show milestone

INFINDIGO MAILAT ULLA JW

Ch Lecibsin Salo of TabanyaRuu JW ShCM x Infindigo Riemu Emmi ShCM

Date of birth 10 July 2015

Ulla with her Best In Show Rosette & Cup - photo by Mark Treasure

 When you show dogs there are ups and downs.  Even if your dog is not exactly a great match for the breed standard that judges should be working to, you will have a few exciting moments at shows.  Even if your dog is an outstanding example of the breed, you won't always win.  That's the way it goes.  I tell everyone who starts out in showing that you need to be a good loser and you need to enjoy it whether you win or not.  Because, the truth is, you will rarely win.

Occasionally a dog will come along who is extra-special in terms of showing.  They will be a great example of the breed, sure, but they will also love being in the spotlight, have someone willing and able to train them to perform as expected, and someone to take them to shows.  Lots of shows.  I have had all of that with Ulla.  She's a sweet-natured, high-energy, clever little sweetie-pie with owners who did a terrific job of training her and who are committed to keeping her fit and well groomed and are kind enough to let her be my showdog.  And in my 15 years of owning, breeding and showing Finnish Lapphunds, she has given me most of my greatest thrills in the showring.

NWPB July 2019

 There are different levels of winning, too.  There are the open shows where you may or may not get a judge who is knowledgeable about the breed - or even likes them! - and you might not even have specific breed classes.  There are the championship shows where the top winners keep on winning and, under the UK system, other dogs who are still excellent representatives of the breed and worthy of the title of champion unfortunately never reach that pinnacle because they can rarely get past the top winners.  Then there are the special shows, of which you might get two a year, if you're lucky.  In Finnish Lapphunds, there are 3 such special shows each year for me.  They are Crufts in March and the two shows where we get Finnish judges every year:  Southern Counties in June and the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain championship show in April.  I always like to make sure I get to those shows, at the very least, because it's always good fun.  Even better fun when you don't already have a good idea what the judge likes and who they will choose.

My biggest and most exciting show win in 15 years of participating happened 2 days ago at the FL Club of GB champ show.  In an entry of 91 dogs under one of our kindest, funniest, most entertaining and enjoyable judges ever, Mr Juha Kares from Finland, Ulla won Best in Show.

She first won her Limit class in tough competition.  There was even a final, nail-biting run-off with the second place winner.  She then went into the lineup against all the other bitch class winners.  She was looking so good and moving so well that as I stood there I had a brief hope she just might get the Reserve CC.  When the judge gave her the CC, I admit to being rather overwhelmed and tearing up a bit.  The great roar from the spectators was incredibly moving.  No one got a photo of my face at that moment, but one of the few clear memories I have is making the shocked-face emoji in real life with bugged-out eyes, open mouth and hands to face.  Then this happened.  I look just a bit thrilled, and it's so lovely to have these photos of that moment, thanks to Sally McKinlay.

A bit excited about winning the Bitch Challenge Certificate

Outside the ring, gathering my wits and waiting for the Best in Show challenge with the Dog CC winner, there were so many hugs and congratulations and genuine well-wishes.  I was still a bit stunned.  One friend asked me if I was going to be able to pull it together for the challenge.  My reply was (something along the lines of ) ab-so-flipping-lutely!  And so I did.  Unfortunately I can't remember the judge actually awarding Ulla Best in Show, nor the cheering that I know erupted when she did. 

Sept 2017 - Photo by Adele Liu

And then I stood outside the ring, still a little teary, accepting congratulations and watching, rather dazed, the challenge for Best Puppy in Show and Best Veteran in Show.  I had recovered pretty well, and I thought I was holding it all together pretty well.  But the thing that completely "did for me" (as I believe someone commented at the time) was Ulla's mum, Emmi, being awarded Best Veteran in Show.   To do so, she had to beat the lovely Special Vintage Bitch and the top-winning Best Veteran Dog.  Jane's face says it all!

Infindigo Riemu Emmi ShCM, judge Juha Kares & Jane Treasure

These wins were all the more special because Ulla's sire, Ch Lecibsin Salo of TabanyaRuu JW ShCM, also won his first CC and Best Opposite Sex in Show at this same show 5 years earlier.   The family resemblance between Ulla and her special dad made for an emotional day for a lot of us.

