OUR 2007 SHOW NEWS AT A GLANCE

It is almost the close of the 2007 show calendar and Apollodane Great Danes have now hung up their show leads until 2008  in readiness for the Christmas season. Our Danes will rest and enjoy with us in our home the special treats in store. Lots of  toys, new doggie beds, special collars and leads and all the other things we can spoil them with.

On reflecting back through 2007 we can see just how busy life has been, remembering Cyprus is a beautiful island, but every show we attend is only accessible by flying, so you can imagine the traumas we have to go through first before we even  enter a show ring.

This year 2007 we have done 12 country’s, 42 shows, have been the winners of DOG OF THE YEAR, CHAMPION  OF CHAMPIONS and BREED CHAMPION. We have taken no less than 6 BEST IN SHOW WINS, 3 RESERVE BEST IN SHOW WINS, 30 GROUP WINS and 12 CHAMPION TITLES THROUGHOUT EUROPE in the past 12  months. We are also fortunate enough to have taken the TOP WINNING HARLEQUIN BITCH IN  EUROPE AT THE EuDDC IN SWITZERLAND.

FINAL AWARDS POSITION IN 2007 FOR ZSACHARIAS

Zac finished his year fathering a beautiful litter of 9 puppies, 5 of which are destined for the show ring and already showing  great promise, individually taking Best Puppy in their respective shows on alternate show dates.
Zac went on to finish his year with the following titles and has proved consistent in his performance in the ring.

CYPRUS GRAND CHAMPION, CYPRUS DOG OF THE YEAR 2006, CYPRUS BREED CHAMPION 2006,  CYPRUS BEST IN SHOW 2006 AND CYPRUS CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS 2006
Cyprus Grand Champion, Cyprus Multi Champion, 2 x Bulgarian Grand Champion, 2 x Cyprus Champion, 3 x Australian  Champion, 2 x Bulgarian Champion, 2 x Balkan Champion, Greek Champion, Croatian Champion, Slovenian Champion,  Russian Champion, Zagreb Winner, Aphroditeís Winner, 8 x Best In Show, 6 x Reserve Best In Show, 35 x Group Wins,  Crufts 2007 & 2008 Qualification.

FINAL AWARDS POSITION IN 2007 FOR HEIDIE

Heidie took to her role as a new mother with ease and confidence. She raised 9 beautiful puppies and then 16 weeks later  went on to take Best Bitch at the Mediterranean Winners Show in October, testament to her excellent condition following  her pregnancy.

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION, CYPRUS GRAND CHAMPION, CYPRUS MULTI CHAMPION, 2 x  BULGARIAN GRAND CHAMPION, Cyprus Champion, 2 x Bulgarian Champion, 2 x Balkan Champion, Greek  Champion, Croatian Champion, Zagreb Winner, Aphroditeís Winner, Mediterranean Winner, Reserve Best In Show, Best  Great Dane Cyprus 2005.

FINAL AWARDS POSITION IN 2007 FOR ODETTE

Odette this year matured in to a beautiful young bitch with many highlights of the year. The first was her success in the  Large Breed Specialty Show in Slovenia when she was entered in to the intermediate class at just 18 months and managed  to scoop Best Bitch over the World Winning Harlequin bitch entered in to Champion class aged 3 years. Her next most  notable achievement was in Switzerland where she took the EuDDC Champion title for the top winning harlequin bitch.

Best Puppy N.S.W. Australia 2006. CYPRUS MULTI CHAMPION, EuDDC Champion, Russian Champion, Greek  Champion, Aphrodite Winner.

The New Year can see us hitting the show circuit in Europe with our new Mantle boy Turbo, our Harlequin bitch Athena  and our Harlequin boy Adonis. We have Crufts in March were we have Zsacharias, Heidie & Odette qualified to enter and  then in May we hope to continue with our breeding programme with a repeat mating for Zac & Heidie and a first mating for  Odette and Turbo.
Our Mantle puppy Apollodane Astraeus (God Of The Stars & Planets) will travel to Finland to take up home with Anne-Mari Vouri (Kennel Mi’havana) and Marja Partanen (Kennel Ozaenas) We are delighted and very happy that Marja and Anne-Mari will become the new owners and we are confident that Apollodane Astraeus (Harry) will prove to be successful for them in the ring as his father Zac has been for us here at Apollodane Great Danes.

So it only remains for both Craig and myself Paul, to thank all the Judges for having the faith in our Danes, by placing them  and recognising them for the titles they have achieved. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to all the show  organisers, Kennel Club Presidents, ring stewards, administration staff and airport officials who have made our European  Show adventure both possible and trouble free. Travelling with 2 adult Danes as we have has presented many obstacles, all I  have to say which we have overcome. Walking through the green section ” NOTHING TO DECLARE ” always raises an  eyebrow and to all those additionally such as Pet Transporters, Chauffeurs, Hoteliers, Pet food companies, travel agents and  facilitators we would also like to thank you for your help and assistance.

Our very best wishes to one and all for the Christmas season and we wish you all the very best for the forthcoming New Year 2008

Paul, Craig and our family of Danes which can be seen at www.apollodane.com

As always, we enjoy our visits to the Greek mainland, the hospitality, the warmth and the genuine appreciation of the Greek clubs sees us return, show after show. We feel there is a genuine understanding of how difficult it is moving LARGE breeds in and around Europe, not only with our own Danes, but with many of the other large breeds that travel to shows far and wide. The disadvantage of living on a beautiful island such as Cyprus is that EVERYWHERE is by flying, other such country’s have the luxury of jumping on a pre-arranged coach or in to their cars and making the journey, albeit longer in time, at a more relaxed pace. What can we do ????? if you have dogs and you want to show them, then this is the price you have to pay. For living, Cyprus is one of the most beautiful islands that I could ever think of wanting to spend my life, for showing dogs, it has improved tremendously over the years and now boasts one of the better show programmes in Europe, one which I would recommend if you have not visited then you really must give it a try, for visiting other country’s, then to be honest we may just as well reside on Alcatraz, because once you are here with your show dogs you really are limited as to where you can travel at a budget affordable to the average pocket. So most Cypriot breeders content themselves with the shows on offer on the island, who’s standards are good, who’s entrants are high and who’s quality of dogs are improving year on year. To travel overseas is a luxury many dream of and to bring back prizes is something most only read about in the papers. So!!!!!!! to travel as we do is not something we just take for granted. We feel very privileged to be able to finance such trips, we feel honoured to be accepted by other kennel clubs and we are truly grateful to be awarded titles in country’s where the competition with local bred dogs is tough and very difficult to compete with. To be given a place on the winners podium consistently as we are is something we know is a recognition to be VERY proud of and our special thanks to all the kennel club members, the Judges and the entrants who cheer us and support us. It makes us very proud to be a part of your individual organisations, for the day or for the weekend and the extended hospitality as is shown is something we are happy to share with our colleagues in the hope that they too will visit your shows and share the experience.

Travel time to Larnaca has now been refined to around 1hour 30 minutes door to door. Our routine has also been refined to ensure quick and smooth check in for us and our Danes. This particular weekend I have to report being better than any we have experienced. I just hit lucky with the correct administrative girls at check in, the dogs were processed, our luggage whisked through and it was smiles all around as I walked outside to inform Craig we were now free to enjoy a leisurely drink and something to eat in he executive lounge before take off.

As I walked across the departure lounge to the outside car park a familiar face to the show world here in Cyprus appeared in the crowded hall. Demitri, our strong competition with the Bichon Frise was standing in the line up waiting to check in. The first time he had actually checked in one of his dogs to the aircraft hold so he was understandably a little nervous. After much reassurance that all would be fine, he waved goodbye to his 2 adult Bichon and put the other 2 puppies he was taking to rendezvous with their new owners on his shoulder in their very luxurious carry on bag and for the moment we parted company. Demitri spent time with an old school friend he had bumped in to and we went off in to the direction of the exec lounge for a peaceful meal before we departed. Remember at this point that we are still in the middle of the busy tourist season and the airports are filled to capacity, so our exec lounge indulgence is more a way of maintaining sanity over the maddening crowds now building up in the departure lounge.

Now happily relaxed and reflecting on how smooth everything had gone we were conscious of an announcement over the tannoy system.
“Ladies and gentlemen, could we please have your attention. Would all Cyprus Airways passengers please report to the main reception desk”
Both Craig and I walked over to what was now a sea of people fighting to speak to the reception girl. We handed her our boarding cards, she looked at us and said in a most apologetic tone.
“Sir, I am sorry to have to tell you, Cyprus Airways Pilots have just called a walk out strike for the next 7 hours, this will mean a build up of flight traffic, there is no guarantee you flight will take off at all today. If you wish you can re-book for another day, you can cancel, or you can take a chance and see what happens later”
“Thank you I said, but we have a number of livestock on the flight and I would like to know what your provisions are for them during this time”
Horror drained through her face as she realised the announcement she had just made was for us not going to be as simple as the options given. We had by now been joined by our friend Demetris and collectively decided to continue with our journey, providing we could be re-united with our dogs as soon as possible.
We were taken back through the passport control in reverse, we had to pass through a security check going the return direction and we eventually were taken back in to the departures hall which was now FULL of angry passengers. Fortunately we had each other for support and left immediately the departure hall to return to our cars. Our own Zac climbed in to the 4×4 and immediately fell to sleep stretched out full length of the car, Odette climbed in to the back of the van and did the same, Demitri took his Bichon and swapped them over in to our very large travel crates and his puppies did the same. For all the dogs this was complete heaven, luxury beyond belief. For us, well we took three chairs from the local cafe bar, set them up in the car park by our vehicles and spent the next 7 hours talking about shows, future, past and present.
Eventually the time came for us to gather our things once again and go through the whole ordeal of boarding our dogs, getting them settled and hopefully this time the flight staff were over their walk out and ready to fly us to our destination.

We arrived now very late. What should have been a 1700hrs arrival was now a midnight arrival and we still had the journey to the hotel to make, another 30 minutes on top. Fortunately a phone call ahead made sure our room was still available, the dogs were walked and fed and like us just crashed fast asleep. For what seemed like only minutes the Nokia phone was now ringing in our ears telling us that we had now had our complete allocation of beauty sleep and it was time to get both dogs ready for the show.

The hotel Stefanakis, room 113 or 112 are perfect for our dogs. 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and fantastic sized balcony for each dog ensured that both Odette and Zac had a good nights sleep without the need for them sleeping in their crates. It is not the most luxurious of hotels, but when you travel with dogs you are grateful for a bed for the night, never mind creature comforts. The most important thing for us is that we are accepted with our dogs and we are not having to worry about the concerns of the management, as in this case I feel they appreciate we are all quite respectful and know that any accidents which may happen are immediately resolved, either financially or otherwise.

Both dogs walked and our own breakfast taken we waited for our Pet Taxi Nicos and his additional driver being his mum. The journey to the Markopoulos stadium takes about 30 minutes and you will see from the photographs it has actually got better in time as an Olympic venue, unlike some whose beauty has faded over the years. The weather was at it’s best and the sun shone down as the exhibitors registered their dogs and took up their places. Having been here last year we knew the procedure, we knew which way the sun was going to shine and we knew just where to go to make sure we were in the shade all of the day. Old friends we are always happy to see greeted us and welcomed us once again to the Greek mainland and a quick walk around to familiarise ourselves with the rings saw yet more familiar faces.

Our crates in place, our ring times sorted and our dogs ready for presentation we prepared ourselves for the day ahead. We had early show times so for us this was good. At least our dogs were well rested, they were not to hot from the mid-day sun and they had not become bored at all the hanging around. Show started prompt at 0900hrs and by 0915 we were in the ring with Zac who was just raring to go. We stood at ring side watching the other Danes in class go through their stuff and then it was the turn of Zac. Now I have to say at this point we had struggled keeping his attention as 16 days earlier both Odette and Heidie had chosen with precise and accurate timing, right in the middle of show season to come in to season. Yes here we are just as we embark on our 7 months of extensive travelling with 2 bitches re-enacting the sequel to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” They don’t do delicate and feminine seasons, no, not our Heidie and Odette, what they do is bleed by the bucket full until they decide they have had enough, which in some cases can extend in to three weeks of constant blood loss. We had watched eagerly awaiting the blood flow to stop so we could decide if it was safe to take her and if all would be OK at the show. By the time the show came all seemed safe, the blood flow had dried up and both bitches had returned to slight normality, nothing that a good strong bitch spray, some Vics vapour rub and a bit of good supervision wouldn’t resolve. Our normal travelling routine had to be slightly altered to make sure Zac stayed well away from Odette and under the circumstances we coped very well. That was until on day 2, Odette with possible reaction to the flying decided to switch on the blood flow again just after she had done her class. I tell you, I could have donated to a battle field and still had more left over. Fortunately our red doggie blankets hid most of our embarrassment and she had at least finished showing for the weekend, but never the less, this still meant that Zac, super stud, thought his services were required and at every given moment tried to mount anything in site, fortunately this did not include the judge.

So day one we came home with a Champion class win for Zac and then Best Dog win with CAC & CACIB and an Excellent critique which read;

BEAUTIFUL HARLEQUIN DOG, SOUND AND ELEGANT WITH GOOD REACH OF NECK, EXCELLENT HEAD AND EXPRESSION, CLEAN EYES, GOOD FRONT, FORE CHEST AND DEPTH OF CHEST, GOOD SET OF TAIL AND CROOP, CORRECT HIND ANGULATION, MOVES WELL AND PRESENTED VERY WELL.

For Odette we took Champion class win and Best Bitch. Understandably in her condition she was a little giddy and in the head to head Zac won over with BEST OF BREED. Odette took CAC 7 CACIB with an excellent critique which read;

EXCELLENT SHOW CONDITION BITCH, EXCELLENT MARKINGS, FEMININE HEAD, EXCELLENT FRONT AND BACK, EXCELLENT TOP LINE, GOOD MOVER AND EXCELLENT TEMPERAMENT. WELL PRESENTED.

Paolo Dondina was the Judge, very nice, knew his stuff and got on with the job in hand. He was very precise about his requirements and expectations of your role as handler and his comments on the critique I felt were exactly what he was being presented with by way of our dogs.

So for us, part one of our goal had been achieved, Zac had taken B.O.B and had qualified for a second Greek Champion title but more importantly, Odette had now completed her 12 month campaign and had qualified as GREEK CHAMPION. She now stands at CYPRUS MULTI CHAMPION, RUSSIAN CHAMPION, GREEK CHAMPION AND EUROPEAN DEUTCHE DOGGE CHAMPION and is still only just starting out, now aged 29months.

