Sunday, August 25, 2013

Tatler Tweedbank at Feregait

A BIG THANK YOU to John & Avril Herd (Feregait) who had their (and my) wee girl "Bridie", Tatler Tweedbank at Feregait (N+S CH Sir Darnley´s Undercover Urchin x Pocket´s Rocket), out today. She was Second Puppy Bitch at the Scottish Kennel Club Championship Show today in Edinburgh, August 25. 2013. In Avril´s own words I´m absolutely delighted!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Excerpts from four interviews


FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS I´ve made interviews with four different Scottie breeders and personalities. (Cindy Cooke, Cindy Pettersson, Maren Bichel-Schnock, and Monika & Thomas Rosendal). The interviews have been published in the North Midlands Scottish Terrier Club´s journal - annually since 2010 in the UK. 
Here are a few excerpts, I hope you enjoy them. (The Rosendal-interview is not yet published). 

Cindy Cooke (Anstamm) 2010
Peter Hewitt: Registration numbers are on dramatic decline in most places of Europe. Is it the same in the US? Does this worry you?

Cindy Cooke: It worries me so much that I created a program called The Scottie Information Exchange to reach out to Scottie pet owners and encourage them to become breeders. In 1972, the American Kennel Club registered over 10,000 Scotties. Now, we rarely register 4,000 a year. It is a serious problem, and it is exacerbated by animal rights-inspired ideas about restricting breeding. The Scottish Terrier Club of America was formed for the specific purpose of PROMOTING the responsible breeding of Scottish Terriers and I don’t think we’ve done a very good job of that. Almost every American show breeder sells the majority of their puppies with contracts that require the new owner to spay/neuter the dog. I believe we should encourage our buyers to become interested in breeding Scotties. 

Peter: What do you think is the greatest challenge facing the Scottish terrier as a breed in the future? Are the challenges you have in America similar or different to Europe do you think? 

Cindy : We have two serious challenges in the U.S. First, Americans are so pressed for time in their lives that they tend to want “easy” dogs. By “easy,” I mean dogs like Golden Retrievers that don’t challenge their owners like Scotties do. Scotties require a different style of training, they require grooming and they require your attention. Americans barely have time to raise their children, and I worry that they will lose interest in a dog that makes demands on their time. Second, as our societies lose touch with their rural roots, lawmakers in many U.S. jurisdictions are defining dogs as “dangerous” if they are aggressive with other dogs, or even other pets, such as cats or rabbits. In Europe, I think the biggest threat will come from government interference with your breed standards and breeding practices. Governments are good at relatively uncomplicated tasks—building roads, policing, making war, etc. However, they are generally inept at complex jobs, like breeding good purebred dogs.

Cindy Pettersson (So What) 2011
Peter Hewitt: Puppy registrations are dramatically low in Sweden at the moment with under 50 registrations last year, what do you think is the reason for this? 

Cindy Pettersson: On the whole it has been difficult to sell Scottie puppies in Sweden. Swedish breeders are concerned about not being able to sell their litters. Unfortunately these concerns have kept the numbers down. 

Peter: Do you think this situation is hazardous for the breed? 

Cindy Pettersson: Yes, as in many other breeds we need new Scottie breeders and new enthusiasts.

Maren Bichel-Schnock (Sir Darnley´s) 2012
Peter Hewitt: Puppy registrations are on decline in most countries at the moment, what do you think is the reason for this, and what is the situation like in Germany?

Maren Bichel-Schnock: It is the same in Germany. For many years the registrations were around 280 and 300. Then the numbers have dropped constantly to 170 in 2011. What worries me is that we don’t really know why this is happening. I am not sure if this is a fertility problem or if people just breed less now. It would be a very good idea to discuss this on an international level as the situation seems to be similar in many countries.

Peter: Do you think this situation is hazardous for the breed?

Maren Bichel-Schnock: Of course, it could get dangerous for the breed if we can’t change this. We need to keep the gene pool as wide as possible.

Monika & Thomas Rosendal (Roskot´s) 2013 
Peter Hewitt: Puppy registrations are on decline in most countries at the moment, what do you think is the reason for this?

The Rosendals: This is very sad. We just don't know why the situation is like it is. We in our country need young devoted breeders who are consistent in what they are doing, not giving up too easily. We who have been in the breed for long must be better at pointing out the positive sides of our lovely breed. 

