Following a fantastic time at Crufts this year it has been a privilege to be featured in Cyprus’ first Pet magazine To read the article in larger format in either ENGLISH or GREEK please go to the links at the bottom of the feature.  ”Animal’s Frame”.

Click here for a larger Image in the english language.

Click here for a larger image in the greek language.

Article and Images courtesy of:

ANIMALS’ FRAME MAGAZINE
P.O. Box 45156, 7111 Aradippou-Larnaca
Website: www.animalsframe.com

We would like to thank Stavroula and her team for their constant support in our Danes and we hope to have many more features in the coming publications.

We would also like to congratulate all our friends who travelled to the World Dog Show in Sweden, first for their support to a show which grows time after time and second for the trophies they all managed to win. CONGRATULATIONS to you all and well done. Unfortunately we were unable to join you this year, as much as we would have loved to be there, but as three of our bitches were in season and we were mating two of them, our time was otherwise pre-occupied by ensuring both bitches mated well. The rest of our year will be devoted to the care, wellbeing and upbringing of any puppies we are blessed with and our hopefully expectant mums continued love and affection. Puppies would be due around the 20th August 2008, please contact if you are interested in putting your name forward for a puppy. (see link Planned Mating)

CYPRUS, APHRODITE WINNERS SHOW 17th & 18th MAY 2008

It has been a busy few weeks, what with Summer fast approaching, looking at the jobs you keep putting off and then starting with the season visitors before you know it. So Craig has been busy with the paint brush, the housekeepers have been busy Spring cleaning and as for myself, well I got the better job of travelling out to Egypt a couple of times, in search of a property we could buy and use in the winter months. Not that it ever gets so cold here in Cyprus, but it is just nice to have that facility to get away and enjoy a different location. I am afraid buying property is a weakness I have, it is to some as most women will identify, like buying a nice pair of shoes and putting them at the back of the shoe cupboard, just incase an occasion comes up to wear them. I have this same fetish, but unlike shoes, I get more for my money, we generally see nice capital appreciation and we have a choice of homes around the world in which we can spend lovely holidays, maybe spending three months in one, three months in another at the same time as taking in a few dog shows whilst we are travelling. I suppose your all wondering how we can fit it in when we have the responsibility of our babies !!!! Well, let me tell you before you all start worrying. Our babies are our number one priority, we put them first and foremost above all that we do, however there comes a point when even the hardiest dog person needs a break, otherwise you start to lose the passion and the love because it then becomes a chore. So we have homes in Thailand, UK, Egypt, Cyprus & Dubai, the idea being that when we are in need of a break, then our homes are our sanctuary, we have the luxury and comforts of having our own things around us and we do not have to travel with suitcases full of clothes.

My parents then came to visit for 5 weeks which is always lovely to share some quality time together and as we thought this was going to be Dads last visit due to his increased mobility problems, it was extra special knowing we had to make the most of the time we were together. As it was, we managed to get them over to Egypt for 10 days to see the property and we all had a really fantastic time. The weather was at its best, the journey was easy for Dad to manage and Mum was much in need of the rest because caring for somebody, no matter how much or how little, it is the carer that always gets forgotten. So it was time for Mum to be pampered, hair done, massages, facials and daily swims. To be honest I have never seen her looking so good, so the break really did the both of them, in fact the four of us the world of good.We only had a couple of days after getting back from Egypt to the long awaited show here in Cyprus. It was a double show weekend, the Saturday being the Cyprus International Show and Sunday being Aphrodite Winners Show, Crufts qualifier Show, as well as being an International Show with a different set of Judges from the previous day.

         

         

There was quite a bit of preparation as we had 6 Danes entered, transport that didn’t match our transport load and 6 Danes that needed putting through their paces in readiness for the show. Fortunately a dear friend had a much large van and offered it to us for the weekend. He did stress however that it was old and in need of some minor T.L.C, we on the other hand were just grateful for the solution to our problem of getting all those Danes from A to B without any hassle. We travelled to his home to collect the van and carefully we drove back to our villa to get packed with all our show crates so we did not have the job the following morning. All was going well and the van was packed ready for an early start. It always pays to get to the show early, as places for tent erection can sometimes be difficult, especially if you are trying to get by the side of your ring number. We actually travel down without the dogs the night before to set up our tent and make sure that at least we have one less job to deal with the next morning. Our early morning arrival is something we have worked out now to a fine art, crates out of the van, dogs in to crates, chairs set up, water bowls ready, running order established and show leads and numbers set up on each crate. Now all we have to do is watch in anticipation at the other entries filing in through the main gate, eye up the other dog competition and make sure our own dogs are calm and ready for action.         