Ch Lecibsin Salo of TabanyaRuu JW ShCM with Liz Mowatt

Ulla December 2017 - photo Thomas Hinchliffe

Here are a few of Ulla's top wins in her career to date:

2016
Reserve Best Bitch - Midland Counties - judge Helena Hutchings-Brooks 
Reserve Challenge Certificate - Driffield - judge breed specialist Vikki Lloyd
Junior Warrant 

2017
Best of Breed - WELKS - judge Cath Moffat
Winner Special Beginners Stakes - WELKS - judge Joe Smith
Reserve Challenge Certificate - Birmingham National - judge Liz Cartledge
Best Opposite Sex - Midland Counties - judge Helen Gutteridge

2018
Gave birth to 3 gorgeous puppies, the Sisko litter

2019
1st Limit Bitch - Crufts - judge breed specialist Pat Patch
Best in Show - FL Club of GB - judge Juha Kares, Finland

Just after judging finished

At some point the full results should appear on the Club website here. 

The judge gave Ulla the most lovely critique I've ever read... but I can't reprint it here until it has been published in the dog paper.  Watch this space.  But it said, among other things, that she was perfect and that he loved her.  Well, who wouldn't! 

southern counties 2015

Usually I really enjoy the Southern Counties dog show.  Usually we have a Finnish judge and no one can ever predict what choices will be made on the day.  It's usually great fun and we usually have a terrific turnout.  And usually the sun shines on us.

Yesterday all that was true again ... apart from the sun bit, that is.  It was cold, it was wet, it was crowded in the tent.  But still a good day for team Infindigo, overall.

Our judge was Harri Lehkonen and first up was Tito in the big Postgraduate Dog class.  At only a month out of Junior, I dare say he was the youngest in the class, so I was especially thrilled when he placed 3rd out of 8, qualifying for Crufts 2016.  And hot on his heels in the same class was Kuura, shown by Jane and placing 4th.  Kuura & Jane then went into Limit Dog and placed 4th again.  So proud of my boys!

Infindigo Pippuri Aatami (Tito)

L: Tito  R:  Infindigo Persikka Kuura

Kuura & Jane

I should take this opportunity to point out that despite appearances to the contrary, I was not actually wearing baggy men's Y-fronts over my trousers.  Truly I wasn't.

Next up was Taika in the mixed Veteran Dog or Bitch class.  I took Taika to the club show last month, and that was the first show she had attended in .... I don't even know how long.  But the time can be counted in years rather than months.  And plenty of them.  But once a showdog, always a showdog, and she was a little brown star, placing 4th out of  a big class of 8 and beaten only by 3 champions.  You go, old girl!

Infindigo Taika - the old girl's still got it

Next came the biggest class of the day, Postgraduate Bitch, where the total of 9 competitors included Emmi, Talvi, Kiittaa and Jaana.  We were all thrilled when Emmi took 2nd place and qualified for Crufts and Talvi took 3rd.  And then they both went into the Limit Bitch class and did exactly the same thing again.  Super proud of my girls too.

Infindigo Riemu Emmi & Jane

Infindigo Pippuri Talvi & Ian

Apparently the judge didn't like the creams - he binned every one of them, including Kiittaa.  For Lexi it was a completely novel experience not to place.  Never mind, we thought she & Kiittaa did a great job anyway.

Infindigo Riemu Kiittaa & Lexi

As Mark was pressed into service showing Jaana, photography for the class fell to me, which explains why the pics are not up to their usual standard...  But after a little emergency ringcraft from Jane, Mark did a stellar job of showing the tiny brown dog and she actually looked more or less like a showdog.  Perhaps for the first time.  Can it be that she's growing up just a little?  I particularly love the shot of her looking straight at me, wagging away.  Hopefully that doesn't count as double handling (which, in case you are not aware, is strictly forbidden).  I wasn't actually trying to attract her attention. 