Peter: Do you think this situation is hazardous for the breed? 

The Rosendals: Of course it is! Will we still have Scotties in Sweden in 50 years time? 

Monday, August 19, 2013

MY SHORT STORY: How I got into Scotties...


Please scroll for copy in English!

Jeg hadde alltid likt utseende til skotten og da en av mine designervenner, Gun Vik, (http://www.gunvik.no) kjøpte sin første skotte spurte jeg om det var greit at jeg "hermet"!

Jeg hadde aldri vært i nærheten av en hundeutstilling da jeg kjøpte min første skotte (NORDCH NORDV-06 VWW-10 Dundee Dark Forest) av Christina Hüttner i 2001. Ikke hadde jeg noen gang trimmet hund heller. I starten trimmet jeg hos Grethe Gjerde i Tønsberg (noen som husker henne?) og fikk aller nådigst lov til å sitte pent å se på mens hun utførte jobben. Etterhvert - og etter minst ett trimmekurs for nybegynnere - hos Guri Aalerud på Nesbru, begynte jeg å trimme skotten min selv. Til å begynne med ble det ikke spesielt bra, men jeg hadde vel alltid "modellen" inne. Mer eller mindre. Noen ganger mindre. Christina Hüttner har i ettertid fortalt at hun ble regelrett sjokkert over hvordan jeg hadde klipt en stripe fra nesetipp til stopp på Hudsons hode en gang, men hun sa klokt nok ingenting da. Hun ville vel ikke at jeg skulle slutte å trimme og stille hunden...

Siden har jeg vel lært meg å trimme skotte ganske greit, selvfølgelig ikke helt uten god hjelp og støtte. Alle vet at man aldri blir ferdig utlært innenfor denne (umoderne?) kunstarten, så det er bare å holde på så godt man kan og aldri gi opp. Selv har jeg også (naturligvis) vært på kurs med Cindy Pettersson, og fått god hjelp, veiledning og privatundervisning av Christina, Gerd & Jarl Anthonisen og av Dan. Jeg er svært takknemlig for alt sammen!

Man må øve for å bli bedre i alle kunstarter. Man må også være interessert i å lære mer. Jeg kjøpte derfor etterhvert skotte nummer to, og ettersom skottefolk rundt meg (tydeligvis) synes jeg var blitt ganske okay på å trimme, så begynte mange å komme til meg med sine hunder. Den gang var jeg glad for all trening jeg kunne få. Nå trimmer jeg (noenganger altfor mange) både høy- og lavbente terriere av alle varianter i min fritid. Fra Lillesand i sør til hunder så langt nord som Sogn og Fjordane. Flere av hundene jeg trimmer har blir champions i de nordiske landene.

Jeg startet å stille Hudson som valp: Prøvde et par ganger mener jeg å huske. Han var jo en pen gutt som viste seg med attitude og drive i ringen fra dag en. Men han var tynn, og alle skottemennesker jeg traff fortalte med dette. Jeg mener alle. Marina Guidetti sa til meg på vei ut av ringen i Rosersberg (tror jeg). "He´s a very nice boy, but he´s much too thin"... Så jeg ventet, og håpet på at (og gjorde vel alt som stod i min makt) han ville spise mer og å legge på seg litt.

Hudson hadde likevel substans nok til å bli norsk utstillingschampion på tre utstillinger (det holdt med 1,5 år den gang). I 2006 (i sitt femte år) ble han BIR veldig mange ganger (må telle opp en gang jeg får tid) og plasserte seg da alltid terriergruppa, vant gruppa gjorde han en gang også. Han ble årets mestvinnende skotte det året.

Hudson er et klassisk eksempel på at det er selve hunden som gjør absolutt alt arbeidet i utstillingen og i bedømmelse av hunden. Mennesket i andre enden av snøret hadde overhodet ingen betydning. OK, jeg hadde trimmet ham selv, men handleren-jeg var et totalt ukjent ansikt i ringen.

Den gang var jeg nokså blåøyd når det gjelder hundesport. Jeg foretrekker nok hundene framfor sporten om jeg skal være helt ærlig. Men ingen hobbyer eller fritidsaktiviteter er perfekte, og mitt ukuelige irske blod bruser til duell i en eller annen ring - et etter annet sted nær deg - en eller annen gang i nær framtid! (Det være seg med en ny import, eller skotte av eget oppdrett)

Watch out!

