News & updates 2011

Vekku has had his eye certificate renewed. He was earlier diagnosed with MRD, however, this time had completely clear eyes. Thank you owners Pekka & Vuokko for the good news.

Valmiera all-breed show, Latvia 8 Oct: Nuuk, his owner Pirjo, Kielo and I went on a whirlwind trip to the Baltics. We had to endure a pretty bad storm while crossing the Gulf of Finland and spend two nights on a coach, however, the results made it worthwhile. Finnish Lapphunds were judged by Lokodi Csaba Zsolt and he gave Nuuk Best of Breed while Kielo went Best of Opposite Sex! Both got their Latvian titles as well.

Šiauliai all-breed show, Lithuania 9 Oct: Day 2 went even better as the dogs repeated the feat from the previous day under Elžbieta Augustyniak and can now add Lithuanian champion titles to their merits, and, furthermore, Nuuk finished off the Baltic tour by placing fifth in the Spitz group (pictured below in the group ring by Pirjo Kivijärvi)! Thank you Pirjo for another great trip - where to next?

On Sunday morning, we crossed the border to Norway where the scenery was even more breathtaking. The weather in Tromsø was rainy and foggy, and the ring was covered in puddles, so the dogs were not looking their best, however, they did the double under Mona K Selbach! Nuuk took BOB with CC & CACIB and can now add Norwegian and Nordic championships to his list of merits, while Kielo went BOS also with CC & CACIB. To be eligible for a champion title in Nordic countries, a dog has to be over 24 months old. Kielo had her second birthday on 21 Aug, so this was her very first chance to finish, and not only did she do that but actually racked up four new titles (Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Nordic Ch) in one go! We were over the moon even though the entry was rather small this time (only eight Lappies in total). We did not stay for the group judging as we preferred to drive back in the daylight (and the thought of a warm dry car was too tempting!). The below pictures (taken by Tanja Ahava) perhaps indicate how soaked we were - I do not think I have ever shown dogs wearing wellies before!

The showground was a football field covered with synthetic grass, an excellent venue for the event. The shows in Constanta started at 4 pm so it was not too hot for the dogs. We set up a camp with the other Finns travelling on the same coach and had a good time chatting and sunbathing (as well as enjoying some bubbly as the good results started coming in!). Below is Camp Finland and the showground at dusk (photo on the right by Kirsi Niemisalo).

We discovered that, perhaps not unexpectedly, our three dogs were the only Lappies entered. On Saturday our judge was Viva Maria Soleckyj Szpunar from Poland, and she gave CC, CACIB & BOB to Nuuk while Kielo went best bitch (w/CC & CACIB) and Mette runner-up (w/CC & res CACIB). As the CACIB winner, Nuuk took his Romanian champion title, while Kielo's title would have to wait till she finished a championship in any FCI country. Sunday saw Anca Giura of Romania judging and again CC, CACIB & BOB went to Nuuk, this second CACIB making him a Romanian Grand champion. We decided not to show Kielo at all in the hope that Mette would also get a CACIB and thereby her Romanian and C.I.B titles - which she did! So we had a perfect start to the show cluster, however, there was much more to come in Bulgaria. Below are Nuuk on the left and Kielo on the right - thank you Anja Heinonen for the photos.

We skipped the group competitions on Sunday and made our way to Albena, Bulgaria, where the remaining ten shows would take place. We had a hotel room on the ground floor with direct access to a large lawned area, so it was ideal for the dogs, and they loved the air conditioning and cool tile floor as well.

The showground was a beautiful park within walking distance from our hotel (in fact, it was only about 400 metres away, but since walking up and down a steep hill was involved the distance felt a lot longer).

Kicked off with a three-hour delay, the first show was somewhat chaotic. At nine pm, when the show finally started, we knew the number of the ring where Lappies were going to be judged in, but had absolutely no idea at what time. Neither the catalogue, ring steward nor the random list of breeds (it certainly was not the order of judging!) attached to one of the ring posts was of any help. Amidst the chaos, we managed to hear the ring steward utter the words Finnish Lapphund and off we went. As there was only two of us showing three dogs, it took a bit of jiggery pokery and a clueless Russian handler who got handed a leash with a Lappie at the other end, but somehow we managed to show all three of them. As for the results, see a complete day-by-day list below.

At that point we thought we would never survive nine more shows like that, however, later on we managed to crack the code and actually work out how you were supposed to read the catalogue (it was complicated, I tell you!). At the later shows we also discovered that the catalogue was not always to be trusted, however, we got the dogs into the ring on time every day and that was the main thing. Another confusing factor was the fact that bitches were listed before dogs in the catalogue, however, some judges preferred to judge the dogs first (which is understandable), so we could never really plan who was going to show which dog since we did not know who was going in first. At this point I would like to thank all of our fellow Finns (and the poor Russian handler!) who lent a helping hand either ringside or handling the dogs.