Lapinlumon Pilvipouta for Infindigo (Jaana) & Mark

Cutie-pie Jaana & Mark

3 of our 4 girls.   L-R: Jaana, Kiittaa & Emmi

You can visit Fosse Data's website to see the full list of Southern Counties results. 

show certificate of merit

Way back about 8 or 9 years ago Neka became the first Finnish Lapphund to win the Show Certificate of Merit, at a time when it was the only title available for Lappies to win.  It's a Kennel Club award that dogs can achieve through success at open shows, collecting points for Best of Breed, Best Any Variety Not Separately Classified and Group wins. 

I am thrilled that, with Jane, Emmi has become the first Infindigo Lappy to win the title and she now officially has some letters after her name.

Infindigo Riemu Emmi ShCM

Emmi posing with her winnings - photo (c) Mark Treasure

There was cake.  There might even have been a bottle (or two) of Prosecco as well.

Not only did Emmi get her ShCM, but she got the last few points she needed (with some to spare) in fine style by winning Group 1 at Chippenham & District Society show under judge Barry Blundon.  Here she is strutting her stuff with Jane in the group.

Emmi has many strings to her bow - in addition to having her Show Certificate of Merit, she has also recently been confirmed as a Pets as Therapy dog and is now waiting for her first placement.  She is also the first Infindigo to do that.  Beauty, brains and terrific character - Neka and I are so proud.

World Dog Show 2014 Helsinki

And so to the dog show.

Last weekend the World Dog Show 2014 was held at the Exhibition and Conference Centre in Helsinki.  In their planning, the Finnish team decided to offer free entry to the national breeds, and so they had record numbers of dogs entered for Finnish Spitz, Finnish Hounds, Lapponian Herders, Karelian Bear Dogs and, of course, Finnish Lapphunds, who had the biggest entry of all at 526 dogs entered.   I must say it was a bit of a treat to see a Karelian Bear Dog (several, in fact!), as it is a breed I've only ever seen in photos before.  They have fabulous two-tone tails.

When I heard about the show offering free entry for Lappies, I thought it too good an opportunity to miss, as with free entry there was sure to be an enormous number of dogs to see.  So a bunch of like-minded Lappy nuts from Britain decided to visit Helsinki for the show.


If you read my Helsinki sightseeing blog post, then you will know that I had to scrounge photos of the show from other people.   I did, in fact, get a few early pics, but I only know who some of these dogs are as I haven't yet had the opportunity to sit down with the programme to puzzle it all out.

Strong boy with lovely tri markings
Bear face








Lapinlumon Ilo
Lovely Eisenfest domino boy

Another nice tri
Brown bear
Lovely male I think I know







Pretty little bitch
Even a tiny pup was there
Smiley boy






It was a lovely surprise for Jane and I to get to meet Jaana's dad, Dagolas Ferrari.  And as I was otherwise engaged when I spotted him, I have to thank Liz for grabbing some photos of him.

Photo: Liz Mowatt

Photo: Liz Mowatt

So, what on earth could I have been doing that would interfere with getting photos from this once-in-a-lifetime event?  Well you may ask!

When the show entry deadline came and went, Jaana's breeder, Sarah from Lapinlumon, posted on Facebook that she had entered a large number of dogs and was looking for extra handlers.  I have always wanted the opportunity to show at a big FCI event like the World Dog Show, and so Jane & I wasted no time in volunteering for the job.   We packed our show suits and hit the Exhibition Centre bright and early ready for a crash course in European showing.   So while 5 rings were full of Lappies all day, I didn't get to see much of the actual showing. 

Jane showed Lapinlumon Qumina in an enormous Open Bitch class who was graded Excellent, and I showed Lapinlumon Gloria in Intermediate Bitch, where she was also awarded Excellent. 

Me showing Lapinlumon Gloria

Photo: Liz Mowatt

Photo: Liz Mowatt

The show style was very different to what we're used to in the UK.  For one thing, the dogs line up in the ring in numerical order.  I don't know how the numbers are allocated - they don't seem to be alphabetical as they are here.  I was very impressed and grateful at how well all the judges and stewards spoke English.  As always when I travel abroad, I was humbled by their skills and embarrassed by my single language.  They were all so patient with a neophyte like me.