We have had a number of changes recently within the body of our Cyprus Kennel Club, A new President has been elected and subsequently new board members to support the new President. It would seem that a huge hole has been left in the balance book and the new committee have inherited massive financial losses that are currently affecting the running of the club. I am led to believe that a large percentage of the members are either NOT paying their fees, or selling puppies without papers, reducing registration fees to less than half of the previous year and this is seriously affecting all those that are playing by the rules. As a GENTLE REMINDER, if you are reading this and you are one of the none paying offenders, then I would like to personally remind you that ultimately you will be the ones losing out. So dig deep in to your pockets, get your fees paid in to the club and let us all get behind them and make sure that the standard of our shows does not drop. Its very simple, it accounts to, if there is no money in the bank, then the club will have to close it’s doors like any business without a cash supply. We have already missed out on the Champion of Champions Show and I believe many more shows will be cancelled if support is not given, so to all our club members reading this, pass it on to your friends who are also members so they are all aware of the current circumstances. We can not expect to enjoy great shows and not pay our fees on time. At this point we would like to pass on our congratulations to the new President, Mr Erodotos Neophytou and all his team, who without question always manage to put on an excellent show weekend and this weekend was no exception. The venue is centrally located, so at least we all have fairly equal distances to travel and at least consideration has been given to those travelling that bit further as to the running and showing times of your dogs, so thanks to one and all for that care taken. There are excellent catering facilities and the food was truly scrumscious. The rings were nice and big, especially for the larger breeds and as this was our yearly special Aphrodite Winners Show combined with its very prestigious Crufts Qualification Show, extra events had been included such as Fairground rides for the children, bungee jumping, a military dog display and some very popular local and ballroom dancing displays by local professional dancers. It was a great idea and it was nice for the visiting International Judges to see our show in such a positive light, however these additional displays, as entertaining as they were, did make the days events extend a little and many of the visiting entries who had to leave on time for flights, possibly missed out the final judging due to time factors being extended. It’s all trial and error and maybe something that can be taken in to consideration for the next large show event Cyprus puts on. The only downfall of the day and it seems to happen at each venue we attend and that is the water in the toilets decided not to work anymore, which is always a problem, A) for drinking water for the dogs, and B) general toilet requirements. The toilet attendant did a very good job with a few buckets of water and a constant supply of bleach, so congratulations to her as without her I think there would have been a real hygiene problem.

         

         

Classes commenced at 0830hrs, Danes lucky to have a mid-morning slot at 1230hrs, good in as much as you have time to get organised, bad in as much as you are showing in the heat of the day, dogs tongues hanging out do not present their best profile and Judges and Stewards by that time are almost ready for lunch. This weekend was a particularly hot one for the time of year, really just ending Spring and starting with the Summer temperatures for the day on our thermometer hit 36C, so it was really a case of getting in the ring as quickly as possible, finding shade under the Judges tent to stack your dog and keeping your fingers crossed that your presentation was done with the dogs mouth closed and not as with the Dane, slobbering all over in desperation of a drink. A little trick we did learn whilst showing as we did in Australia was to take a slice of lemon in to the ring and occasionally rub it around the gums of your dog. I have to say, it works a treat and when the Judge checks the teeth they get a wonderful fresh clean smell, instead of those whiffy meat smells that often hang around.
       
  

As this was a special show weekend for Cyprus there were many new faces from overseas. Representation from lots of our European neighbours who like ourselves, take time, effort, energy and money to support other shows. So on behalf of all the dog breeders and show people in Cyprus, may we at APOLLODANE GREAT DANES salute you and thank you for your contribution in making this show a success and for your attendance, as we for one know just how difficult it is, moving dogs of any size from one country to another. I have said it before and I will say it again, for all those show people who never step foot outside their own country with their dogs and believe they are at the top of their game, then try dealing with all the protocol of overseas shows, hotels, flights, transportation, stiff competition that you may be competing with for the first time, Judges of the highest calibre and language barriers. This really is dog showing and those dogs that are fortunate enough to take titles and prizes are deserving of every trophy, every medal and every certificate. So once again to all our foreign visitors, it was a pleasure to act as host country to your deserved wins. You bring not only additional revenue to our club, but you bring added competition which is always a pleasure to see and it is time Cyprus saw more new faces and more new breeds taking centre stage and on the winners podium.       