Applying for the champion titles was the most painful exercise of the entire event and involved standing in endless queues, fighting off people trying to jump the endless queues, and forking out substantial amounts of money (diplomas were 40 euros a pop and I do not even want to count how many we had to pay for - close to 30 I guess?). If you ever plan on attending this show and have to do the queueing part, arm yourself with copious amounts of beer cans and sharp elbows!

This said, the dogs did really well and showed like troopers despite the climate they are not used to (luckily the nights were nice and cool, even chilly at times). Nuuk and Mette competed in the champion class while Kielo was entered in the intermediate class. Just like in Romania, CCs were awarded, at judges' discretion, to all class winners graded Excellent. Here is a complete list of results from the Albena shows:

• Albena International 1 Aug, judge Miguel Angel Martinez:
  Nuuk CC, CACIB & BOB, Kielo CC & CACIB, Mette CC & res CACIB
• Cyprus National I 2 Aug, judge Denis Kuzelj:
  Nuuk CC & BOB, Kielo CC, Mette CC
• Cyprus National II 2 Aug, judge Rui Oliveira:
  Nuuk CC, Kielo CC & BOB, Mette not shown
• Albena International (Crufts qualification) 3 Aug, judge Claudio De Giuliani:
  Nuuk CC, CACIB & BOB, Kielo CC & CACIB, Mette CC & res CACIB
• Georgia National 4 Aug, judge Dagmar Klein:
  Nuuk CC & BOB, Kielo CC, Mette CC
• Moldova National 5 Aug, judge Nemanja Jovanovic:
  Nuuk CC & BOB, Kielo CC, Mette CC
• Albena International/Black Sea Winner 2011 6 Aug, judge Rafael Malo Alcrudo:
  Nuuk CC, CACIB, BSW '11 & BOB, Kielo CC & res CACIB, Mette CC, CACIB & BSW '11
• Macedonia National I 7 Aug, judge Tamas Jakkel:
  Nuuk CC & BOB, Kielo CC, Mette CC
• Macedonia National II 7 Aug, judge Sasho Peshev:
  Nuuk CC, Kielo CC & BOB, Mette not shown
• Montenegro National 8 Aug, judge Ivan Dimitrov:
  Nuuk CC & BOB, Kielo CC, Mette CC

As the group judging tended to start very late and sometimes even drag out into the wee hours of the night, we gave the groups a miss a few times, however, when we did attend, Nuuk made the cut of five under Bo Skalin and Denis Kuzelj.

All in all, there were ten CACIBs and 36 CCs on offer, out of which we bagged ten CACIBs and 33 CCs (Kielo sat out one show and Mette two). All these wins translate into following titles:

• Nuuk can add Romanian, Romanian Grand, Bulgarian, Bulgarian Grand, Cyprus, Georgian, Moldovan, Macedonian, and Montenegro champion titles as well as Black Sea Winner '11 to his credit. He is also qualified for Crufts 2012.
• Kielo is now a Romanian, Bulgarian, Bulgarian Grand, Cyprus, Georgian, Moldovan, Macedonian, and Montenegro champion. Like Nuuk, she is qualified for Crufts 2012.
• Mette's new titles are C.I.B, Romanian, Bulgarian, Bulgarian Grand, Cyprus, Georgian, Moldovan, Macedonian, and Montenegro champion, and Black Sea Winner '11.

Whenever not showing dogs, we enjoyed a proper beach holiday, spending time by and in the swimming pool, doing some shopping, going on excursions, eating out, going to a 6D cinema - the usual holiday stuff. What great fun! All photos below by Kirsi Niemisalo.

I had a marvellous time and will definitely remember this experience for the rest of my life. Thank you Kirsi for accompanying me on the trip, thank you Pirjo for allowing us to take Nuuk with us, thank you everyone on the coach!

Other news from August:

Saarijärvi all-breed show 6 Aug: Netta won the champion class under Pekka Teini. Well done!

Vesanto group show 23 July: This was Netta's first show in the champion class, which she won, and she then finished as third best bitch under Raimo Viljanmaa out of an entry of 31 Finnish Lapphunds.

Helsinki International 24 July: Twelve Lappies were put through their paces by Paula Heikkinen-Lehkonen and Netta did well again placing fourth in the bitch challenge.