We had the rest of the day now at leisure until groups later in the afternoon, time to walk the dogs, enjoy the friends who had still yet to show, take lunch and then watch the show jumping of which Athena Onassis was in attendance showing off her amazing skills in the stadium next door.

The afternoon judging commenced around 1530hrs and it was not long before Groups were up and ready to show. I always like to get in to the ring first as Zac needs his space to show off his movement. It still surprises me how many ring stewards still let smaller dogs in first, for example the good old English Bulldog who looks so majestic when walking at his own pace around a ring suited to his size. How on earth can a Great Dane or a Newfoundland be expected to show at it’s best behind the English Bulldog going at his own pace. Come on ring stewards, wake up to the fact that you are there to do a job and order of entry has to be top of your priority list. So many times we have fallen victim to the small snappy dog bouncing off the heels of the larger breeds wanting to run his course. get the big boys in first and then let the little ones follow and take their place and then if they need only to walk at a slow pace, or if they need to complete only half the ring circuit, then at least they can do so without interference to others who have the ability to stride it out and go the course.

The group judge was that of our class, Mr Paolo Dondina. He asked to see the dogs he had not already judged move and he asked to see stacked those that he had already judged. Zac I have to say consistently shows well. Show after show after show he stacks to perfection and presents himself in such a way that you just can not help but want to place him. On occasions he can be a little sluggish with his movement, it all depends on the temperatures and the size of the ring, oh yes and if he just happens to have one of his girls in season.

Presentation now over and the judge made his way to the steward to offer his results. In third place was the only announcement I focussed on which was the Harlequin Great Dane. So we had done it again, we had made our place to the winners podium and we were more than happy with the result. It is the judges choice and today the judge had seen other qualities in other dogs he placed 2nd & 1st over Zac, but in terms of our goals, we had done what we set out to do and come away with more.

It is always a mad scramble once your place in the groups has been decided and for us it was time to pack our things, call the taxi and return to the hotel nice and early to shower, feed the dogs and wander down to the local restaurant for dinner. A whole day sitting in the fresh air is sufficient to draw you to your bed for an early night and by 2100hrs we were all tucked up, Zac snoring on one side, Craig on the other and Odette banished to the outside terrace so she could continue in peace with her season.

Sunday another hot and sunny day, Nicos outside waiting in the taxi and all the crates packed in advance. The morning sun coming up over the Markopoulo Olympic stadium is a sight not to be missed, truly awesome and one of those moments when you reflect on the fortunate position you find yourselves in at certain times in your life.

Registration is always an easy affair, one that many other shows could well learn some lessons from. Ring side information is in Greek and in English, great for visiting exhibitors and there are sufficient programmes to go round to each dog entered.
Our show time was the same as the day before, nice and early and before the heat of the day kicked in, however this time our judge was Zvi Kupferberg from Israel.

Once again we watched as the other Dane exhibitors entered the ring, always making sure that we were ready for the ring steward as he called our numbers. Today’s biggest change to plan was that Craig was handler for the day, a little competition rivalry, so he was really out to do a better result than my own the day before. He first entered with Zac and true to form he showed magnificently, that was Zac and not Craig by the way, although I have to say, for someone who four years ago would not be seen in the ring, he is really making up for things. Zac once again won his Champion class, going on to take Best Dog and coming away with a critique which read;

CORRECT SIZE WITH BEAUTIFUL HEAD, EXCELLENT BONE, CORRECT TOP LINE, CORRECT FRONT AND ANGULATION, EXCELLENT STRONG DEEP CHEST, CORRECT COLOUR, EXCELLENT MOVEMENT.
he took CAC & CACIB (excellent).

A quick change over and now the turn of Odette in her very own Champion class. She trots happily around as if to kick sand in the faces of all around her. She stacks to perfection and presents herself well as the judge writes;

CORRECT SIZE WITH BEAUTIFUL HEAD, EXCELLENT TOP LINE, CORRECT FRONT AND ANGULATION, CORRECT BITE, LOOSE ELBOWS, CORRECT CHEST, EXCELLENT MOVEMENT, she took CAC & CACIB(excellent)

Winning her class and then Best Bitch she came head to head with Zac for Best Of Breed. The sun was now starting to burn through, I was handling Zac who I had rushed in from his ring side crate and the judge pondered as he asked us to move our dogs once more around the ring. Now at this point Zac had managed to get the beautiful sweet smell of Odette in season, Odette was happily flirting her way around the ring, throwing her head back as she trotted along teasing all the way. Zac was now pulling his way like an old English Shire horse, desperate to make actual contact with her. For sure the pace was a good one and fortunately we both knew how to use the situation to our advantage. We halted at the judges request, stacked our dogs once more and presented them to him for final inspection. By now our friends from Cyprus had all gathered at ring side to watch the event and the judge turned and said;

BOTH DOGS ARE BEAUTIFUL, THE BITCH IN PARTICULAR HAS A STUNNING HEAD, ONE VERY SELDOM SEEN SO BEAUTIFUL IN BITCHES, SHE IS QUITE REMARKABLE, BUT ONLY FOR THE FACT THAT SHE STILL HAS A LITTLE MATURING TO DO AND IS STILL A LITTLE LOOSE I AM AWARDING BEST OF BREED TO THE DOG. He than said, WATCH OUT FOR THE BITCH TAKING BEST OF BREED VERY VERY SOON, SHE IS GOING TO MATURE VERY, VERY WELL.

So another great result, points for Zac as we had hoped, recognition for Odette and a place in the group line up once again.
The rest of the day was spent supporting our friends, Giannis from Thessaloniki who travelled without his dear wife Erine and for who we promised to cheer from the ring side to make him feel more relaxed. Demetris from Cyprus with his Champion Bichon and his friend who took B.O.B from him on day one. Stella & Pheytos who’s beautiful Akita bred by Julie & Carl Nicholls from the UK and who did so well on day 2, but again lost out on the group win to our friend Giannis with his impressive Siberian Husky. Stella Mimis, Secretary, Athens Canine Society who I have to say that the makeover has taken years off her and she looked fantastic. It is like an old school reunion when we visit Greece and so nice to see Elena & Elias from Crete and Sissi Adramitli with her beautiful Bulldogs and who always makes us welcome to the Greek shows and has great admiration for our Danes. Mind you I have to say, I think Craig has been working his magic as he too loves the British Bulldog and I think secretly has withdrawal symptoms when he is in their company.

The group 2 now being called and Craig looking like a movie star from the film “The Blues Brothers” moves to prime position to enable him to show Zac to full potential. He is first in with no scuffles at the entry point from any of the small dogs trying to get in the ring first. Consistently he moves like a true professional, the applause rings out and the whistles are evidence that Zac is a real favourite with the crowd. He stacks well and he takes note of what is behind in order to plan his next move. The judge once again moved the dogs not seen by him in the class and an almost instant decision was made and the result handed to the ring steward. Where would Zac be placed in this group, or would he be placed at all. The places are being announced in reverse order, the cameras are flashing and the cheering starts to whip the spectators in to real enjoyment. In second place we hear being announced, in second place, the harlequin Great Dane !!!!!!! A great finish to a great weekend and once again a place on the winners podium for Group 2 line up.

As far as our results were concerned, we came for a possible Greek Champion title being completed with Odette and we got it and we came hoping for B.O.B on both the Saturday and the Sunday and we got it. The 2 group places on the winners podium were over and above our expectations and we are delighted with the final achievement. It was just now time to pack our things once more and take the taxi back to the hotel for a celebratory drink.

Monday we ambled down to the water front, took in the scenery and reflected on our wonderful weekend in Greece. By 1330hrs we were sitting at the airport ready to board our flight and once again we have to compliment Cyprus Airways in Athens for their excellent service and compassion towards our dogs. Arrival in Larnaca in time for sun down and home just in time for dinner prepared by our dear housekeepers Lalyn & Connie.

To see the full selection of photographs from the Athens show, left double click on any of the photographs and this will take you to our photo album selection with over 5500 photographs broken down in to various sets for you to view. You then click on Athens or click on the full selection of Apollodane photos.

In conclusion and it goes without saying, a huge thank you to the Kennel Club for making us feel so welcome, thank you to the administrators for keeping us up to date with show news and thank you to the judges who are never taken for granted and whos service, knowledge and support is very much appreciated.

We are proud to announce that on Friday the 13th July 2007 Apollodane Great Danes of Cyprus received certificate confirmation from the Cyprus Kennel Club that we are one of the first breeders to be awarded and recognised with; MULTI CHAMPION & GRAND CHAMPION TITLES OF CYPRUS for HILDYDANE ZACHARAIS & HILDYDANE HILDAS HEIDIE, also we are pleased to announce that our very own HILDYDANE ODETTE has just today been awarded MULTI CHAMPION OF CYPRUS at just 2 years of age.

Whilst being one of the first breeders overall here in Cyprus to be awarded the recognition of Multi Champion & Grand Champions titles for three of our dogs, this is the very first Great Dane recognition at such a level, so we are very honoured and privileged to be the first to carry this standard forward for all future Danes.

We have had a great 12 months taking many BEST IN SHOW AWARDS, GROUP WINS and of course not forgetting the very prestigious and current holder of DOG OF THE YEAR & CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS with Zsacharias.

Our very sincere thanks to all the judges who felt our Danes worthy of recognition in all the shows here in Cyprus since they arrived from Australia, thanks to all at the Cyprus Kennel Club for the hard work and effort they put in to the shows and to Hildegard Schliefert our guide and mentor for making it all possible. We hope to continue with our success and look forward to seeing you all quite soon at up and coming shows with not only our existing Grand Champions, but our very new and soon to be showcased, Apollodane Athena, Apollodane Astraeus, Apollodane Asclepius and Apollodane Adonis, born to Grand Champion Hildydane Hildas Heidie & Grand Champion Hildydane Zsacharias, photos which can be seen on our puppy news web page.

We would like to inform all our friends that our Grand Champion Bitch Heidie and our Grand Champion Dog Zsacharias have produced their first gorgeous litter on the 1st april 2007. View the Pedigree Chart here.

In the litter we have 10 beautiful puppies all fit and well and the proud mother is taking to her role with ease.

We have in the litter:

• 3 Mantle puppies (2 dogs and 1 bitch)

• 7 Harlequin puppies (3 dogs and 4 bitch)

If you are still interested in any of the pups and have not yet completed the online registration form. Please do so here.

Please do so in order to allow us to make the necessary selection process, ensuring that any dog which is sold is going to the correct home and environment for the puppy’s best interests.

Find the permanent new litter page here.

(plus) Ljubljana, Slovenia, A special CAC show for Molosser and big sized breeds, on January 13th 2007 presented by Slovenian Club for Molosser and Big Sized Dogs. Three shows over one weekend.

With the festive season way behind us and our waistlines way out in front, due to the excesses we have indulged in over Christmas, it is now time to turn our attention to the resolutions we made at the close of 2006, making sure we are some way on track to make things happen.

For us, reflecting on our 2006, we really could not have been any happier with what had been achieved. So what was for 2007? Well our none drinking, non smoking lifestyle threw two of the biggest New Year resolutions out of the window which meant at least we could concentrate on more adventurous goals. Yes OK, we could all manage to shed a few extra pounds, those home made mince pies and that delicious Christmas pudding adding inches to our waistline, but what we felt more appropriate, was a grater concentration on European Dog Show visits. So pledge we did, our solemn New Year’s declaration, our 2007 resolution, to fit in as many overseas shows as our calendar would allow was now set firmly in stone.

To kick start this New Year resolution, we had planned from October 2006 our first show of the New Year. The show was a triple show weekend taking in two International Shows, one on the Saturday, 13th January, the other on the Sunday, 14th January, both presented by the Kennel Club Of Slovenia. In addition to these two shows, the Slovenian Club for Molosser and Big Sized Dogs was holding a specialty show during the evening of the 13th January 2007.

We always enjoy the preparation, making sure the dogs are bathed, nails are clipped and all the grooming accessories are packed away ready for our journey to Larnaca airport. It has become second nature to us now and we each have our own specific functions by way of contribution to the participating of each show. Grace & Tony both help with bathing, Grace co-ordinates all the towels and blankets we take, Craig is on supervising the bathing, cleaning the ears, cutting and filing nails, organising the food we take along with any grooming products, and I stay well out of the way taking note of that old saying “To Many Cooks Spoil The Broth” I lock myself away in the office and make sure all Hotels are booked and fully confirmed, transport is going to be available upon arrival, that our show registrations have all been accepted and that all dogs paperwork, inoculations and Pet Passports are at the ready. All done, we set off on our journey, two adults, two dogs and two vehicles. It’s just easier that way, at least then we know the dogs will not be play fighting in the car getting dirty again, plus it gives us more room for the transportation of 2 giant Vari kennels.

Arrival at the airport saw a swift check in with Austrian Airlines, a lovely lady who also happened to have a second job working in a Veterinarians practice. Dogs weighed and the excess charge calculated at £cyp5.85 per kilo or around Euro11.50 per kilo which has to be paid in each direction, we handed over our credit card, paid our fees and awaited boarding instructions. With around 150kilos of excess weight you can appreciate this becomes rather an expensive love we have, but be that it may, we really have no other alternative if we want to enter shows in other countries. We so envy that of our colleagues who live over on the mainland and who can travel to each destination by car. It makes showing more accessible and certainly more frequent and with each one of our journey’s costing around Euro 8 to 10 thousand, we have to be certain that the shows we chose are the best for showcasing our Danes.

It was a smooth flight lasting about 2hours 45 minutes, a little cramped for passengers, but the dogs were well taken care of, warm and tucked nicely in the special section of the airline hold. Arrival in Vienna, Austria was perfect and in no time what so ever our Danes were through in to the arrivals hall and in our care. We secured the services of a Porter, loaded the dogs and crates on to the extra large transporter and headed through passport and custom control to our awaiting driver with specially adapted van. By now the time was around 2000hrs, it was a cold typical winters evening, the type we have all been led to imagine in our minds as a child of how Austria would be and we were not disappointed. Snow capped mountains, frost covered trees and a scene to compliment any “Sound Of Music” production, yes we were in Von Trapp territory and the HILLS were most certainly ALIVE as the song says. Introductions over, our driver Neso and co-driver set us on our journey giving us highlights and history as they drove us through the country side. We hired the services of a local company by the name of Transfer Services.