It is difficult logistically showing 6 Danes with 2 people, but hey, this is show world and you get by no matter what. Our Judge for the day was Mr Dusan Paunovic from Serbia who we later realised was a no show. Apparently some visa confusion at the airport and he had to return unable to enter Cyprus. Not a good start to the day, but quickly resolved and to no determent of either the dogs or their handlers. We were moved to another ring (so much for us going the night before to set up, but at least we were still in view of what was going on) Our new Judge was Slukin Sergij from the Ukraine and for us it was important to visit his ring to see what it was he was looking for, how he liked to move his dogs and to pick up any tips that may help us.

         

First in is Apollodane Adonis (Donny) who takes his Junior class by storm. He is turning in to a real showman, glides around the ring like his father “ZAC” and hold his head high like he owns the stage. The judge after going over him made the following comments on his critique, Typical Format, Very Effective in the ring, Excellent Neck, Strong & Beautiful Top Line, Beautiful Broad Chest, Good Angulations, > A Little Narrow In Hind Quarters, but still developing, Needs training for the relief of Muscles but will come with maturity. EXCELLENT GRADE.  
     
  

Next in is Apollodane Athena (Tina) who is now starting to look quite elegant although still a little “dizzy” in her attitude. Mum Heidie was a late developer in the ring, as too was Odette, so we know she will come in to her own, just for the moment we have to allow her the freedom of her mental development and hope the Judge sees the long term potential., he wrote on her critique.       

Excellent Feminine Head, A Soft Top Line, but still growing and developing, Good Front Chest, Good Angulation, Nice Set Croup EXCELLENT GRADE.

         

Darrington Darius followed the Juniors, he was in Open Male. He is a powerful dog, lots of movement, lots of energy and it is Craig responsibility to hold him back and calm his excitement. Again he stands well, presents like he is loving every minute and the Judge wrote.         

Good Strong Dog, Excellent Deep Chest, Excellent Angulation, Good Top Line, Colour although not typical is excellent. EXCELLENT GRADE and he was awarded C.A.C.

Rorlyn Who Spilt The Paint (Diva) Much more compact in her frame than our other girls, but a nicely presented bitch with lovely movement and nice head. She takes to the ring and shows us why we love so much these lines we have adopted. Grace of movement looks so elegant whilst running around the ring and to see a dog, no matter what the breed move correctly is absolute heaven. The Judge critiques as follows.
Very beautiful and Elegant bitch, Typical in Type, Very Strong Neck and Beautiful Head, Strong Top Line, Good Broad Chest, Excellent Angulation, Free and Fluid in Movement, Beautiful eyes excellent in colour, Good Pigmentation. EXCELLENT GRADE, C.A.C / C.A.C.I.B. 
      

Rorlyn White Collar Worker (Turbo) having gained a few kilos since his arrival in Cyprus, he is now what I would say worthy of his place in the show ring. He stands proud, he looks impressive and once again he knows how to move. The Judge critiques as follows,Typical In Format, A strong and Powerful Dog, Strong Top Line, Excellent Broad Chest, Excellent Angulation, Beautiful in Movement. EXCELLENT GRADE, C.A.C / C.A.C.I.B       

Now this is where it gets totally confusing as we are now down to the finals and all our dogs have been placed eliminating all other Dane competition. At one point we are in the ring with four dogs for Best Male, needless to say Turbo wins on this occasion. We are in for Best Junior male and Donny takes this, Best Junior Bitch and Tina takes this and then B.O.B Junior which went to Donny. Best female and this goes to Diva and now with a little more calm, the other dogs put away, we enter the ring again for Best Of Breed. I decided to handle Diva as Craig was dressed in his show suit and we felt for sure from the line up it had to be Turbo. We presented our dogs and we managed to pull in some handling assistance for Donny who was representing Best Of Breed Junior in the overall B.O.B. Turbo was looking good, moving well and being handled to perfection. I followed with Diva, not looking at all showy in my summer shorts and I’m A Dane Dad t/shirt !!! well after all today I was the saliva towel boy and not the handler. Our friend who HATES handling but just happened to be at ring side was doing a great job with Donny. The judge ran us, he stopped us and asked us to stack and present, he looked and he looked again and for a moment I caught him glancing over at me. ” Oh No” I thought to myself, he must be thinking what is this man doing entering the show ring looking as though he is on holiday. I tried to hide my legs behind Diva and then suddenly the hand went up !!!!!!!! WHAT ???? we looked in total amazement as my dear little Diva took Best Of Breed and poor Craig looking so resplendent in his red show suit and impressive Mantle Dane came second with Donny third. It just goes to show, no matter what your own personal thoughts are on the day, it is the Judge who decides and on this occasion he commented that for him, Diva just had that little more presence and showmanship. That was it, Diva was going through to Groups and for today Turbo had reached his limit.