As the classes were so enormous, each judge would call in the first 20 dogs, judge that group and then move on to the next 20 until all the dogs of the class were seen.  Each dog is given a verbal critique (and a written critique later) and then awarded a grade, shown to the spectators as a coloured card held aloft - red, blue, yellow and green for Excellent, Very Good, Good and Satisfactory.  I must admit that I'm not sure about the last 2 grades and I also can't remember which colour goes with them.  Very few dogs seemed to be sent out of the ring with no grade, although I think there were some.  Perhaps these were considered "unsatisfactory" for some reason.

After all the dogs are seen and judged, then all those awarded an Excellent grade pile back into the ring to be judged again.  In the UK a judge will look at a class of dogs then either pick out their 1-4 or 1-5 choices, perhaps immediately in order or perhaps in a short-list.  Then all the other dogs leave the ring.  I much prefer the European style.  The judge looked at all the dogs again, then shook the hand of each handler in turn of dogs who were at that point excused from the ring.  Then she considered those that were left, got everyone to move their dogs again and excused a few more.  This process is continued until there are only the last 4 left for placing.  It's a style that builds a lot of suspense for the spectator and the handler alike.  It's so much fun!

In the end, I was absolutely thrilled to place 3rd with Lapinlumon Gloria.  Quite a feat, I thought, as she wasn't keen on standing.  Or keeping her tail up.  Or, for that matter, moving.  Mainly she was a cuddle-dog rather than a show-dog, but she did me proud.  And Jane and I got to keep the lovely commemorative ring clips awarded to each dog who was graded Excellent, which you can see at the top of this post.

At the end of all the showing, Jane and I then went into the Breeder Team competition with the Lapinlumon group.  It was quite impressive to see so very many teams of Lapphunds in one ring.  There were no fewer than 46 teams entered, although presumably not absolutely all of them turned up.  But take my word for it when I tell you there were a lot of them.  Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a Lappy lover.  It was so exciting to place second amongst such venerable company.

2nd Place Lapinlumon Breeder Team - Photo Berit Koehler

Photo: Alice Fowler

One of the very great things about going to a show like this is the opportunity to see so many of the dogs that you only ever knew from photos before.  Another dog I was thrilled to get to meet was a long favorite of mine, Dagolas Qultapoju (Max), who is owned by Christian Lauluten at Kennel Vintervidda in Norway.  If you think I love him because he bears more than a passing resemblance to my Infindigo Taito, then you would be right!  And having met him, I can confirm that he has the same adorable chilled temperament too.  It's no coincidence that they are so alike - their pedigrees share many of the same dogs.

Gorgeous Dagolas Qultapoju (Max) getting brushed

 

Me photographing Max - photo Liz Mowatt

Another dog I have admired from afar for a long time is one of Max's sons, Ukkonen av Vintervidda (Ukko).  So when Christian was looking for handler to take Ukko into the challenge of the Open Dog class, I said "I'll get my jacket"!  There were apparently 91 really outstanding dogs in the Open Dog class and this number had been whittled down to, perhaps, a third of that for the challenge where all the dogs graded Excellent returned to the ring.

As with my previous experience with Gloria, each dog was examined by the judge again and then she moved to shake the hand of a few to excuse them from the ring.  Then she had another look at the dogs and excused a few more.  Then she got everyone to move again and excused yet more.  The audience was enormous and the atmosphere tense.  My own excitement was mounting with each cut that Ukko and I survived.  Although I was concentrating hard on Ukko and remembering the scrap of Norwegian to speak to him in, I was very aware of being one of only 4 or 5 left in the ring.  The judge moved me into second position and then got us all to run around the ring again, calling out her 1 - 2 - 3 - 4! as we ran.  It was unspeakably thrilling for me, so you can imagine how the other two people from England in that lineup felt with their own dogs.  That's right - I was 2nd after Toni Jackson with Elbereth Matkamies and before Elaine Short with Glenchess Ilolas, sire of my Riemu litter.  In 4th place was Sarah with Lapinlumon Elämänilo, Ilolas's dad.  

Me showing the magnificent Ukko

 

Open Dog First-Fourth Place - Photo Helena Bergstrom

Open Dog First-Third Place - photo Helena Bergstrom

Open Dog Second-Fourth Place - Photo Helena Bergstrom

I found it incalculably entertaining to have the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the strongly contested Open Dog class taken by British handlers; I was only sorry that Ukko did not belong to me!   The whole experience certainly made for an unforgettable day.