All I can say is how very convenient it was for us to employ these services, very similar to those taken in Croatia. It takes the stress completely out of the travelling; it allows us to enjoy the scenery and most of all it saves numerous arguments between Craig & me over who has navigated in the wrong direction and why we have ended up miles away from the destination we want to be in. So once again our sincere thanks and compliments to Neso who really made our trip much more enjoyable. He was there for us at the airport, he was available at 0630 in the morning to take us to shows and collect us again in the evening. He even suggested a couple of excursions which we took advantage of on our days off, which to be honest would have been sacrilege to go to such a lovely country and not see a little of the local culture.

The City Hotel was our chosen hotel for the duration. A large modern hotel in the centre of Ljubljana and as we like to do, we reserved one of their business suites to facilitate the fact that we had two large Danes and all our traveling luggage. Zac has a real snoring problem and either he goes without sleep or we go without sleep. With the facility of a suite, we can at least give each dog their own room which means we all get some sleep at the end of the day. Our bags unpacked, dogs fed and watered we head off to the local park to finish the routine before showering and falling in to bed. It was then we noticed our dear little Odette, possibly affected by her flight was now in full flow of her season. With absolute horror and panic, we wondered what we would do. Was Slovenia and it’s Kennel Club compassionate to the point of allowing bitches in season to still be shown, would our journey have been a pointless exercise and was our opportunity of showcasing Odette on her first overseas European trip all going to be thrown in to turmoil.

Day 1

Friday was a lovely fresh sunny day and following a lovely breakfast we wrapped sensibly for the cold fresh day that it was. The City was magical, still with many traces of Christmas on every street corner and in every shop window. With Odette and Zac by our sides off we went to explore the surrounding area. Ljubljana to me had many influences, Italian, Austrian; German, even Dutch with it’s waterways meandering through the City. Monumental bridges at various crossing points led to yet more history and culture, lovely shops and a packed market place selling all sorts of fresh produce. Harlequin Great Danes always cause interest when being walked in public, an impressive sight, majestic in their presence. I have never appeared on so many people’s holiday photographs as I have since investing in Danes, it’s the nearest thing to celebrity status I suspect.

The most impressive part of our day sightseeing was that of the famous Ljubljana Castle the most spectacular sight of Ljubljana. There is proven evidence that the hill on top of which it is situated was inhabited back in the 12th century BC Preserved from this early period of settlement are the remains of the Urn Tomb culture.

The first known fortification of considerable dimensions situated on top of the Castle Hill (Grad) was built in Illyrian and Celtic times. A stronghold was most probably located there also in Roman times. A document originating from the period between 1112 and 1125 mentions a medieval castle built in the 9th century, which served as the seat of the provincial rulers of the Spannheim family, who coined their own money in Ljubljana. In 1335 the castle became the hereditary property of the Hapsburg family and the centre of the Province of Carniola. In the second half of the 15th century a new, larger, circular castle was built by Duke Frederick III of Hapsburg, later crowned Roman German Emperor.

Ljubljana Castle is now a major tourist attraction and a picturesque venue of numerous cultural events including concerts, theatre performances, exhibitions, congresses and official receptions, which add a special flavour to the lively pulse of life in Ljubljana. Having exhausted ourselves climbing the very steep hills and steps to get to the top, we marveled in the photo opportunities, a little flushed in the cheeks, we posed for the holiday dog show album. The views were incredible, rolling mountain scenery covered in snow and tinted with the afternoon sunshine. It was picture post card and my camera nearly collapsed due to the number of pictures I took. The dogs were in their element, fresh clean air, crisp and clear for them to run and enjoy. Forest, greenery and a landscape to die for all added to their excitement.

We were out walking for about 4 hours with the dogs before deciding to take them back to the hotel and let them rest before we set off once again to explore. We passed what appeared to be a very popular and quite famous Pizzeria and although not my most favourite dish of the day, the smell was enchanting. It wound its way through the streets catching you attention wherever you were and like the Pied Piper it led you cleverly in to its doorway. An early night followed, dogs and owners in a state of mental and physical exhaustion collapsed in to a heap on their respective beds. Odette on her many absorbing blankets due to the sudden onset of her coming in to season sporting “Young Child Size Pamper Pads”, a sight to be seen to appreciate the funny side. Zac on his special show blanket getting the occasional aroma of Odette and Craig and I with bedroom door firmly closed to soundproof us from Zacs heavy snoring. It was a lovely family gathering, one soon to be over as our start the next day was a very early 0600hrs in readiness for show registration.

Driver present and correct, van packed, dogs ready, it was off to the show for the first of our events. Check in was from 0700hrs and my first question to the officials was if they would allow Odette to be shown as she was in season. Fortunately and very much in our favour, the Kennel Club of Slovenia have an acceptable policy which meant great news for us. I know the FCI rules state that their own policy is to allow bitches in season to be shown, but at the end of the day, it really is down to the individual clubs. Here in Cyprus we are told this would not have been allowed, a situation I fully appreciate and am fully supportive of, however we were not in Cyprus, we were in Slovenia and under the circumstances I was happy for their over ruling on the matter. Thanks to them for having such a relaxed and open view on the matter.

We found our ring and then set ourselves up far enough away not to be hassled by all the activity, yet close enough to see what was going on. A few of the regular faces seen at other shows started to appear, visitors from Italy, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Netherlands, Finland to name but a few. It’s a real International Show and great to see some fantastic competition. It was also good to catch up with friends only previously communicated with via e-mail; our friend Slavi from Valvasorsland greeted us and welcomed us to her country.

A lively character, so full of energy, and a great passion for her breed. She wasn’t personally showing in the first show, but due to her very large following had collected an impressive 13 Danes to show in the Specialty show later that day. We exchanged news and updated each other on latest events and it was clear to see we had the same sense of humour. Slavi was most definitely a respected figure head in the community, a real authority on Danes and a support to all her puppy owners. Wherever Slavi went, her pup owners followed. Dog Shows, Dane picnics in the country, you name it and they were all there together. Lovely to see such camaraderie between like minded people and a great network to be a part of.

Dane classes started in earnest, nice and early and we were first to get the ball rolling. Judging was split in to colours with Damir Skok of Croatia taking the Judging for the first of the International Shows with almost 2000 entries.

As always in the individual classes we expect to perform and do well and this we did. Zac standing to attention winning his Champion class, Odette not quite sure why in her hormonal condition she was being made to stack to perfection for the judge. She did well and won her Intermediate Class so it looked like we were on to a good start. We then came to Best Dog line up and in my opinion there was no contest. Zac loves to show and he deserves to win and on this occasion the judge thought so too. So Zac was now through to B.O.B line up. Who would the Best Bitch be I wonder? Not a question I need to linger to long over as the line up took its place and there stood before us Ch Sun Della Baia Azzurra, the recently titled World Champion, owned by Silvanna Marcolina of Italy. This to those of you who have not yet familiarised yourself with our Zagreb Show news is the Harlequin bitch we were up against in Croatia. A two show weekend, were handled by a Croatian professional handler, we lost under a Croatian Judge, Igor Mioc. However under the German Judge, Hans Wiblishauser on day 1, we triumphed over the World Champion and took Best Of Breed.

So here we were again, same line up for B.O.B, our very own Multi Champion Zsacharias owned and handled by, yours truly Paul Bainbridge and the World Champion title holder, handled by professional Croatian handler under the Judge and President of the Croatian Kennel Club, Damir Skok !!!!!!!! Now then, let me consider the options !!!!!!! or do they need to be considered, Yes folks, you have guessed it and you have guessed it correct. The Croatian handled World Champion was awarded B.O.B by the Croatian Judge, a worthy winner in the eyes of the Croatian contingency and one up on the day to the Italians. Well done and our congratulations go out to them, but in the words of Dan Cook in his column in 1976 “The show is not over until the fat lady sings” we still had 2 more shows to go.

 

It seemed a long old wait until the evening show commenced but watching the large breeds pour in through the door was testament to the quality of dogs in and around this area. I have to add at this point the organisation so far had been perfect, right the way through from administration, registration and finally organisation. Credit due to all those involved, and congratulations for perfecting such an event. Catalogues in dual language, easy to understand announcements and a whole selection of multi lingual assistants available to point you in the right direction. Shops, stalls to buy your doggie bits and pieces and a selection of places to satisfy you hunger. Finally our wait was over and the time was now ready to enter the ring for the Speciality Molosser and Large Breed Show. Judging again was split between colours, Lisbeth Mach, Switzerland responsible for Black and Harlequin, Rajko Rotner, Slovenia responsible for all other colours. It was a very popular show with 81 dogs being judged between the two judges in their respective rings, eventually coming together for B.O.B. I had previously had the good fortune of showing under Rajko Rotner so knew his style and type. Lisbeth Mach however I had not shown under so this was a new experience. Earlier in the day I visited her class purely as an observer to get a feel of her likes and dislikes. It appeared from the comments coming out of the ring this lady held no punches, she was firm and fair and was not generous with her Excellent critiques. Now for me this sounded perfect, it seemed like here we had a lady who was not afraid of telling it as it was, not afraid of going against the grain of having to fall in to line and a lady who judged from her heart and her passion rather than politically or financially. So if a good dog was presented then it seemed Lisbeth Mach would be the first to recognise it and give credit were credit was due. All we had to do was hope that what we were presenting fell in to that category.

Our classes were presented and once again Zac showed to perfection. The first initial comments from Lisbeth Mach filled me with confidence and I was quietly confident that she liked him, although it never pays to be over confident as anything can happen in these shows as we know. Zac took his Champion Class which was one out of the way and now on to Best Dog. When Zac’s time came, he also took Best Dog and this was really starting to look quite promising. I was really nervous as I knew this lady was a perfectionist and her expectations were of the very highest standard.

Please Zac, don’t lose interest at this point I thought to myself, I need you to be on your best behaviour, this show is important in terms of your credibility, so stay focused and don’t let yourself down.

On to Odette and again she showed well and won her class, but I have to say her hormonal way affected her Best Bitch class and the winning bitch was our Italian contender and World Champion, Sun Della Baia Azzurra and it’s Croatian handler. Once again like an old re-run movie, our Zac and the World Champion were head to head. The tension was unbearable as Lisbeth Mach looked over once again the Best Dog & the Best Bitch. Beads of perspiration were collecting on my forehead and the palms of my hands were wet with anticipation. The World Champion does look rather impressive when presented in the ring in as much as it does stack well, credit due to Anti Lucin for his handling; however she is not a choice of bitch that I particularly rate in terms of overall appearance. It’s my own personal opinion, but I find her rather straight in front and lacking any depth in chest to take such coveted titles, but then I am not judging and each Judge has different qualities when expressing their expert opinions. We were asked to run round the ring, to complete the triangle and then to re-stack our dogs. You could really see the judge was taking in every aspect of our respective dogs and then the hand went up, the congratulations offered and YES, it was Hildydane Zsacharias for the Best Of Breed My goodness me, we had done it again, we had taken the number one spot from the World Champion and this time from a Judge with impartial opinions which made the win all the more appreciative. On leaving the ring the talk was how strict Lisbeth Mach had been and how her shortage of Excellent critiques was very apparent. My own opinion on that is TOP MARKS to a Judge who does not feel duty bound to give excellent critiques when an excellent is not a worthy observation of a dogs overall presentation and performance. Smug maybe of me to feel that way, as I understood upon leaving the ring, from the five excellent critiques given, we had been awarded two of them, so I have to say a great result and a great honour to show under a Judge with such high values and principles.

Our next event was Best In Show and I have to say the line up was mammoth. I have never seen a procession of such impressive dogs for such a long time, they seemed to be filing out forever. We all duly found our spot and went on to present as anyone would in the Best In Show line up. Best In Show Judge was once again Lisbeth Mach which in some respects can be good, but then on the other hand they are confronted with other spectacular dogs which have not previously been seen by them. All you can do is stand and hope that you are doing your best. The lights are intense, the crowds are big enough to rival any major Hollywood red carpet event and the dogs are first class. This lady who had been so impressed with Zac was now combing through her contestants with a very critical eye. She was what I class as one of the Grand Dames of Show Judges, the old school type who do things as they should be done regardless of who they upset. How refreshing to show under such a distinguished Judge and what a pleasure it was to know the decisions are going to be based on the quality of the dogs and not the number of favours that are owed. There was a run round, a final stack and then the announcement Reserve Best In Show !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to pass out at this point because Zac had done so well and we were so proud of him, it would have been the icing on the cake to be recognised at this very high level for some place on the winners stand, but then the standard was really of exceptional levels and just to be there was an honour and a privilege. “Reserve Best In Show” goes to !!! and this is when a good command of the local language comes in handy, “THE?.?.?.?.?.?” A voice behind me says, that’s you, "THE GREAT DANE “RESERVE BEST IN SHOW” wow !!!!!!! COULD WE BELIEVE OUR EARS, NO WAY. Here we are in a strange country with some of the very best in Large breed dogs being judged under such a strict eye and we had taken RESERVE BEST IN SHOW. The Best In Show went to the Hungarian owned Newfoundland; Ch Skippers Emperor King Of Helluland owned by Bela Siklosi which had previously taken second place at the World Dog Show in Poland and which had won this years European Show in Helsinki. So in view of it’s track record, I have to take my hat off to the result here in Ljubljana and can honestly say it was a fair and honest win and well done to them, but hey, what a fantastic dog to take second place to. So !!!!! What was it I was saying about the show not being over until the fat lady sings? We took a beautiful trophy presented by the President M’s Alenka Cerne, a wonderful glass Harlequin Dane Head presented by the Judge and a special wooden carving gift chosen personally by the Judge which added a very personal touch to the event.

 

Our day had been wonderful, the judging strict but fair and the results remarkable and our Italian World Champion contender was now on level pegging, out of 4 shows together, we had each won 2 Best Of Breeds, one of ours leading to Reserve Best In Show, both our own wins had been independent Judges away from the country we lived in, both the World Champions had been given by Croatian Judges with a Croatian handler. We had one show left for the weekend and how lovely it would have been if we could have made it 3 B.O.B show wins to 2 in our favour.