Foto: Hudson (2001-2013) i hagen etter en utstilling i 2006.



THE SCOTTIE HAD ALWAYS caught my eye, and when one of my designer friends, Gun Vik, (http://www.gunvik.no) bought her first Scottie I asked her if it was okay if I "copied" her!

I had never been near a dog show when I bought my first Scottie (NORDCH NORDV-06 VWW-10 Dundee Dark Forest) from Christina Hüttner(Dundee) in 2001. I had never trimmed a terrier either. At first Grethe Gjerde in Tønsberg trimmed him (anyone remember her?). I was graciously allowed to sit quietly and observe her when she performed the job. Eventually - and after at least one training course for beginners, at Guri Aalerud´s at Nesbru, I began to trim Hudson myself. To begin with, I was not particularly good, but I had the outline or type down. More or less. Sometimes less. Christina Hüttner has since told me that she was downright shocked at how I had cut a strip from nose to stop on Hudson's head once, but she wisely enough said nothing then. She didn´t  want me to stop and trimming and showing her dog ...

Since I have learned how to trim Scotte pretty well, but not, of course, without the help and support of experts. Everyone knows that one is never fully taught in the (old fashioned?) art form of trimming. One just has to keep at it as best one can and never give up. I have also (naturally) attended one of Cindy Pettersson´s courses and received good help, tutoring and private lessons from Christina hüttner, Gerd & Jarl Anthonisen and Dan Ericsson. I am very grateful for everything of it!

You need to practice to get better in all art forms. One must also be hungry for more knowledge. I therefore bought Scottie number two, and as the Scottie-people around me (obviously) thought I was becoming quite okay at trimming, many people began to come to me with their dogs. At that time, I was happy with all the training I could get. Now I trim (sometimes too many) both tall- and short-legged terriers of all varieties in my spare time. People come from Lillesand in the south of Norway to as far north as Sogn og Fjordane to me with their terriers. Several dogs I have groomed have become champions in the Nordic countries.

I started to show Hudson as a puppy. He was a handsome boy who showed with attitude and drive in the ring from day one. But he was thin, and everyone I met told me this. I mean everyone. Marina Guidetti said to me on the way out of the ring at a club show in Rosersberg, Sweden (I think). "He's a very nice boy, but he's much too thin" ... So I waited and hoped that (and did everything in my power) he would eat more and gain weight a little.

Hudson still had enough substance to become Norwegian champion in three shows (1.5 years old was sufficient back then). In 2006 (in his fifth year) he was BOB very many times (have to count up once I get the time) and always placed in the terrier group, winning the group once. He was Top-Scottie that year in Norway.

Hudson is a classic example of the dog doing absolutely all the work in the ring, and in the judging of the dog. The human at the other end of the show-lead had absolutely no significance. OK, I had trimmed him himself, but the handler-I was a totally unknown face in the ring.

Back then I was pretty naive when it comes to the whole dog show business, or dog-sport, as it´s called it in Scandinavia. I prefer the dogs to the sport, to be honest. But no hobbies or recreational activities are perfect, and my Irish blood rushes to any challenge in any ring - somewhere near you - sometime in the near future! (Be it with a new import, or a home bred Scottie).

Watch out!


Photo: Hudson (2001-2013) in the garden after a show in 2006.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

New book




























I´d ordered John T. Marvin´s book The Book of All Terriers to read on my summer holiday. Typically it didn´t turn up until the holiday was long gone... And now editing the Swedish club magazine will be occupying much of my weekend, so book reading will have to be put on hold...

Birthday cards

My immediate family certainly know what I like! These three birthday cards are from my mother, my brother Erik, and my sister Ellen. The time and effort they put in to finding Scottie-stuff for me is genuinely appreciated!

Birthday gifts ll

My mother and brother Graham bought me these two Lucy Dawson prints as a birthday gift this year. The pictures are so charming, and I am so pleased!

Birthday gifts l




























A few nice birthday gifts from my friend Gerd Elin Bøe: Two French (Cook Line, Paris) beakers (I already have a few egg cups in the same pattern, also those gifts from Gerd Elin), and two hand made ceramic mother-and-puppy figurines. Just lovely!