Lammi group show 10 July: Even better news from the Lammi show as Netta, also going BOS under Mari Lackman, took her crowning CC and is now a Finnish champion! My warmest congratulations go out to this brilliant dog/handler team that is constantly making me proud. Photos below (taken a few days before the show) by Viivi Saarikko - thank you!

Piteå International, Sweden 16 July: Mette took a creditable third place in the bitch challenge in a decent entry under Helge Lie of Norway. Thank you owner Kirsi for accompanying me on the trip and Minna Suihkonen for the photo!

Suomussalmi group show 12 June: Nuuk was graded Excellent and got a second place in the champion class under Arvi Ellmén.

Kotka Summer Specialty 18 June: Koda graded Very Good by Esa Ruotsalainen.

Gällivare International, Sweden 19 June: Another fun trip to Sweden with Pirjo. This time we had Nuuk and Kielo with us. We did very well under judge Karl-Erik Johansson, who placed Nuuk second in the dog challenge with a reserve CACIB, and gave Kielo Best of Breed! Kielo got her first CACIB and a Swedish CC, which will make her a Swedish champion once she finishes her Finnish title. Photo of Kielo in the group ring by Pirjo Kivijärvi.

Jekku's patellas and heart were examined: his patellas are normal and he is free of heart murmurs.

The fantastically active dog/handler team Netta and Pia are willing to give just about any canine discipline a try and this time it was a blood tracking trial in Lievestuore 23 May. The trial simulates a situation where the dog has to track a wounded elk. Netta performed well enough to receive a score of 25 points, i.e. a third prize. Well done! I believe Netta is only the second Finnish Lapphund ever to earn a qualifying score in Finland.

Netta and Pia on the go again, today participating in a temperament test in Joensuu under Wilhelmiina Virolainen and Reijo Hynynen. Netta received an excellent score of +186 points and was deemed gun-sure. Thanks & congrats Pia!

Äänekoski group show 14 May: Netta graded Excellent by Leila Kärkäs and placed third in the open class.

Viitasaari group show 15 May: Netta was out and about for a second day in a row and this time took best bitch and her second CC under Tuula Savolainen. Excellent work Team Netta & Pia! Photo by Paula Martiskainen.

Överkalix all-breed show, Sweden 15 May: Nuuk BOB & a new Swedish champion! Yay! Also Peppi did well winning the champion class with a CQ. The judge was Nina Karlsdotter. Thank you Pirjo for a fun trip! Photos by Pirjo Kivijärvi (Nuuk on the left, Peppi on the right).

Health news: Koda's elbow score turned out to be 1/1.

Lahti group show 1 May: Netta won a large open class and went second in the bitch challenge winning her first CC! Well done Pia & Netta. 28 Lappies were entered for judge Jari Fors.

Koda was hip x-rayed recently and the score came back from the Finnish Kennel Club as C/C.

Kauhava group show 16 Apr: This was this year's first show for me personally and thereby my first encounter with the new internordic show rules. It is good to have the good old CQ (CC quality) ribbon back. What an excellent start for the show season it was under breed specialist Eija Lehtimäki: Aarni went EXC/2 in the open class, Nuuk EXC/1 CQ in the champion class and Kielo, who is going through a terrible molt and who I nearly left home because of that, went Best of Breed with her fourth CC out of a high-quality entry of 26 Lappies. The group competition was judged by Arvi Ellmén, who gave Kielo a Group-4. Photo of Kielo below by Riikka Koskela.

Jekku was temperament tested in Pello 10 Apr. He scored +155 points and was deemed gun-sure. Thank you Päivi and Mikko for having Jekku tested and congrats once again!

Koda's prcd-PRA status is now available: he is a Carrier.

Korpilahti group show 27 Mar: Netta fourth in the bitch challenge under Riitta Lahtovaara.

Brilliant news from the obedience rings: In an obedience trial held in Oulu 26 Mar, Peppi earned her third and final leg for her Open Class obedience degree TK2 and gained a second place in her class handled by owner Kati. Way to go girls!

Health news: Koda's eyes and patellas were examined at the Specialty - his eyes are clear and patellas normal. We are now waiting to hear what his prcd-PRA status is. Kielo has been to the vet's, too, and has normal patellas and is free of heart murmurs.

Raahe group show 29 Jan: Jekku was shown under Teuvo Kangas and was graded Good this time.

Kielo's hip and elbow scores came back from the Finnish Kennel Club: her hips are B/C and elbows 1/1. We are still waiting for Helmi's results.

Some recent health results: Netta's prcd-PRA status is Carrier. Furthermore, Kielo and Helmi have been eye tested: Kielo has clear eyes whereas Helmi was diagnosed with PPM (iris to lens). Both girls were x-rayed as well and their hip and elbow scores will be available in a few weeks' time.