We sat under our tent, watching the other remaining classes and indulging in the soft twirly ice creams that were being sold from the visiting van. In no time we were in to the finals of the afternoon and first in was Donny for Best Junior In Show. I can only say, what a complete fiasco. I have NEVER in my life seen so many Juniors line up for Best Junior In Show. To try and make some order of asemblance from this many dogs was impossible, but this is show world once again folks and you just grit your teeth and get on with it. The entrants went three times around the ring, there were dogs in front of dogs, by the side of dogs, behind dogs and I am sure if the stewards would have had their way, they would have stacked them on top of dogs. In my opinion as a spectator, it was wholly impossible to judge them correctly and effectively. The judge tried to request some form of order, language restrictions appeared to add more confusion and it looked like a show circus. Walking swiftly round the chaos a line up was picked, some very good dogs were clearly overlooked, some poor dogs managed to get through the net.

Fortunately the Best Junior In Show went to the Central Asian Shepherd Dog which in my opinion was a worthy winner. The dog looks very impressive, it is a nice specimen, my only criticism is in which the way it is handled in the ring. With such a beautiful dog in the very early stages of it’s show career, more care needs to be taken in showing the dog off to it’s best potential. It is not the dogs first major win, infact it has taken Best Junior In Show before and again well deserved, but handling and presentation form a huge part of the dogs recognition when it gets this far in a competition, so it could find itself losing valuable points the older it gets, so to our friend Mr Danilicheva, you have a great dog, you have taken some great awards, now for me, I would like to see you enter the ring with a little more professional handling, keeping your dog on a much tighter control and stop it sticking its nose up the backsides of those who know how to present. I am sure as you visit our pages regularly, come to socialise at our tent, you will not see this as being rude or disrespectful, just advice on a positive note. I would be only to happy to share with you some of our show presentation tips on handling large breeds in the show ring, showing respect, not only for your fellow competitors, but for the Judges. Unfortunately we have to deal with other less respectful handlers, mostly Doberman type dogs or Bull Terriers who’s owners / handlers seem to feel the need to spend most of their time in the ring throwing toys on the floor, moving their dogs constantly in to another dogs space or shouting at the top of their voices from ring side. My opinion is, if you do not know how to present your dog in the ring, then do not present it at all, because all you do is distract away from those that do know how.

Groups followed soon after and group 2 always one of the bigger classes was beginning to collect around ring entrance. Another strange result as one would assume that with Central Asian Shepherd taking Best Junior In Show, it would at least feature in the short list. Well not today for the Central Asian which was quite a shock, what was even more of a shock was the fact that our Diva, not only was she short listed, but she took third place in Group 2. Doberman was first, Miniature Pinscher was second, Great Dane third and Shar Pei fourth

(SEE SHOW PHOTOS)

It was a perfect day in terms of results, we were more than happy with our places and for us the day was finished and time to head off home in the van which was already starting to be a little temperamental. With dogs all loaded, our tent area cleaned and ready for the next day we headed off home. An hour from the venue to our home, so taking it steady we travelled back along the motorway until Paphos was in sight. Dogs out, into their feeding areas, a nice long drink (the dogs and not us) and we all fell exhausted after a full and eventful day.

SUNDAY 18th MAY 2008, CYPRUS INTERNATIONAL SHOW, CRUFTS QUALIFIER AND APHRODITE WINNERS SHOW.

Another day, another show, another set of Judges, but the fun is the same as it always is. Yes another hot day and I think possibly having an effect on the attendance of spectators as it all appears a little thin on the ground, but then as the day gathers momentum, the crowds start to appear, the entries are high and once again the number of overseas visitors has exceeded all expectations. Our own day got off to a bit of a bad start as Craig decided to leave the home a little earlier in expectation of any van problems, at least we would have time to find a solution. Talk about tempting fate, he had been left the home about 45 minutes when I called him the get the all clear for me to leave. he said all was fine and it was OK for me to set off as there appeared to be no problems looming with the van. Oh how wrong was he going to be. Not 10 minutes later when I had already left and was on my way did I get a frantic call.