It was a very late finish and we didn’t get back to the hotel until after 2300hrs, so exhausted and tired were we dinner was the last thing on our minds. Once again dogs fed, watered and walked in the park, we did just manage to take in a take away to eat in our room. Bed soon followed and before long that all too familiar ring of the alarm clock was serenading us from the bed side table.

Day 2

The whole process begins again, same ring, different Judges and once again colours being separated in to different classes. Now today we had a British Judge by the name of Robin Searle. A gentleman of similar principles to those of Lisbeth Mach. A gentleman with a long history of Judging at some of the most prestigious Dog Shows around the world and I have to say again, although never having show under him previously, his reputation preceded him by way of his thorough eye for detail, his strict rule on presentation and his immense knowledge of the breeds he was judging. This really was going to be a challenge and immense fun, as I had heard so much about him; I was really looking forward to presenting under his watchful eye. His first classes were that of the Bulldog, a big group which I understand he has a wealth of knowledge being a breeder himself, and then he went on to the Danes. Harlequins were at the end of his judging day, by which time the competition was really starting to come through. I was trying to get an understanding of his preferred type, but it was very difficult as nerves always play the bigger part, especially when stood on the side lines watching your competition. Soon it was our turn to show and we entered the ring in Champion class with Zac. What can I say!!! What a lovely man with a manner so very calming on the dogs. He scrutinised with a very critical eye, he checked the teeth, he was very clear in his instruction to present and show and he was patient when external distractions took your dog’s eye off the ball. As I said, we were one of his latter classes, by which time the remainder of the arena was being prepared for agility classes with some of the smaller breeds already weaving their way through the tunnels and over the hurdles. Zac with the more experience knew to stand his corner and not be put off in his presentation and although occasionally thinking it was time to play, his ears stood upright and his attention followed these little critters as they did their stuff. From a show point of view, whilst his attentions were being diverted Zac really looked a picture to be framed. He stood to perfection and the little smile I saw from Mr Searle’s face as we ran around the ring made me think that he liked what he saw. Sure enough Zac won his Champion class going on to take Best Dog. It was now the turn of Odette, but just a quick recap here to remind you that hormonal bitches just wanting to be loved do not always make the best of their show potential. She entered the ring and I immediately explained why Odette may present herself with tail up. It’s a woman thing and when you’re looking for loooooooove you do what ever you can to attract attention. Mr Searle gave us our instructions and off we went on our way. Up and down twice, then round and round coming nicely to a very neat stack. Well, that was the instruction until she caught sight of the Jack Russell pounding up and down the slides, through the hoops and in and out of the tubes. What fun she thought to herself, I think I would like to do a bit of that was the thought now firmly in her head, and an about turn she did facing completely the opposite way to the way I had stacked her and being a real challenge. I tried to regain composure whilst Mr Searle checked over the other bitches, but NO, our Odette was having none of it, there was far more fun going on in rings 1,2 & 3 than in ours and if it was at all possible she was going to transform herself from the elegant Great Dane she was, to some hyper energetic Jack Russell that she wanted to be. Suddenly I caught sight of the way she was looking at these Jack Russell Terriers darting round the ring and I could not believe my eyes, she was PICTURE PERFECT just unfortunately facing the wrong way. Quick thinking on my part with a little instruction from Craig on the outside of the ring and I managed to manoeuvre her in to a position that actually allowed her to see what was going on in the other rings, yet at the same time present herself in a way acceptable to the Judge. Our cunning paid off and she went on to win her Intermediate Class going straight in to Best Bitch. Ahhhhhhhhhh Yes, Best Bitch and this strange feeling of Deja Vu suddenly overtakes me. Once more we find ourselves in the Best Bitch line up with our friend the Harlequin World Champion who so often goes head to head with Zac for Best Of Breed. How nice if we could triumph over her again today with Zac, how it would be the icing on the cake and how we could revel in his achievements. Odette now fixated on the Jack Russell stood proud, her top line was perfect, her angulations a credit to any Dane owner and her presentation was first class. Her movement to the edge of the ring was not her best, but her return was in keeping with her surrounding, that of the home of Lipizzaner horses. She trotted courageously through her movement, swishing her rear end as she went past the World Champion. “Go girl, go girl” I said to her as she stepped up her movement, “head up and show”. We ground to a halt, I faced towards the agility class for her to enjoy and the rest was up to Mr Searle. Sadly I have to say of our Zac and the World Champions impending head to head, this was not going to be the case, because TRIUMPHANTLY I am so HAPPY and PROUD to announce, after much deliberation from the expert Judge Mr Robin Searle, Hildydane Odette was titled BEST BITCH knocking the World Champion completely out of the show. Our 17month old Harlequin bitch in Intermediate Class had scored top honour over a three year old World Champion in Champion Class and there we were in a head to head with each other, Apollodane versus Apollodane, not something we had prepared for as Craig quickly threw his jacket to the side, grabbed hold of Odette and with a smile the size of a Cheshire cat famed in his moment of glory for Best Of Breed with our lovely boy Zac and our up and coming girl Odette. If ever there was a moment of triumph to be savoured it was this very moment, the moment when our young girl took top spot from a mature World Champion and her professional handler and when we then went on to take Best Of Breed with Zac. To add to our success of the weekend Zac also qualified under Lisbeth Mach as Slovenian Champion, so how happy were we ? I have to say, VERY HAPPY INDEED.

So our show results read as follows Intermediate Class Win for Odette in all three shows and a Best Bitch Win on day two. 3 C.A.C with excellent critiques and 2 C.A.C.I.B. giving her a nice start to the years results for 2007.

With Zsacharias we took Champion Class Wins at all three shows, we took 3 Best Dog Wins, 2 Best Of Breed Wins, a Reserve Best In Show, 3 C.A.C, 2C.A.C.I.B and the very well deserved title of Slovenian Champion.

He now reads CYPRUS, GREEK, AUSTRALIAN, BALKAN, CROATIAN, BULGARIAN & SLOVENIAN CHAMPION, BULGARIAN GRAND CHAMPION, APHRODITE WINNER, ZAGREB WINNER, 5 TIMES BEST IN SHOW, 3 TIMES RESERVE BEST IN SHOW & MULTI GROUP WINNER, HILDYDANE ZSACHARIAS.

Our special thanks are extended to the Slovenian Kennel Club for their expertise in putting on such a professional show weekend, for their administrative excellence prior to the commencement of the show and to their organisation on the days in question. We would also like to thank the President of the Molosser and Large Breeds club, M’s Alenka Cerne who initially advised us of the show taking place when she visited Cyprus in October 2006. Our appreciation is shown for her club allowing us to grace its pages as one of it’s winners and we value their confidence in our bloodline and the dogs we showcased to be given the title of Reserve Best In Show and Slovenian Champion. We would also like to take this opportunity of thanking the Judges on the day of which we were fortunate enough to show under, that of Mr Damir Skok, M’s Lisbeth Mach and Mr Robin Searle. Thank you to them for again seeing what we saw when we first identified these wonderful individuals to become part of our family. All that was left now was our own celebration; a nice relaxed evening meal and a reflection on the weekends events.

Sunday had been a great day for us, we had finished off the weekend with more than we set out to achieve and what’s more, to be given the recognition by such prestigious judges was testament in itself as to how good our Danes really are. We had also been fortunate to meet some very lovely people over the show weekend and our Croatian friends Kruno, Renea & Dominic took the time to come over and visit and although we didn’t get to long to spend with them, their interest and support was very much appreciated.

Monday was a leisure day so we decided it was a nice treat for both ourselves and the dogs to go and visit Lake Bled. What a spectacular day out, our dogs tucked nicely in their Vari Kennels in the back of the vehicle and us in front taking in all the breath taking scenery. We went up in to the Castle, we took lots of photographs and we were spellbound by it’s magical atmosphere.

We tried the well known Bled Crème Cake, well actually Craig found space for a second and on our return to the hotel we stopped off at Slavis home at her invitation to sample local cuisine, home made bread and a swim in her Olympic size pool back-dropped by snow capped mountains. (Slavi shares our joke with the pool comment).

She had a great set up for her Danes and was all ready for her impending arrival of three litters. We arrived back at the hotel with just time to pack our things and get in a few hours before setting off on our return journey to Vienna.

Once again Austrian Airlines were a delight to check in with, nothing was to much trouble and our dogs were with us until boarding commenced. 2hours 45 minutes later we were home in Cyprus to temperatures of 20C and sunny blue sky. Grace had prepared one of her delicious Sri Lankan curries to greet us upon our return and then informed us that at 1600hrs that afternoon, Heidie had come in to season also. So off in to the safe run, enclosed on all sides we now have Odette in season and Heidie in season, only this time they are both for real with no false alarms. It is our intention to cover Heidie with Zsacharias on or around the 25th January 2007 and retire Heidie for a while to hopefully enjoy motherhood to it’s full.

Our boy Polo has pulled muscles in his back end so is on steroid tablets to ease the inflammation. That’s what you get for trying to show you are top dog vocally and scale a fence to get to bitches in season that you have no hope in hell of getting over. Roxy our rescue Dane has just undergone a 2 hour operation on a damaged liver. We don’t know exactly what the final diagnosis is as we are awaiting the results coming back from the UK, but she really has gone through it these past few weeks poor girl. The unfortunate thing with a rescues is you don’t know what their history has been before you take them in to your home, so it’s a little like Russian Roulette. The only thing you can do is give them lots of T.L.C and keep your fingers crossed they pull through whatever makes them sick. Happy to say after five days under observation with the vet, she is now home and looking much better with a little glint in her eye.

We hope you have enjoyed our show news entries to date and we hope you continue to return for our blog, monthly newsletter and photos.

Best wishes for 2007 and all the very best to one and all.

Well 2006 is at a close, Christmas day has passed us by and the frantic shopping days are now just a distant memory, all wrapped and given to our friends and loved ones as a sign of our love and affection for their involvement in our lives. For those who like ourselves have spent many days out on the road traveling to dog shows, it is a time to reflect on our efforts, bask in our successes and dream of future expectations at forthcoming shows.Like many of you, we follow the achievements online of our dog world colleagues around the world, cheering them on from our armchairs and hoping that success and glory follow them from show to show. Oh how technology has helped us in our quest for reaching wider horizons, forging friendships with people we have never met and strengthening the ties with our competitors in the show ring.

We have been very fortunate to meet some wonderful and fascinating people on our travels, and to those people who have become part of our circle, we would like to thank you for sharing our experiences and making our days spent at shows enjoyable. We would also like to take this opportunity as the year draws to a close, of thanking all the judges who have so kindly seen certain qualities in the dogs we have shown, giving them recognition and placing them on the days in question to the titles achieved. We are grateful that they take the time to visit countries far from home, sometimes in all extremes of weather to grace us with their knowledge and wealth of experience. Already many of us will be planning the shows for 2007 and like at so many shows of the past year, all our paths will cross at some time or another in 2007. Thank you also to the show organisers who without the hard work and extremely long hours we would not see some of the spectacular shows presented. Special recognition to the individual kennel clubs for ever improving the quality of shows, for stamping out many of the bad practices that were creeping in and for ensuring variety is offered throughout the year. Last but not least, the breeders who continue to strive for perfection, who continually produce beautiful puppies and who spend many sleepless nights hand feeding because of their love and dedication to the breed. This is really the start of the chain and without these dedicated individuals dog showing would not be what it is today, so hats off to each and every one of you, raise a glass to the New Year and may you continue to offer quality and good breeding in the years to come.

We have had our own little corner of success this year with our boy Zsacharias and our girl Heidie who I am sure you have followed on our web site www.apollodane.com. Both have proved much beyond our expectations and we are delighted at their achievements. We have all covered some miles in search of success and our Danes now have their very own "frequent flyer cards" an initiative set up by our local kennel club and our regional airline carrier, something I personally feel we should all be perusing, as between us all we must cover some flying miles and let's face it, any saving on excess luggage with our dogs means we are able to visit more shows in support of other countries. Cyprus Airways to their credit and recognition give a 50% discount to members of the scheme, so for those of you out there and actively involved in your own kennel club, this is a benefit supporting two very worthwhile causes. The next thing would be to get the member cards accepted on ALL airlines, that really would be a great achievement. Anyway, back to the success of 2006 with Heidie and Zsacharias. For 2007 Zsacharias will cover Heidie and for those interested in this mating, more information can be found on our web page, copies of pedigrees and copies of the pedigrees of the potential offspring. Heidie will be given a break to concentrate her efforts on motherhood and our lovely girl Odette will take to the show circuit. Let us hope she sees similar success in 2007 to follow in the lines of Heidie.

From all here in Cyprus, especially at Apollodane Great Danes, we wish you all the very best in 2007, we wish you continued success in forthcoming shows and we wish you good fortunes in future matings throughout the year.

Things really are now becoming a bit of a haze !!!!! which dogs, which country. Our European adventure continues and our next stop on this whirl wind tour is Athens once again. We chose Athens because although we had been very fortunate to have Zac already made up to Greek Champion under their existing rules of 3 C.A.C under different judges, we had also managed to qualify Heidie on a previous visit to 1 C.A.C. It seemed such a pity not to at least try our hand at completing the title and although 2 C.A.C over one weekend would be a tall order, we took the attitude, if you don’t enter you don’t win.

Now regular faces at Larnaca Airport, the check in staff process the paperwork with ease, we pay our excess funds and we go upstairs to the outside café area and enjoy the late afternoon sunshine, watch the people as they arrive and just relax in readiness for our flight. Zac always on show for the passing photographer, he poses this way and that way like a true supermodel. Heidie on the other hand is more interested in the three cats that have found their way via the roof in to the café area. One smell of cats and Heidie goes in to overdrive. Sometimes I think rather than bait them in the ring with tit-bits of meat, maybe I should put a small kitten in my pocket, that really would do the trick, as well as cause chaos to my rivals. In no time we have been called, our dogs collected and taken to the aircraft and we sit back on board ready for our journey. It’s a busy flight, commuters going home for the weekend, Christmas shoppers going to pick up that something special and the odd scattering of romantics going away for what one can best describe as “an old fashioned lovers weekend” Us, well we were on our own, no other dog show entrants on that flight, although we did see a few spectators who were going along to see any new competition that may have hit the show circuit recently.