And now I know how to say "stand" in several European languages.  Well, it's a start.

a mixed bag

Last week Emmi was scanned to see (a) whether she was pregnant; and (b) how many puppies she was likely to have.  I was quite convinced she was in whelp, and I wasn't the only one - after all, she was showing all the signs, including getting round in the belly.  But somehow she fooled us all and I got the dreadful news that the much anticipated and enormously expensive AI mating didn't work. 

I was so shocked that I actually took Emmi to a second place for another ultrasound because I needed a second opinion.  Sadly, the second opinion was the same as the first:  no puppies.

One of the great joys of breeding puppies is making families so happy when they get their new puppy.  One of the saddest jobs I've ever had is telling waiting families that the puppy they thought would be born in a few weeks doesn't even exist. 

I've been lucky, really, because this happened to me only once before, and that time we had not even accomplished a mating, so I didn't have the same few weeks of expecting puppies before getting the bad news.  Bitches failing to get pregnant is far from a rare event, so I don't really have a lot to complain about, having been successful every other time.  It doesn't make it any easier to pass on the sad news, though. 

So when Emmi's next season rolls around we will be trying again.  Not the AI route this time, which means a different sire.  Who he will be is yet to be determined, but I have a few ideas up my sleeve. 

After the heartbreaking job of reporting the mating failure, I distracted myself from my disappointment with a trip to the Southern Counties Championship show where we had a lot of dogs entered under Finnish judge Pekka Teini.  The last time we went under this judge, 5 years ago, Taito was Reserve Best Dog behind his father who was Best of Breed and Rauhan was Best Puppy.   We didn't fare quite so well this time around, but I had a terrific day anyway and managed to win Best Breeder, being the only one to enter a team.  The judge did say to me they were a very nice group and he very much liked their Finnish names.  You can see all the results from the day here.

It was the very first show for Tito and I am so grateful to his family for letting me steal him away from their holiday in Cornwall to take him.  He didn't place this time around, but he did behave extremely well for his first time.  I had intended to get lots of wonderful photos, having several Infindigo dogs in attendance.  For one thing, as well as Taito being there, so was his dad Kimmi and his own kids Tito and Talvi.  Unfortunately my big plans just didn't happen and I only got a couple of quick phone shots of each of the puppies with Taito.  I didn't even manage to make these half-decent photos because I had somehow inadvertently switched on a strange filter so the quality is very poor.  But, better than no record of the day at all.  Er, maybe.

Taito & daughter Talvi, 7 months

Taito (right) with his mini-me son Tito, 7 months

Does anyone actually use those terrible filters on iPhones cameras by choice or only ever by accident?

After the show a large group of us met at a nearby pub and sat in the garden in the sun to have a wonderful lunch.  Shout out to The Swan Inn in Newtown, Newbury, for their helpfulness and hospitality with our large group of people & dogs as well as for really terrific food.  Socialising with friends is what dog shows are all about for me, really.  It was a good day.

Back at home again, my own dogs are enjoying their days in the long grass of the field where we frequently walk. 

Tuuli (front) & Maija running through the long grass

L-R: Maija, Keskiyo, Tuuli

I love this time of year in the field.  The pros of letting them run in the long grass:  (1) They love it, (2) It's really excellent exercise, (3) They are much less likely to disappear because they can't see anything that might take their fancy, including pheasants, other dogs or people.  The cons:  just one - ticks.  Later in the year we'll have to worry about grass seeds embedding in skin or ears too, but for now the only real problem with grass fun is they almost invariably pick up ticks.  Horrid things (the ticks, not the dogs).

crufts 2014

For Finnish Lapphunds and the people in this household, Crufts has now finished for another year.  All that's left for us to do is watch the remainder of the show on television and for my voice to recover and return.  As a singer, it's a very rare event indeed for me to lose my voice - it was always used a lot and was pretty much bomb-proof, come talking, shouting or even viruses.  However, I don't do much singing these days, and 2 days of the noise and socialising of Crufts did me in.

First, there was the showing bit.  I'm so proud of all the Infindigo gang, placed or unplaced.  But we did rather well out of it, all in all!