 

“where are you” Craig says

“I am out of the village heading towards the motorway, why, what is the problem”

“Its the exhaust, its dropped off, I am stuck on the motorway, it is blazing hot, I have all the dogs in the van and I am not very happy”

YIKES! Nothing worse than a vehicle drama to set the tone of the day. I knew there would be no talking to him, I could sense his anger in the tone of his voice, so why would I want to add to that by being practical and giving him advice. It was my idea to borrow the van, so Craig had the perfect person to blame. I telephoned the guy who owned the van, I explained the situation and asked if he would communicate with Craig as there was just no reasoning with him when he was upset. The matter had a temporary resolve, I continued with my journey arriving at the show ground to find Craig in a much better mood than I had anticipated. I cracked open our first bottle of Champagne which was initially for the Kennel Club staff and Stewards for all their hard work, but at this point I thought Craigís need was more and not being one to let him drink on his own, I joined him along with some other Bulldog friends to an early morning tipple. Well it was not quite early morning, it was 1100hrs and in less than 2 hours we would have our first class. The more he thought about his little predicament, the more he stewed on it and the more he stewed, the more stressed he became. His worry was how we were going to make it home that evening, it was a Sunday and he had visions of us being stuck with all the dogs and no way to get them from the show. Our friend assured him he would find a mechanic, but no, Craig was looking for somebody to blame, I was that person and he was not letting go until he had orchestrated his row.

Classes commenced and once again the Apollodane Danes performed to perfection. This time our Judge was Erwin Deutscher from Austria. We had over the 2 days managed to show under 2 very nice gentlemen and their styles were each quite different.

Today for Apollodane Adonis the Judge had written;

A Nice Young Body, Excellent Type, Correct colour and hair, Correct Bite, Eyes & Ears, now up to this point I thought he had been writing about myself, but then it went on to say, Testicles in correct position, now I know he was not talking about me. It went on to read, Young neck, nice and strong, Excellent Top Line, Excellent Chest, Correct Tail Set, Good Angulation, Excellent Movement, Very Good In Character, EXCELLENT GRADE.

Apollodane Athena he wrote,

Nice Young feminine Body, Nice Head, Correct Bite, Eyes & Ears, Correct Colour and Hair, Nice Young Neck, Chest, Angulation and top Line, Correct Tail Set, Excellent Movement, Very Good In Character, EXCELLENT GRADE.

Rorlyndane Who Spilt The Paint, the Judge wrote;

Very Nice Type and Body, Correct Head, Nice lips, Correct Ears, Eyes and Bite, Beautiful Neck & Top Line, Excellent Chest, Good Angulation, very Well In Movement, Excellent in Character, EXCELLENT GRADE.

Rorlyn White Collar Worker the Judge commented;

Excellent Type & Body, Strong Masculine Head, Correct Bite, Ears & Eyes, Wonderful Neck & Top Line, Good Chest, Excellent Angulation, very Well In Movement, Correct underline, Excellent Colour & Hair.

Today is not only special because it is an International Show combined with the Aphrodite Show, but it is also a little bit of a glory day for Apollodane as it was our hard work, efforts and contacts in the UK that managed to secure one of todays events “The Crufts Qualification Show” and an event that from speaking to some of the exhibitors is the only reason why they travelled by air land and sea to visit our beautiful island today. So on the basis that we have secured this very prestigious event now for the foreseeable future, we can only hope the word spreads and we see numbers increase year on year on year. After all, it was only through our very own struggles, travelling around Europe, chasing one venue after the other to qualify for Crufts that we realised there were many of our European neighbours closer to ourselves that would benefit from an event closer to home. So please, if you did not attend this year, then check our Kennel Clubs web site on www.cypruskennelclub.net
and under show news, you will see all the up and coming shows through until 2010. There is a list of hotels and if you require any further information, contact the Kennel Club direct or drop me a line and I will forward the message on for you.

So back to the show and we were now once again in finals for the running order, Donny takes Best Junior Dog once again, Tina takes Best Junior Bitch, Donny wins the day taking B.O,B Junior. Dive who sailed through her classes yesterday to take her place in the group line up today was happy to win her Champion Class and then go on to take Best Bitch. B.O.B today went to Turbo and now it was his turn to go through to groups. Lunch time break, the Judges went to eat and we sat in the tent, hiding from the sun and going in to round 2 of the broken exhaust. Was all this tension worth it I thought to myself, but no, Craig was not letting go, he was like a dog with a bone until he jumped up, said he was taking the dogs home in the small van and then coming back to collect me and the remaining dogs. Now how wrong did he think he was going to be with that statement. I had gone to a dog show to show my dogs, not to fight and row over something so trivial I was going to let it spoil the day. So off he went with 2 dogs in the small van, leaving me with the other 2 dogs and all the show equipment, oh yes and NO transport. I am sure many of you will know, when they start to have a tantrum, start to throw their toys out of the pram and their dummy becomes disengaged from their mouths, the best thing to do is let them get on with it and this I did.