In no time we are ready for touchdown in Athens, the usual mad scramble to the passport control and then the unenviable wait for the luggage. With our past experience in Frankfurt (see Zagreb Show News) we have now become nervous that all airports are the same. I have to say, in the case of Athens Airport that could not be further from the truth. If all airports took a leaf out of the book of airport staff in Athens, traveling would be a much nicer experience. Porters on hand to assist you as soon as you enter the baggage re-claim hall, friendly staff wanting to help you and even the customs officials smile and greet you in a way that fills you with confidence. They along with all other airports we have visited need to just concentrate their efforts on the passport control staff, who considering this is your first point of contact with that particular country seem to have all come out of the same training school. I don’t think I have ever once met a passport control officer who has wished me a pleasant stay in their country. Dogs collected safe and sound, luggage all nicely stacked on the trolley with the Porter and straight through to our awaiting pet taxi Nick and his mother. It is so nice to just sit back and enjoy the journey, taking in the window shopping and observing the surrounding areas. About 30 minutes and we were at the London Hotel in the centre of Glyfada. Checked in we went up to see the room, only to discover that if we had toy poodles the room would have been great, but with 2 Great Danes unfortunately this was not my idea of a good nights sleep for either the dogs or for us. It had laminate wooden flooring which immediately flagged up problems. Eight heavy hoofed paws pattering up and down all night would be like torture whilst trying to get to sleep and the lack of space would make life impossible. We decided to try our luck with some other hotels before we settled in to the hotel London just in case we managed to find anything with a little more space. Sadly we came upon what seems to be an ever growing problem, that of the fact that hotels view people with dogs as a no go area. As a Travel Agency Proprietor I have to say this really gets on my nerves. You are either in the business of letting rooms or your not and turning away good business at a time of year when hotels are operating on 40% occupancy and less, my thoughts are this is business they can ill afford to turn away. As we know, the majority of people who travel with their show dogs are more respectful of the circumstances than the average traveler, they care for their surroundings and they are appreciative of noise which may occur from time to time.

In the London Hotel at the time of our stay we had the unfortunate situation to share the hotel with four water polo teams of school children who seemed to think it wholly appropriate and acceptable to run up and down the corridors past midnight screaming and shouting. When the tutors were eventually found the noise was then transferred to the rooms of the school children who gathered 12 in a room. The poor people who were showing dogs the next day of which there were quite a few had absolutely NO SLEEP, despite numerous complaints to the hotel and despite numerous protests to the children and their tutors. Why is it that Kennel Clubs in their recommendations for accommodation in general think that dog owners are worthy of nothing less than sub standard accommodation. I for one like my creature comforts, I am not a snob and I do not put myself on a pedestal, but when it comes to a good nights sleep, decent accommodation is paramount in my opinion. In Nicosia I stayed with Craig and my parents in what can only be described as a hotel frequented by ladies of the night. Rooms rented out by the hour, doors banging all night and the sound of satisfied customers of a sexual nature ringing through the walls. We all slept fully clothed and on top of our towels what little sleep we did get. Our hotel in Zagreb was very much the same until we absconded and found sanctuary in the four star Zagreb Astoria. Here we are again going through the same performance, lack of care when suggesting these hotels, people traveling many, many kilometers, sometimes spending days on the road, finally having to make do with accommodation normally they would not give a second glance at. I am beginning to get very angry at various levels. First towards the hoteliers who see us as little more than a problem. They are so short sighted they can not see beyond their noses. The hotel in Zagreb that eventually saw us as adding to their weekly target figures saw us spend money in their restaurant each evening on food, they saw us have room service when we were peckish and they saw us enjoy a bottle of champagne to celebrate our Champion wins. So you see, quite a bit of business being turned away, not only from us, but from all those other people who travel with their dogs. What I would like to do is start a data base of accommodation around the world at various levels, places where we the dog owners know that rooms offered are big enough for the dogs we are transporting. To add to that I would like to add to it names and contact numbers of any facilitators, or facilities where transport can be arranged without the need to stress over driving in strange cities to venues not known. We surely as dog owners must have come across hotels and taxi firms who actually pleasure in our business and we must have all stayed in hotels that we are happy to share with our doggie partners around the world. So if you can start me off with any of your recommendations, for hotels, hire transport companies, taxi companies, facilitators, that is people locally who are happy to arrange all these things for you or anything else you feel may assist in future travellers at future shows, send an e-mail to info@apollodane.com and let us see what we can collate between us. We had no option to stay at the Hotel London and the Saturday, tired through lack of sleep we set off on our journey to the Glyfada Old Airport Arrivals Hall. It was a strange feeling driving up to it as you imagined it as it was supposed to be and not as an International Exhibition Centre. Inside was as you can imagine HUGE, set out in rings and with lots of space to set up your crates and prepare your dogs.

We got set up right next to our ring which on the first day was ring number 8. It was a great position and had lots of space for practising with the dogs and for me changing in to my show suites without the need to be running as we often do, backwards and forwards to the toilet. Horrible places some of those toilets to get changed in, but get changed we must if the judge is to take us seriously and how I have seen particularly in local Cypriot shows how dress sense has improved in the ring. It might be said that my suites are a little on the loud side, but to be honest, that’s my personality and I have now become a little superstitious were they are concerned so continue with them I will. Zac was first in his class, Champion Class and showing like a dream. He was a bit lazy when he first went in, but he soon knows its time to perform and quickly steps it up. He wins his class and is chosen Best Dog, now it’s the turn of Heidie. Heidie is getting a little hormonal and I worried this would stop her from doing her bit. She is more concerned about the possibilities of coming in to season than showing in the ring and just wants to be loved, not good when you are trying to convince the judge she is a prize winning bitch. She pulled it off, showed very well and we came away with winning Open Class, taking Best Bitch and getting one more C.A.C & C.A.C.I.B towards her Greek Champion title. B.O.B was taken by Zsacharias, a real professional we are now beginning to see. That all important wait for groups took us through to around 4pm and with a stroke of luck, they actually started the afternoon session with the groups first. Group 1 in, shown and decided, group 2 standing nervously on the side awaiting introduction. Once again we are at the front, once again we show to perfection and once again we are pipped to the post for a local dog the miniature schnauzer. A lovely dog, but we are large breed lovers so struggle to see the same qualities in them as we do in our own. The same schnauzer went on to take Best In Show, so to lose out the Best In Show winner was quite acceptable. Saturday night was yet another night without sleep due to screaming children. Some dear friends who were staying in the same hotel, non drinkers I have to add came to breakfast quite hung over.

“What ever is the matter” we asked. “Oh we couldn’t get to sleep so we decided to drink some red wine to knock us out after we complained and it never got any quieter”

Now any kennel club responsible for recommending accommodation not befitting it’s clients should take heed. They are driving perfectly respectable non drinkers to the bottle. So please, please, please, do not think you are doing your members any favours by just offering the first thing that comes to hand. Plead with the hotels, tell them we are respectable citizens and that we respect other peoples possessions and if they need to charge a deposit in case of damage I am sure many would be happy to leave it on the understanding that it is refunded upon departure if everything is left as it was found.

Sunday saw us move to ring 3 a day when we really needed to take Heidie and show her to her best. A lovely Steward made sure we had a call in time to prepare and the Argentinian / English judge the nicest person you could wish to meet. He took time not only to go over your dogs, but to set you aside and cover points which in his opinion were of value to you and your future shows. Interesting points he made as he was deciding Best Of Breed once again between Heidie & Zac. He looked closely and kept going back to go over Heidie. We moved round the ring, we went up and down and then round once more and the winner Best Of Breed was Zsacharias, but only just he tells me as there were many qualities he said he preferred in Heidie over Zac. Personal choice of course at the end of the day, but always nice to hear different judges opinions and always good to take them on board. We have had one judge give a critique stating Heidie didn’t have a full set of teeth and then we got one the following week to say Heidie had a good full set of teeth. So as personal opinion count quite highly in the marking, some may say that it is not always a true reflection of what they are seeing, but at the end of the day it is the judges decision that is final and we respect that no matter what. So Heidie had lost Best Of Breed to Zac, but what she didn’t lose was her entitlement to be awarded Greek Champion title. With an excellent critique and her C.A.C & C.A.C.I.B. Zac went on to groups, a line up of 41 we were told as I couldn’t see the end of the line up as it was so far away. Short listed to 12 and then down to 6 and we were still there. 3rd , 2nd & 1st place announced and we were still left standing, but hey, we had done well to get where we had and after all, we did get Heidie to Greek Champion, Zac was already Greek Champion and we got 2 more Best Of Breed, so who was complaining, not us. So Heidie now showing signs of spotting, her rear end quite swollen, we took her sign to inform us that her season was imminent and completely out of timing. Mind you Heidie has always been one of those daughters from hell who would be 2 months late, have you rushing to the chemist for testing kits, only to discover she was in fact just IRREGULAR. Her last season produced a phantom pregnancy so we feel it appropriate to listen to her body and draw to a close our European adventure for the time being. We were due in Helsinki next week and St Petersburg the week after and really looking forward to going and competing with Danes we had not competed against. The body clock the way it is we decided to take the opportunity to cover Heidie with Zsacharias and give them both a rest until in to the New Year when we will bring Zac out again accompanied by his new showgirl Hildydane Odette. By then Heidie will be settled with her little brood, fingers crossed and she can enjoy a well earned rest. So in 4 countries over 6 weeks we have collected an impressive number of titles we are very proud of for both our current showing Danes. For Heidie we have taken:

• International Champion
• Bulgarian Grand Champion
• Bulgarian Champion
• Balkan Champion
• Croatian Champion
• Greek Champion
• Aphrodite Winner
• Zagreb Winner
• Crufts Qualifier

To add to her already achieved:

• Cyprus Champion
• Reserve Best In Show
• Best Great Dane Cyprus

For Zac we are proud to announce in 4 countries over 6 weeks we collected for him:

• Bulgarian Grand Champion
• Cyprus Champion
• Bulgarian Champion
• Balkan Champion
• Croatian Champion
• Greek Champion
• Aphrodite Winner
• Zagreb Winner
• 10 Best Of Breed
• 2 Group Wins
• 1 Best In Show
• To add to his already achieved
• Australian Champion
• 4 Australian Best In Show

All this would not have been possible without the careful selection of the judges who we would like to thank for having the faith in our Danes to take the titles achieved. They do a very hard job, sometimes extremely chaotic and very disorganised, but they come through at the end of the day and for that we are truly grateful. We have visited some lovely countries and our thanks to the kennel clubs of those countries for hosting such events and making it all possible. We have travelled with some fantastic airlines and to those mentioned on previous show news we would like to thank you for your continued efforts in assisting us, making our journey hassle free and for taking the stress out of flying. Thanks also to our dear friend Susan Charalambous who I have to say with her colleague Gerdi have taken on a new dimension in the Travel Agency here in Paphos. They are now fully trained and highly qualified in the transporting of dogs throughout the world, mind you they should be the hassle we have put them through. Thanks to all those people we have met on route, who have shared our success and us theirs, to the companions we have sat with ring side and for those offering us assistance with shows past, present and future. For the time being we will take a break, we will share the joys of motherhood with Heidie if she and Zac manage to get it together and we shall resume our showing in the New Year.

In the meantime, a quick reminder to those of you who can and will assist me in compiling a database of accommodation at various levels around the world, please send me your information and experiences so I can start to put a list together on my site. Any additional information regarding dog friendly taxis, dog friendly car hire companies, dog crate hire companies, people who are just happy to lend a hand, then send it all via my e-mail at info@apollodane.com For the time being that is show news update completed until 2007, which after all is not that far away. Keep checking in to see how we get on with the romance between Heidie & Zsacharias and watch how Odette performs in her run up to becoming our next multi champion. She is already showing great movement in the ring, has taken a number of coveted titles in Australia before we brought her to Europe and we feel she will equal that of her companions Heidie & Zsacharias. Thank you for sharing our show news with us, we hope you continue to enjoy our diary notes and our pictures, come back again soon.

N.B I would like to make it known that the incident at the London Hotel was in no way connected to any recommendation made by the OKA (Athens Canine Society) All arrangements with them by way of information, prior to and during the show was of first class standard and can be fully supported and endorsed by us. The comedy of errors at the London Hotel was wholly the responsibility of the hotel and it's management team. 

For those faint at heart, or of a weak disposition, read no further. This entry carries a PG rating and may cause offence to those who are happy reading the less informative novel or something with a romantic twist.

We are now becoming seasoned travellers, hardened round the edges to those minor travel hiccups that occur as a matter of routine when globe trotting around Europe.

Our day starts in earnest, a great journey from Paphos to Larnaca and the smoothest of check in’s you could wish for with 2 full size Vari Kennels, 2 full on Great Danes and clothing enough to film the next sequel to “Return Of The Ice-age” I am not kidding you, Craig really must suffer with Obsessive Behaviour Disorder as every time he packs the case, you really would think he was leaving home for good. We have spare this, spare that and spare the other, just in case. Just in case what is beyond me, as all I need are my 2 signature suits, one red one yellow, my show leads and a pair of shoes I can run in without fear of them coming off in the ring as they once did during a lap of honour for a Reserve Best In Show, oh there I go, title dropping again. Well you better get used to it as there are quite a few titles to drop over the next few paragraphs, some of which I hope like us you will raise a glass to our trusted and most loyal companions, “THE GREAT DANE” “cheers” and enjoy their success as we have done.

So now fully checked in and I have to say, Cyprus Airways have now really got our travel arrangements down to a fine art. They are kind, caring and very compassionate when it comes to check in. They take our request, they process the paperwork with the minimum of fuss and they happily apply their 50% discount on the dogs very own frequent flyer card. Yes we have our very own “DOGGIE FREQUENT FLYER CARDS” a great little initiative set up by our local Kennel Club Of Cyprus and our local airline carrier, Cyprus Airways.

All boarded and bound for our first stop over in Frankfurt, we settle back and get ourselves focussed on the time ahead. I have never been a big on board reader, going more for people watching or just staring out of the window wondering even after 40 years of flying and 25 years running my own travel agency chain, just how do they keep those aircraft in the sky. Before long our four hour flight is on descend, our seatbelts are safely fastened and the mobile phones left on in peoples pockets start to ring the tune similar to that of the local bell ringers practise night down at the local school hall.

The arrivals lounge at Frankfurt airport is one of the largest I have seen in many years. It is a very impersonal sort of place and you can almost cut through the tension and vibes the staff give off. Craig & I quickly get in to our routine, him for the luggage, me to sort out where the dogs will come in from, to reduce hassle and stress for the dogs. I approach a gentleman in uniform, asking in a very polite manner where I would be likely to collect 2 very large dogs from. He pointed me in a direction on the other side of the arrivals hall without speaking a word and only half lifting his eyes from the local newspaper he was engrossed in.

