-final

After this very wet day we got a car to pick us up together with mum.. Really appreciated the car drive! When I came home I immediately ran into the sauna and stayed there to melt down my freezing body :D

What can I say, no matter the weather, it's ALWAYS fun in a dog show! You just have to spend your time with the right people and dogs :-) Thanks for the company all!

Soon I'll write about this weekend's show in Laukaa!

♥ Hilde ♥