Here I am with Neka (Elbereth Onnekas for Infindigo ShCM), who placed 2nd Good Citizen Bitch and 3rd Veteran Bitch - a class she won last year.   Ahead of her in that lineup were two girls of the same age and I found it quite moving to be standing there with these 3 dogs who all competed in puppy classes together, who grew up through the classes together, and who this year will all turn 10 years old.  As you can see, the old girl has still got it goin on.

All of these showing photos are ©Mark Treasure - with apologies for cropping them for my blog and thereby cutting out his byline.

Neka's collection of winnings

Note: the wooden box is nothing to do with the Crufts bling - its purpose is purely propping up the place cards.  Don't ask what's in the box.  No, really, you probably don't want to know.

It was quite a novelty to see the judge's critique mere hours after getting home from a show, but our judge, Stuart Mallard, turned it around in record time.  This is what he said about Neka: 

"9yo who projected herself to advantage, well built frame with good bone and moderate angles, moved steady, well handled."

Here is Jane with Emmi (Infindigo Riemu Emmi) who placed 3rd in the largest class of the day, Postgraduate Bitch, and took the top spot in Good Citizen Bitch, beating her granny.

The judge's critique: "correct outline and displayed good construction, just preferred eye of those above, moved steady, coat coming"

Here is Lexi with Emmi's litter sister, Kiittaa (Infindigo Riemu Kiittaa), who only went and won that very same huge Postgraduate Bitch class.  Her critique:  "for me this lady won with a little to spare, thought her head a delight, no weakness or coarseness, she is nicely balanced with well developed forehand, moderate angles and good bone, sound typical action, thought she was totally functional."

Emmi & Kiittaa together

Daniel with Kuura (Infindigo Persikka Kuura) who placed Reserve in Postgraduate Dog.

Photo: Daniel Spencer

And, finally, me again with Taito (Infindigo Taito) who placed... nowhere!  Although he didn't impress the judge on this occasion, I was delighted with him.  He looks spectacular and he actually performed much better than on any of his recent show outings (by 'recent' I mean the 2 or 3 times per year we get him out).

You can find all the results for Finnish Lapphunds here.

In addition to the showing there was the socialising bit.

Kuura on the bench begging for a bit of someone's lunch

Neka on the bench missing out on all the fun - photo Daniel Spencer

I stayed locally overnight and the next morning set off with Emmi and Taito to do our bit on the Finnish Lapphund stand at Discover Dogs.  I had originally intended to take Taito and Neka.  However, Neka tends to prefer getting cuddles and attention strictly on her own terms and tends to get bored if she has to hang around one place for too long, so she isn't really ideal Discover Dogs material.  Emmi, however, like her half-brother Taito, is perfect for the job.  They both love all the attention, fuss and cuddles.  In short, they are perfect ambassadors of the breed.  So Jane and Mark set off for home with Neka and Emmi stayed with me.

They had a whale of a time with all the ooh-ing and aah-ing from every stranger who couldn't quite pass without stopping to say hello.

Emmi being sweet & gentle with a new small friend.

Taito entertaining the crowds doing what comes naturally.

Smiley Taito & Emmi wagging so hard her tail is a complete blur.

Finally, there was the shopping.  If you have never been to Crufts you really cannot imagine the scale of the event with not only thousands of dogs, but also hundreds of stands selling everything from dog leads to people clothing to leather bags - all geared toward the outdoor-focused, animal-loving, doggy type of person.  Almost without exception, every company who displays there offers special Crufts prices, and there are often great bargains to be had.  

I picked up a new collar for Tuuli from my favorite Essenjay and I did my usual annual stock-up on vet bed for my puppies from the lovely folks at Bronte Glen.  There was a stall selling leads that caught my eye, but I didn't have time to stop at that moment and I never got around to returning there, unfortunately.  And there was another stall I liked that was offering a service that shall for now remain nameless as I am planning a little gift from there for a friend.

Part of the great fun of shopping at Crufts is collecting all the amazing freebies on offer.   In addition to the usual pocketfuls of courtesy poo bags, this is my haul of stuff from only 2 well-timed stops.  Big thanks to the folks at Dog World and Your Dog magazine for the handy carrier bags full of great samples.

All free!

So that's 3 qualified for Crufts 2015.  Now to try and get a few more to join them.