“Hello” I said to the gentleman I had been directed to,

“Do you speak English”

“I have just arrived on the Cyprus Airways flight from Larnaca and wondered if you would be so kind as to assist me, telling me where I can collect 2 very large dogs that accompanied us on the same flight”

Again pointing now in the very opposite direction, I realised things here in Frankfurt were going to prove a little difficult. Patience is a virtue I told myself, stay calm and all will come good. Off I went, back to the other side of the arrivals hall, once again to approach the gentleman in uniform I had first asked the question to on first arriving. I am now beginning to feel a real sense of inappropriate behaviour, rudeness and a lack of care for pets and live stock. I asked if it was possible to speak with a supervisor of the arrivals hall as my thoughts as a passenger where that I was not getting the assistance I required, I therefore needed the intervention of a little more authority, somebody with a little bit of care and compassion. Actually, care and compassion are two things we found totally lacking at Frankfurt Airport, but undeterred we pursued our investigations with a different approach, this time interjecting with a few demands rather than polite request as we had already unsuccessfully tried. Nobody seemed in a position to either want to help or be in a position to help and with 2 dogs anywhere in Frankfurt Airport at this time, my patience was running out. The uniformed figures disappeared and we were left wondering what our next move was. A strange country, a strange airport, 2 dogs missing and not a sign of help anywhere to be found. Suddenly, on a conveyor belt the speed of lightening, our 2 dogs arrived, both about to crash in to each other if action was not taken immediately to stop the belt. When the request was made we were greeted with,

“we can’t make the belt stop”

Not quite the favoured response, especially as there was a red stop button the size of a soup bowl right next to where the guy was standing. Craig did just manage to catch the button with his foot as all hands were full trying to stop the cages banging in to each other, the belt came to a halt and 2 very, very stressed Great Danes emerged. After a short time of composure, we collected our things, balanced them precariously on the odd shaped trolleys and passed our way to the customs hall.

Now!!!!!!!! You have to imagine the scene. We are 2 guys dressed very smart, we have 2 of the largest Vari Kennels balanced on top of very odd shaped trolleys, in other words, we were really struggling to make any headway in direction, one way or the other. On top of that we each have a Great Dane out of the cage and walking by our side, in addition to all our luggage, that of my O.B.D partner who has packed for the Siberian winter and another case full of dog grooming equipment to service the entire dog show. It was only then did we realise that the first confrontation we had encountered with the unhelpful official on “bulky item reclaims” was making his way to the customs official. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, whatever makes me think our encounters with these surly officials is far from over.

“Good Morning” I say in a jolly way,

“How are you this morning” Oh yes, I forgot, these are men in uniforms at Frankfurt Airport, they are not paid to be polite, respond in a kind way or indeed show that they have a side to them that is less robotic than an Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator film extra.

“I want to see in that case” he says pointing at the case, not on the top of my luggage mountain, but the one at the very bottom. You’re having a laugh I thought to myself, but not wanting to disappoint, I asked for assistance to remove it from the pile.

“That’s not my job” he said in a raised voice.

“No, I fully appreciate that it is not your job, all I am requesting is a little assistance so I can fulfil your request. As you can see I have 2 very large dogs, I am trying to manoeuvre a very odd shape luggage trolley and you wish to see, not the case on top of my pile, but the one at the very bottom, so without wishing to appear rude or disrespectful, I would say that you are trying to be obstructive in your demands”

“PUT THE CASE ON THE COUNTER” he now shouts,

“DO IT NOW OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED FOR OBSTRUCTION”

Oh I thought to myself, this man really does have an identity problem, or very small genitalia, both of which usually require a uniform and a position of power to counter balance the problem. I wasn’t about to question the size of his genitalia the mood he was in, so I thought it best to pamper to his identity problem. I turned to Craig and asked that I hold his dog whilst he picked up the Vari Kennel, removed the luggage from underneath and presented it to the now very irate and very audible customs official who by this time had gathered round him his working colleagues with equally sizeable identity problems or matching miniature genitalia. As Craig lifted the Vari Kennel, the water from inside the drink bowls spilt on the floor and as Craig went to put the requested suitcase on the counter, he slipped, lost his balance, fell in a direction of the customs officer and then all hell broke loose. Zac jumped in to the air thinking this was a game, we were surrounded by 8 uniform clad custom officials with CS Gas pointed towards us, semi automatic guns focussed on both Craig, myself and the dogs. Craig was then pushed head first into his luggage and secured in handcuffs and the area was cleared of all passengers. What then followed was the biggest nightmare I have ever encountered in my entire life. Craig was marched away by 4 of the 8 officials; he was taken in to a room and beaten until marked. He was then strip searched, he was tested for drugs, alchol and had all his clothing removed for this process. Needless to say, their tests proved unfounded which seemed to aggravate them even more. He was then intimidated by the ring leader of this gang of airport employed thugs to a point they thought they would reduce him in to some sort of aggressive response. Fortunately for Craig, he maintained a level of calm and allowed them to continue with their beating, knowing that in a closed room full of airport officials; his alibi against theirs would not stand a chance. It is terrible that we are made to feel like this, but this is the reality of dealing with men in uniforms in a strange country. I am at this point surrounded by the other 4 guys, still with guns towards me and still with gas canisters pointing in the direction of the dogs.

“PUT THOSE DOGS AWAY NOW” one of them screamed at me, “NOW DO YOU HEAR ME”

“Yes I did hear you the first time and my dogs are not aggressive, they are show dogs, show dogs that are now getting very stressed”

“I insist you bring a VET immediately and if you do not, I will report you to the authorities”

within minutes a VET arrived, she defused the immediate situation and went to get our dogs some water. I am at this point also taken to a side room where I was checked for drugs, not only on my person, but in my system. They took hair samples, mouth swabs and wrist swabs, they breathalysed me and they went through every item of my luggage piece by piece. They knew by looking at our tickets we were transit passengers with three hours to connect to our onward flight to Zagreb. I knew their game and I knew what was going to happen and that was, unfortunately they had made such a spectacle of themselves, they had now to justify their actions.

“WHICH CASE BELONGS TO YOUR FRIEND” they demanded.

“He does not have a case, we are sharing a case. We are going to a dog show in Zagreb, we have a connection in 3 hours and all our things are together”

“We will take you to your connection, you can get your flight and your friend will stay here until we have finished with him”

That’s very strange I thought, “On what basis are you keeping my friend”

“ASSAULT” they replied.

“OK” I said, “Let me explain to you. My friend and I have travelled together, I was there at the time of the incident and there is no way that it can be classed as an assault, so unless you have incredible witnesses, backed up by supporting camera evidence, I really think you are making a very big mistake. We both leave together, or we both stay and if we stay, you then have the problem you have created with our dogs that will then have exceeded the time allocated for them to be in the air travelling. This is now clearly about pride and about money, so let us now talk to the airport Police, the official Police on the airport, we are all very tired and this whole situation is getting quite out of hand. If we do not get to speak to the official airport Police then for sure we will be pressing our own charges. Within minutes the airport Police were brought in, statements were made various options were offered and to be honest, at this point, with 2 dogs in tow, a show to attend and a no win situation (uniforms tend to stick together) I asked how much they wanted for us to be in a position to leave. A figure of £500 was quoted, we were escorted to the cash machine, they took our money and we had literally minutes to get our onward tickets to Zagreb and continue our journey.

We sat on the 1hr 30minute flight from Frankfurt to Zagreb, exhausted and angry that we had allowed the situation to pass without pressing for further action. The reality of the situation is, when you are in this situation and you know people have a point to make; you are never ever going to win, so the easiest option is to agree and walk away. So many people are behind bars and in prison cells for crimes they did not commit and it is easy to see why. Here we were two guys, travelling smart, being polite, drug & alchol free. Our only crime was that we probably portrayed a lifestyle that many in their position dream of and envy. Jealousy and resentment set in, they try to intimidate you by fear and when you do not submit, they create a situation they know will cause problems, i.e making you miss your flight.

I am convinced from a feeling at the very bottom of my psyche, the reason they were insistent on knowing which case belonged to Craig was so they could plant something in there wholly inappropriate and illegal. They just made too much of a big thing about which was his case and wanting to know where his things were. We will never know and we will never get to the bottom of the mystery, but from our point of view FRANKFURT AIRPORT BEWARE stay away at all cost, do not give your business to Lufthansa the local carrier and handling agents as we found them to be totally incompetent in their care for dogs, they had a general disregard for passenger welfare and their arrogance, intimidation and obstructive behaviour is not something fare paying passengers wish to encounter. That is opinion based on our experience and it is for you to take note and make up your own choice, all we can do is guide you as we have experienced.
We will NEVER travel Lufthansa based on this experience, we would NEVER travel through FRANKFURT based on this experience and when it comes to travelling to shows with our dogs, we have learned direct services are the only option we would consider for the welfare of our dogs.

Arrival in Zagreb was a huge relief; the airport staff were in complete contrast, helpful, polite and genuinely interested in why we were visiting their country. We had arranged transport through a local guy Kruno Canic http://www.eco.hr/ I have to say, in my search, this guy was the only one who came to my assistance, except that is for a friend Anti Lucin who we had met previously at a show in Athens and in his limited time frame managed to come up with some suitable alternatives, thanks to Anti for that. Anyway our guy Kruno, who you would best describe as a facilitator, not only found us the perfect vehicle, but instead of having to negotiate our way around Zagreb over the whole 4 days, he provided a driver who collected us at specified times, drove us to our destination and collected us when we were finished. We could not have been more delighted with his service, he was on time, and he had a local knowledge second to none. For those of you reading my site, ever deciding to visit Croatia or any region within a 500kl radius, give this guy a call. He will organise hotels that are dog friendly, he will transport you and your dogs or he will get you transport, he will point you in the best direction for making your trip enjoyable and hassle free and he is always on the end of a phone which he can even supply for your duration, to save on those overseas charges when you need only to make internal calls. He even visited us at the show, brought his family along for support and took some of the nicer photographs whilst I was in the ring with Heidie & Zac. Special thanks to Kruno, Renea, Dominic for their support and assistance.
We drove to the hotel, it was dark, it was late and we were all very tired. On entering the hotel, the strong smell of painters varnish engulfed the reception area; two painters were busy trying to make use of the time when there were no customers about and there were cloths and ladders everywhere. We checked in and were directed to our room. A small 60’s style room that had seen better days and not really in keeping with a standard of accommodation either Craig or I had been used to. The most important thing was, we could at least feed our dogs, take them for a much deserved walk and just collapse in to the bed which filled four corners of the room. We were so tired and so hungry, we had actually passed the point of resistance, we fell in to bed and not a murmur did anybody hear from us until early the next morning.

It was a lovely crisp, sunny autumn day, the dogs had been fed, watered and walked and we had satisfied our hunger by taking a full cooked breakfast. We then decided to explore the surrounding area in the hope of getting a feel for Croatia. A few kilometres in to our walk we passed a beautiful hotel, new in design and adjoining a selection of very upmarket shops. The hotel was called Hotel Antonovic Zagreb. Craig went in to check availability and to see if they had any policy on the acceptance of dogs and we were shown promptly to a selection of rooms by one of three very polite, able and conscientious reception staff members. We decided to go for the larger room, although more expensive than originally quoted, it was more than adequate for our needs. There was a lovely health spa, business facilities a lovely restaurant and it was very central to the main town. The gentleman on reception even provided us with a vehicle large enough to transport our dogs from the hotel we would check out of, back to this new and impressive hotel. Within 45 minutes, we had returned to our original hotel, packed our belongings, paid our bill and checked out. We were transported courtesy of the new hotel back to the Hotel Antonovic Zagreb, we unloaded the luggage, moved in the Vari Kennels and then collected the dogs, taking them in and up via the public areas as quickly as possible so as not to cause disturbance. Just as we were about to enter the room the guy from reception came up to the third floor and informed us, the manager of the hotel a Mr Goran Kartelo had seen the dogs and told his staff to advise us the hotel did not have a policy for dogs, this was despite being clearly told by three staff members a price per night in addition to our own cost and actually accepting the booking, even after seeing the dogs. I could not believe what I was hearing. Here we are, having being moved out of our previous hotel by the Hotel Antonovic Zagreb on the understanding that our booking was to be accepted, now we were being told that that confirmation was not now valid and that we would have to leave. I am now starting to wonder, was it the size of our dogs that people took a dislike to, or had we suddenly turned in to some sort of football hooligan look a likes. After a long and very in depth debate with the manager there was no way he was going to change his mind and back down. He had completely undermined the decisions taken by three of his staff in front of them, he had realised his position was now in question as the directive and pet price had obviously come from somewhere in his establishment and as a compromise offered me the use of the transporter van which would be left out on the street for my dogs to sleep in whilst we enjoyed the facilities of the hotel. My reaction to that was of pure horror and disgust. I would have slept in the van myself first before subjecting my dogs to a night on the streets in the back of a van where crime is not the lowest in Europe. How dare this obnoxious and very rude man even suggest such a thing. I asked if he had children to which he puffed up his chest and proudly answered,

“yes, I have children”

“then may I ask, would you be happy letting them spend the evening in your van, out on the streets for just an hour, let alone a full night”

“ no” he says “and I do not know how you can compare my children with your dogs”

well that’s actually very easy when they have a parent with such little knowledge of animal welfare and customer care to look up to as a role model. The three reception staff were at this point in total embarrassment, more for the reaction of their immediate superior, the gentleman they were supposed to rely upon for direction and support and here he was making a complete fool of himself for all to see. The head receptionist kindly called another hotel who were happy to accept our booking and who looked beyond the dogs we had managing to see it as a financial gain along with any free advertising this booking would create by word of mouth bookings through our UK based travel agency business. We moved quickly on to the Best Western Premier Astoria Hotel in the town centre. A beautiful hotel and a General Manager any company should be proud to employ. She was accommodating to our needs, sympathetic to our experiences at the Hotel Antonovic Zagreb and was very quick to correct any of the wrongs this rude and very unprofessional man had tarnished his country and his profession with. Our stay there was most memorable, the kind staff were quick to ask how our day at the show had gone and there were numerous photo calls with staff members and our Danes. I have to say, realising his unprofessional manner may do him more harm than good, that same evening he appeared at the Astoria Hotel in an effort to redeem himself and extend an apology for his unacceptable behaviour. It’s nice to see that at least some people know when they are wrong and they have the backbone to go out of their way to try and put it right. Our thoughts on this are such that, in Croatia, make sure you get it in writing as what is said is not always what is done, this was the advice given by our facilitator Kruno. Or as we later discovered, let the likes of the facilitator do it all for you to save confusion or misunderstanding.

Saturday was an early start and we needed to be at the show arena and checked in by 0800hrs. A great venue and my first impression was how very organised and how very professional it all looked. Three very large show arenas, indoors and set out in such a way to allow access all the way round the edge which was home to pet shop units and show memorabilia. It actually reminded me of a mini Crufts and I was surprised to see just how many dogs were filing in through the gates. Outside there were motor homes in abundance, all sizes from the over night size to the week long stay deluxe look at me I have loads of money type. We found our spot away from the ring as this had been over crowded by Doberman and Rottweiler owners, not a good mix with a Great Dane when fighting to get in to the ring. Our cages set up, our dogs settled; we sat back and watched with anticipation. Classes were large, standard was high and a sneak peak at the other Great Danes left us a little nervous. There were 32 Great Danes entered in the book and it looked like our biggest competition certainly on paper was the Polish World Dog Show 2006 B.O.B World Champion. The Great Danes eventually came to their slot shown in colour groups and then set up against each other, Best Of The Best.

Zac was first to be shown and as predicted he sailed through his various classes. Proud as punch we then entered the ring with Heidie. Heidie has always liked to be shown, but these last few occasions she has been more content cuddling up to Zac and wondering when it is they two will be getting it together and having a family rather than performing in the ring. She presented well, her move around the ring excellent, her stack was first class, then he asked to see her teeth.

“TEETH HEIDIE” I say sternly so she knows what is expected of her. That was it, memories of the judge in Bulgaria must have come flooding back to her.

“No way” she must have said to herself, you poked a pen in my mouth last time and it hurt, there is no way you will do that to me again.

“GOOD GIRL HEIDIE, TEETH”

“no, I have told you, I am not going to show you my teeth, so there”.

“COME ON HEIDIE, TEETH, GOOD GIRL”

“good girl me all you want, there is no way I am showing you my teeth, so lets get this thing over with and let me get back to my cage, its far to busy, its far to noisy and I have other things on my mind like when I am going to come in to season”.

“OK” the judge says, “round the ring once, forget the teeth.”

Off we go, round the ring and in to a perfect stack. The judge comes over, shook my hand and we get Best Bitch Open Class, but she missed out on being given an excellent critique and the possibility of Croatian Champion. Well young lady, that’s what you get when you start to play games, the judges are not impressed and you really get what you deserve. So we are now left with B.O.B to decide and yes it was our Zac and as I thought, the Harlequin World Champion who with her numerous other Champion titles was a force to be reckoned with, especially as she was being handled by a very competent and very experienced professional handler from Croatia, points in his favour immediately I thought. We both stood with perfect ease, the bitch being show on an extended lead, Zac as normal solid as a rock. Once, twice, three times round the ring, like a gazelle he moved.

“Stack”, “move”, “up”, “down”, “stack”, “round the ring again”, the judge demands. This was exhausting, not only for the dogs, but for us handlers. The judge moves in, he takes a final look and then shakes the hand of the winning Great Dane Best Of Breed handler and do you know what, I am very proud to say, that handler was none other than “yours truly Paul Bainbridge from our very own Apollodane Great Danes” YES we had done it, we had taken the title B.O.B and we had taken it from under the very nose of the Polish World Show World Champion. We were delighted to win and we were over the moon to have accomplished it with such stiff competition. I went over and shook hands with the other handler and I went over to shake hands with the owner, but more importantly it was our Zac who deserved all the glory as he really did out perform and show what it is he is really made of.

Now we have the long wait to the Group, always an opportunity to catch up with friends and send text messages back home to inform of our success. There we sit, minding our own business and thinking to ourselves how very quiet it was considering there were Groups to do and a Best In Show. We strolled over to the Secretary and asked where the Groups were being held and at what time, to which we were told, they had started about 1 hour ago in another hall adjacent to the one we were sitting in patiently. A mad dash followed by a selection of grooming aides, we ran as fast as our legs would carry us in to the hall. It was massive and absolutely packed to the rafters with people and dogs. Finding a steward we asked in a panic,

“Could you please tell us when Group 2 is on”

“Immediately after this she said, this is Group 1”

wow, we had just made it, one of the problems we have found showing in a strange country were the local language is not your own mother tongue. Group 1 went in and Group 2 was at the ready, the Great Dane Hildydane Zsacharias at the very front. I learned my lesson long ago, our Zac likes to show how he can move, so I need to get in first to show him to his best potential. A woman with a Dogge Argentino came to the front and said,

“may I go in first as my dog is a little vicious and does not like dogs in front of him”.

“No absolutely not” I replied,

“my dog is also vicious and needs to be in front”.

My dog was bigger than hers so she was not about to argue. The fact that Zac stood there with not an aggressive bone in his body made me feel a bit of a fraud, but in these shows, “you gotta do what you gotta do” in order to showcase your dog to its best potential. I stood there waiting for group 1 to be decided and just happened to ask the steward

“who was judging group 2″.

“It’s the German judge” she said, “the one that was judging your class”.

Oh my goodness, how fortunate is that. This is the guy that placed me over the World Show Harlequin World Champion. I asked,

“how many were in my group” to which I was told

“41 in the group and your now on, please run round the ring and the steward in the ring will tell you were to go”.

The applause is always gratefully received, especially in a foreign country were competition is stiff. I ran until my little legs would run no more, Zac showed himself a treat and as I passed the row of judges I heard a lady judge say in a loud voice

“ I love the colour of your suit”

We stopped at the full circuit, got ourselves in position and made sure that we angled ourselves sufficiently enough to be seen from all corners of the auditorium. Each dog came in, each dog presented in a similar manner, our Zac, well he just stood his ground listening for the occasional goat bell which Craig wears round his neck just incase Zac decides to drop his ears and take the relaxed approach. One tug on the bell, the ears go up, his eyes alert and his stance like a tiger about to jump on his prey.

“STAND ZAC, GOOD BOY, STAND” “ZAC, SHOW”

He responds to every word, every sound he familiarises with us is there to give him reassurances we are still in sight and his body is firm and taught, muscled from the summer of exercise, swimming and running. This is pay off time, the proud moment seeing him standing there knowing he knows what he is supposed to do. Once again we are asked to run around the ring and once again like the Lipizzaner horse he resembles, he trots around showing himself with the utmost pride and then we go in to show mode again. The group of 41 I can see being reduced. I don’t know what exactly it is he is throwing out as my nerves will not allow me to absorb such detailed information, just movement. Now we are down to 7 left in the ring, the lights burn down like a forest fire creeping towards you, I feel beads of perspiration trickle down my face,

“come on “ I say to myself, “I am going to dissolve any moment”, and then the announcement comes,

“third place “THE GREAT DANE” how happy were we to hear we had done so well. We jumped in to the air, we gave an almighty thump into those burning lights with joy and we ran to take our place on the winners box. As we both stood for photographs, I did as I always do, turned to the camera and as I smiled, under my breath I said “ thanks to our mentor for having faith in us”

Our time for today was over. Craig had done his bit in making sure all the dogs are fed, exercised and cared for before we arrive. He makes sure the dogs are ready for their classes on time and he makes sure that whilst we are in the ring showing, we are doing so to the highest levels. If we are not, a quick glance in his direction soon puts me right. We are a team effort you see and although the ring work is my domain, none of it is possible without his hard work and efforts. He says he is happy with the saliva towels and the groom shine and he is so proud when we are both having our photos taken.

So home we go, packed up and ready for another day tomorrow, only this time, more dogs, more Danes and a different set of judges to impress.

Sunday we headed back to our spot from yesterday. You get very superstitious and convince yourself it was the place you were sitting or the cloth you took in to the ring that helped you get first place the day before, so trying not to break tradition, you do things in much the same way once again. Today we were showing much earlier and the number of people seemed to have doubled from yesterday. Ring side was very busy, to busy in fact, the entrance often being blocked to get in to the ring for your class. Add to that the fact we could not understand the language, often meant we stood bemused at what was going on. It’s a little like understanding sign language if you are deaf or hearing impaired, you take on different qualities of the events going on around you. We have now mastered this and feel very relieved when our class is called in the sequence we have worked out. Heidie showed much better today, a judge clearly observant in animal behaviour, taking his time and getting the dog to pamper to his needs. Heidie showed her teeth as though she had just walked out of the dentist from a clean and polish, but today we have one very noticeable difference in her showing, that of her handler. Today Craig decided to come from behind the scenes and try his hand in the ring, It’s not entirely new to him having shown a little in Sydney when we were going through our induction with the master of all ring techniques Hildegard Schliefert. What you learn with her you will never forget, only because she would kick your backside the next time in the ring if you got it wrong ☺ Craig stood in the ring until instructed to move, he constantly showed Heidie even if he was not being requested to do so. His time in front of the judge was announced, he moved forward, he stacked beautifully, a little wide on the back legs, but a quick indication from me standing on the ringside soon put matters back in hand. He was asked to move the dog round the ring, he was asked to move her up and down and then finally he was asked to stack her and present her to the judge. The judge walked over to complete his critique, he took one final look and the winner once again of the Open Class was Hildydane Hildas Heidie, only this time Craig had achieved what I hadn’t and that was an excellent critique, a CAC & CACIB and the most coveted title of all Croatian Champion. Bravo to Craig, applause from all around the ring and applause to Heidie. As Craig soon found out, your moment of glory is short lived, he had to get out of the ring to make way for some serious competition (ME) I am not having him pinching my job, if I do who will be the saliva towel man ☺ Zac struts his stuff once again, sails through his class’s and once again is down for B.O.B. Unfortunately though, today was not Zacs day, B.O.B was not in his grasp and so we settled the weekend with both Heidie & Zac becoming Croatian Champions, both taking the additional title of Zagreb Winners, Zac had achieved B.O.B and both had taken away CAC & CACIB. The best reward of the weekend was that we had qualified Zac who started life on the other side of the world, first in Sydney then moving to Perth before his resting place here in Cyprus for CRUFTS 2007, so hopefully if his Rabies injection results are correctly timed we hope to see him there making a name for himself along with all the other quality Great Danes some of which we had the privilege of seeing last year.

So the titles now read over the past 6 weeks in 4 countries
BULGARIAN GRAND CHAMPIONS
CROATIAN CHAMPIONS
GREEK CHAMPIONs
CYPRUS CHAMPIONS
BULGARIAN CHAMPIONS
BALKAN CHAMPIONS
ZAGREB WINNERS
APHRODITE WINNERS
INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION
MULTI GROUP WINNERS
BEST IN SHOW WINNER
Add to that previous titles of
AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION
RESERVE BEST IN SHOW WINNER
BEST GREAT DANE CYPRUS

Our next show is on Saturday when we enter the double show in Athens. Zac is already qualified as Greek Champion so for him a B.O.B would be nice with CAC & CACIB. For Heidie she is just two CAC short for her Greek Champion, so full concentration on her this weekend and everything crossed.

We have really enjoyed the shows we have been to and we have seen many different levels of entrants with many styles of showing. What it has taught us is that our love of Great Danes is growing each day and what we are in the process of doing with support of the FCI and the Kennel Club Of Cyprus is set up the Great Dane Club of Cyprus with a view to improving the breeding programme and implementing strict codes of conduct which are to future benefit of the island.

We returned via Croatian Airlines again another very helpful airline, booking us, our luggage and our dogs all the way through from Zagreb to Larnaca without having to worry about collecting them in Frankfurt. Upon arrival once again in Frankfurt however, that same level of arrogance, that same level of obstruction and that same level of unhelpfulness was there to greet us. Once again the information Lufthansa ground handling supplied was less than reassuring, they once again lost track of our dogs, nobody could give me information as to their whereabouts and nobody really seemed to give a damn that I was travelling with 2 very large sized dogs, confirming my thoughts that FRANKFURT AIRPORT AND ITS STAFF has to be rated one of the most unhelpful airports anybody would have the misfortune to travel through in my opinion, so once again, for peace and convenience, stay away at all costs and use other airports and other carriers where ever possible if you really do care for your dogs as much as we do and do not want to go through the experiences we encountered.

Please continue to enjoy our site, please pass on our link to your friends to enjoy and we look forward to sharing our news of Athens sometime next week. Thank you for taking the time to read our show news, we will see you back here soon. X x

November in Sofia didn’t quite leave me with the memories I once held in my head of my time spent here 40 years ago, running through the sand on a hot summers day in the then very under developed coastal resorts of Golden Sands and Sunny Beach and the Hotel Siniger which I doubt would even still be standing, made way for ultra new modern hotels and paving the way for Bulgaria’s entry in to Europe in one months time. Arrival in Sofia airport was immediately cold and uninviting, officials with uniforms not wanting to do anything to help, only wanting to intimidate and patronise. Strange really I thought for a country on the brink of entering in to Europe and knowing what the Europeans demand in terms of service. I would imagine there are a lot of jobs occupied, not by those that are qualified to do so, but more for those that are in a position to influence somebody else getting on in life. Our dogs eventually arrived to lots of shrugs of the shoulders, grunts and groans in either Russian or Bulgarian and the odd pointing of the finger to go and stand in line and wait. A queue for this, a queue for that, then another queue for something else. Amazing how all these queues to get in to a country many would just want to pass through, rather than spend any time in and yet in the UK, people just seem to wander in at will, settle without problems and before long start claiming their rights. I have to say it for the Bulgarians, in terms of who they allow in the country, their strict regime of checks upon entry have to be applauded.

Outside was cold, dark and very busy. Sofia airport is not huge, yet there seemed to be quite a lot of activity in the immediate vicinity. Our hired mini bus driver was awaiting our arrival, standing by the exit door displaying our names, as though he would have missed us, passing by with two of the largest Vari Kennels and a Harlequin Great Dane strapped to each handle of the luggage trolley. It was more like a scene from the film “BEST IN SHOW” than a discreet arrival of two tourists from Cyprus. A short journey to our accommodation for the four days took us to the very lovely Apartment House www.apartmenthouseiztok.bg just on the outskirts of Sofia City Centre. We were shown to our room number 2, a lovely sized suite comprising of large double bedroom, living room, kitchen area, bathroom and a fantastic outside terrace area big enough to keep a herd of elephants, never mind 2 Great Danes. It was a great space, ideal for letting them lose some of their energy, yet being in a position to keep an eye on them. Quickly unpacking, feeding the dogs, taking them for a walk, we then settled for the adjoining Moderato restaurant & bar belonging to the same hotel chain. A spectacular place, we were told in the top ten restaurants of Bulgaria each year. Food was good, service was excellent and the fact that such quality was so close to our room was an added bonus. Our heads hit the pillow not long after 2300hrs and not a sound did we hear from either of the dogs until they woke the next morning fit and ready for the show.

It seemed easy with so much space available to us on the outside terrace to prepare the dogs before we left for the show, so after a good hearty cooked breakfast served in our suite, we boarded the mini bus we had rented for the day complete with driver. The Academic Stadium was a stones throw from the Hotel and before long we had set up with our crates, registered with the secretary for the days events, tried to find a sympathetic bi-lingual entrant that we could attach ourselves to so we didn’t miss our class and hey presto, we were away. First showing was Heidi who was in Open Class, followed by Zac in Champion Class. It was such a difference to any temperatures they had been used to showing in, both more adapt to hotter climates such as Australia and Cyprus. Temperatures were COLD with a Capital C. and the dogs didn’t know what had hit them. I have to say they both performed much better than I had expected in view of how cold it actually was.

A good turn out of dogs, many breeds we had not seen before which was interesting and both our dogs went on to win their class, Heidie going on to win Best Bitch, Zac going on to win Best Dog and then Zac taking Best Of Breed. Today was a C.A.C Show and both Heidie and Zac took Excellent Critiques and were awarded C.A.C each. It was as it always is, a long wait then until the group which had to be transferred indoors due you failing light. Not good I thought, as Zac had spent most of the evening in the hotel room flat on his back due to the highly polished laminate flooring he had never previously encountered. A quick practise run put my mind at rest and I just hoped his ability to perform was not hindered by the ice skating surface we were about to encounter. It is always difficult in these foreign countries to know what is going on, especially in the order of the programme, so you just sit and hope you get it right, follow what you think is happening and if all else fails, ask the steward to make announcements in English, which in this situation was impossible, as even the locals struggled to get announcements in Bulgarian, most being done in Russian. The group arrived and Zac showed to his usual excellent standard, he performed well on the shiny floor and it was me that tottered round with trepidation, wondering if I would fall at the next turning point. Stacked and in position we were then asked to move again around the ring, this time the numbers being reduced until four were left to re-stack and present to the judge. Forth place announced, Third place announced and then Runner Up in the Group the Great Dane “Zsacharias” First place in the group was the Rottweiler which eventually went on to win Best In Show. So our day ended with qualification for Bulgarian Champion for both Heidie & Zsacharias, Excellent Critique, C.A.C and the added bonus of qualifying Heidie for her International Champion Title.

Day 2 and the Kennel Club Of Bulgaria’s very own International Show saw a much earlier start, an even bigger turn out of people and the same set of results for us as the day before. Heidie & Zac both winning their class, Heidie winning Best Bitch, Zac winning Best Dog, Zac going on to win Best Of Breed and finally once again taking Runner Up In Group to the Bernese Mountain Dog which took Best In Group. Best In Show for the day was the Yorkshire Terrier. We always make the most of the shows, normally getting to know some really nice and very interesting people. A couple of names to mention on this trip are Sarka Jebava, “De Sarina Chihuaha Kennels” Czech republic, http://desarina.sweb.cz who I have to say I envied when I saw her bringing in all her exhibits in a travel crate big enough to put Zacs evening meal in to. She had previously had Great Danes but since moving in to an apartment in the centre of Prague had to choose a breed more suited to her living space. She was our bi-lingual interpreter for the second day, a great knowledge on the various show scenes in Europe and a lovely person to get to know. She even came to our rescue when we discovered that by taking the Bulgarian Champion on both days, we had also qualified for Baltic Champion and Bulgarian Grand Champion for both Heidie and Zac, even loaning 10 Euro to pay for our certificates as by this time we had completely run out of local currency and Euros spending 360 Euros over the weekend on certificates we hade qualified for. It appears standard practice in Bulgaria, not only to pay for entry in to a shows, but also to pay additionally for any certificates you may win on the day. I have to say, this is the first time we have done this and it will be interesting to see if this is a practice carried out elsewhere on our travels through Europe. I don’t object to it, I was just rather taken aback by the procedure.

Another name to mention is Inna, a lovely young lady resident to Bulgaria who took a particular liking to both Heidie & Zac and who has kindly supplied me with photographs from the show as you will see. She was showing a nice young male Dogo Argentino who looked lovely in the ring and until he had his testicles felt by the judge, appeared rather show worthy and a possible winner. I must say, it is never good to criticize the judge as you never know when you may cross their path in the future, but this particular judge had a style of judging quite extraordinary, concerning himself more with the number of teeth a dog had in its mouth than the overall confirmation of the dog with or without it’s testicles. Understandably the number of teeth are important, as are the presence of testicles, but if the dog is calm and in no way showing signs of aggression, then if the judge is so concerned about the number of teeth in the dogs mouth, he should at least show some indication that he is not afraid of finding out for himself. My experience was that despite my having held Heidies mouth wide open and then closing it to show her bite, he was still not convinced she had a full set of teeth. I might add, it was now plummeting in temperatures, the dogs were shivering with cold and having had her mouth pulled open for him to look in once, twice and a third time, Heidie was getting pretty fed up. He then started to prod in her mouth with his pen, rolling back her tongue one way and then the other again with his pen, to finally admit she was indeed with a full set of teeth. No wonder the Dogo Argentino turned round to bite him when he grasped his testicles !!!!! I think I would have done the same. Needless to say I expressed my disapproval at his handling of the dog in the ring, especially over an area quite incidental to the remaining part of his requirement to judge and score points. He still scored Heidie a perfect score, giving a C.A.C, Excellent Critique and a C.A.C.I.B making her an International Champion. You can imagine my horror when he turned up in the ring to judge Group two, so I felt quite pleased to take Runner Up in the Group considering I had given him such a hard time. So we finished the weekend with

Class wins for Heidie & Zac both days Best Dog for Zsacharias both days Best Bitch for Heidie both days Best Of Breed for Zsacharias both days Runner Up In Group for Zsacharias both days Bulgarian Champions both dogs both days Balkan Champions both dogs both days Bulgarian GRAND CHAMPIONS both dogs both days. International Champion Title for Heidie

A great weekend of showing, a great weekend of results and a special thank you to Julia and all the members of the Bulgarian Kennel Club for help and assistance before our arrival, on booking a lovely hotel and for arranging the transport, without which we really would have struggled. To all the judges for their assistance in making worthy title holders of our lovely Great Danes and for seeing in them what we saw before putting them in the ring. Special thanks to the Apartment House Iztok Hotel, Sofia, in particular Rossi who looked after us, made sure our driver was on time and that our breakfast was delivered early each morning, a great place to stay and with a genuine love for dogs. Now we are packing for Zagreb, the winter woollies are ready to go and hopefully another successful trip to come, watch this space for more news and show information on our trips to Croatia, Greece, Finland, Russia & Slovenije over the next few weeks. Congratulations to all our friends who showed with excellent results at the World Show in Poland, to those who can make it, it would be nice to see you all at the Mediteranean Winners Show here in Cyprus in October 2007.

Our journey once again commences in Larnaca after a day of preparation, grooming and packing cases. This time we were doing it alone, no Cypriot friends to hold our hand, just Craig, myself and this time 2 Great Danes, our lovely boy Zsacharias and our beautiful girl Heidie. Zac is becoming a bit of an old hat at this traveling game, Heidie however, this was her first time since moving from Australia and you know how women are when they travel !!!! Everything but the kitchen sink springs to mind. There were lotions and potions, cushions, blankets and covers to keep warm along with a whole selection of matching leads, worse that any matching shoes and handbag sets by Jimmy Choo. Anyway, at the airport we arrived, checked in like clockwork, sat for a break and left the dogs in their crates to avoid the full glare of intrigued traveling public wanting to touch, stroke and take photographs, and that was only of Craig & I. Dogs duly boarded and off we were on our way to Athens once again. The now very familiar face of Nicos and his Whacky Races mother who breaks out in to a sweat every time she enters a motorway junction or has to do a u turn on a dual carriageway, both manoeuvres which are forbidden under most motoring directives, were there to meet us. A thirty minute transfer to our Euro Home Apart-hotel, set in the lovely surroundings of Marathon, with views over the bay in one direction and mountains in the other. It was a good sized apartment, room for a whole family. As we were a whole family, it was ideal for our purpose. Our first night was spent familiarising ourselves with the area, getting the dogs settled and having an early night. Temperatures had really dropped, especially from those we had left behind in Cyprus and the next day saw a swift purchase of extra clothing to keep out those chilly winds that had suddenly appeared.

Saturday was a national show held just for the locals. Interesting as it was to see their approach to dog showing, it always amazes me how advanced dog showing has become in some of the countries we have been blessed to take part in, especially the likes of United Kingdom and Australia. We stayed a few hours and then the cold got the better of us, so a swift departure to defrost with a nice hot meal and drink was our next priority. I am sorry we didn’t stay for the finals, as Best In Show went to a couple of young ladies we had met on our previous trip to Athens and who coincidently shared a room next door, not only then, but also on this occasion. They had brought with them four beautiful Pugs and all credit due to them for taking Best In Show, a well deserved result.

Sunday saw the start of the Athens marathon, an event that started at 0830, from Marathon to Athens. As you can imagine, this caused chaos on the roads in to the show ground and a bit of extra planning would have ensured the show started on time, instead of the almost 2hours later than scheduled. Being local to the show ground and having found out about the possible delays, we made provisions to get there on time. In fact so on time were we, we ended up being the first people to arrive. We set up in a nice quiet area we had observed the day before, hidden from the winds and hidden from other contestants. I must say, that didn’t last long as others had the same idea and before long we were surrounded by some of the noisiest Doberman’s and their owners I have ever had the misfortune to share a space with. Not being good with invasion of my private space, I soon began to stress. The dogs however were curled up asleep with not a care in the world as they most often do in shows. Fortunately the calibre of Doberman’s was such that they didn’t hang around for long, most were eliminated very quickly and our noisy neighbours soon left to go home.

Our classes were quite early and we sailed through them comfortably, winning Heidies class and then taking Best Bitch with her. The same happened with Zac, winning his class and then taking Best Dog. So a stand off occurred between our very own Zsacharias and our lovely Heidie. Best of Breed went to Zsacharias, the judge (Luis Pinto Teixeiro from Portugal) preferring his heavier set head to Heidies more delicate pixie type American head. A good choice we thought and we were happy with the result. Not only had Zac gone through to the Group, but Luis Pinto had just created a GREEK CHAMPION with our Zac. The critiques for both dogs were excellent and in conclusion, the judge came over and complimented us on such a beautiful dog. He said that it was nice to see a perfect example of how a Great Dane should look, with perfect top line, perfect set eyes, good deep chest, excellent height and making reference to the quality of Danes now in Europe being very low in their standard and overall confirmation. Both dogs were awarded excellent and given their ticket. Heidie was now on her way to becoming GREEK CHAMPION and Zac had just become a GREEK CHAMPION. For us a great result and the Group and Best In Show had yet to be decided. Compliments and comments of recognition continued through the day which are never ever taken for granted and it is always nice to know your dogs are appreciated by other breeders of different breeds. One top Rottie judge came over to express her appreciation of how well Zac had performed and being a resident of Greece, but being citizen of the UK, her knowledge was endless on large breeds. She commented on how nice it was to at last see a dog being shown well and presented in a way that she had been accustomed to in her years of judging.

It was later that afternoon after our long awaited call for Groups, that we discovered the judge for Group,s as well as the Best In Show judge, was none other than the very gentleman that had placed us in the class and created a GREEK CHAMPION, Mr Luis Pinto. How very fortunate I smugged to myself, he loves our dog and has made no bones about expressing it to us constantly since being shown. Quietly confident, but never to assuming I took my place in the line up of 35. Group 2 always seems to have an overload of entrants; in comparison Toy Breed which had only 5 entrants in the group. Anyway, Zac stood to attention, head held high, back straight, ears back and an alert expression on his face as if to say, Daddy, we have won this haven’t we. Never wanting to be to presumptuous I commanded “STAND-SHOW” which is exactly what he did. Fourth place announced in Greek, I didn’t even look I was so nervous, third place announced in Greek, more nervous, I still didn’t look, second place and Reserve Best In Group !!!!!!!!, GREAT DANE in English, I heard that alright, but who was Best In Group, who was it that despite the judges glowing reports and continued praise had taken the first place from me. A BOXER, bad tempered at that and shown in a manner typical of the Greek attitude to showing dogs, which at the moment is a long way behind the standard I have been accustomed to. Oh well, may the best dog win and all that. I went over to have my photograph taken with the winners, the boxer would not let anybody near, bad tempered little thing that it was, but the judge must have seen something that caught his eye. We left the ring, still delighted with Reserve Best In Group and a CHAMPION created, for us a good day and points towards our year end total.

We put Zac back in his crate and went back over to the ring side to watch the end of the show, only for once again, Luis to come over to us and praise us on such a beautiful dog. Curiosity now getting the better of me, I enquired, if this is your thought, why then did you place the Boxer over the Dane, to which he replied, the Boxer was his chosen breed and as a Boxer breeder took a liking to it’s presence. Now I know and now I accept that sometimes decisions are made emotionally as well as professionally, the stronger emotion winning the day. Being in the same position as the judge, I am sure I would have faced the same emotions. So no hard feelings toward Luis, I accept his choice as being his best choice for the day and hopefully if we meet in the future there will be no Boxers in the line up.

We left our little holiday break the following day, Monday. Nicos our Pet taxi came to collect us and check in at Athens Airport with Cyprus Airways could not have been made any easier. The Customer Service girls really did go out of their way to simplify things for us, check in was smooth and we boarded our flight on time taking our seats for a great journey home. Larnaca airport was yet another smooth operation and we were home and tucked up in our beds by midnight.

We have now just processed entries for Bulgaria, Croatia, Athens, Helsinki and St Petersburgh, so keep an eye on our web page for more updated information and continued progress of both Heidie & Zac.

View the Show Photos