Eventually it was time for afternoon classes to start, Donny was trying to tell me something by pawing his crate, so I kept opening the door to give him a drink of water, to which each time he was pushing his head against the crate door as if to get out. I prepared both Donny for Best Junior In Show and Turbo for his group line up, all the time fuming that Craig had still not returned, even though he had told me he was going home and not coming back. Its always a steel nerve that calls> their bluff, so I bid him farewell, told him to drive carefully as he had precious cargo on board and that I would endeavour to find my own way home later than night. A lady came to the tent to ask some questions about the purchase of Great Danes, I was at this point alone as Craig had now left and both dogs had been cleaned down for their final debut. The lady looked at me and said, Your dog has just done it’s toilet in its crate. I looked round and honestly you would have thought that dog had not emptied his bowels for a week, it was everywhere. Oh dear, what timing I thought to myself, but being the ever survivor, I got him quickly out of his crate, washed him down and hurried along to take my place in Best Junior In Show. It seemed to be a less frantic line up although still heavy in numbers, but sadly once again it was not the turn of Donny. So a quick run back to the tent to get Turbo for his Group and low and behold there was the returning prodigal son, Craig, still sulking, still not helping, but sitting with his chin down to his knees. I think it was a combination of early mornings, stress and to much sun. Anyway, off I went in to the group line up and a fine display of dogs it was, only this time as fine as they were, the Judge thought none finer than our Turbo for winner of group 2. Well how smug did I feel walking out of the ring and handing Turbo over to Craig. There you are I said, that’s your winner of Group 2, the dog you could not get to win B.O.B yesterday, maybe it is right what they say about the handler having as much impact as the dog. Oooooooooo he was green with envy and really eating humble pie now. His tantrum was now well and truly over and we were once again the best of friends forgetting the exhaust which had now been fixed as promised and getting ready for Best In Show line up. There were some really nice dogs in the Best In Show line up and for the most there were quite a few new faces which is always nice to see. The Afghan was very nice and although having had a major win the day before, looked set to win the day once again today. There was a beautiful Welsh Corgi, again a new face on our show stand and the most gorgeous Basset Hound which in my opinion was the winner for the day. We were all asked to leave the ring after we had presented to the Judge and there we must wait for the final result…

The announcements were in reverse order, Fourth place !!!! No, this was not the Dane, OK so we are still in with a chance, Third place was announced !!!! No, this was not the Dane, yes we are still in with a chance, Second place is !!!!!! No, this is still not the Dane and the remaining 7 quickly look around, the fanfare goes, the music kicks in and the announcement starts;

“AND THE WINNER OF THE APHRODITE 2008 CYPRUS INTERNATIONAL SHOW IS “BIG”, IT IS “VERY BIG” IT IS “BLACK AND WHITE”

…and there I am standing with the biggest dog left in the line up, the Great Dane and it could not have been more black and white as we were showing the Mantle so fulfilling all his announcements, the other contestants were looking at me telling me to move to the front of the show ring, some congratulating me as the announcement finished “IT IS THE AKITA” the announcer went on to complete. Talk about some VERY angry faces, not because we had not won, but because of the cruel announcement from the Master Of Ceremonies who clearly thought he was being funny trying to put them off the scent of the actual winner. The Akita who is actually owned by friends of our and is very beautiful, is neither, BIG, VERY BIG or BLACK and WHITE it was brown and white. Oh well, the stupid man on the microphone had ruffled a few feathers, but he did not spoil our weekend and what we had achieved was more than our expectation.

Our final call for the weekend was that we had made;

Turbo finished the weekend with Cyprus Champion to add to his already Australian Champion, he had become a Crufts qualifier and he had won Aphrodite Winner title, he was B.O.B (day two) and took 1st place in group line up.

Diva finished the weekend with Cyprus Champion to add to her already Australian Champion, she had become a Crufts qualifier and she had won Aphrodite Winner title, she was B.O.B (day one) and took 3rd place in group line up.

Donny finished the weekend with Cyprus Junior Champion, he had become a Crufts qualifier and he had won Junior Aphrodite Winner title and he took his place in the Best Junior In Show line up on both days following his B.O.B.Junior win.

Tina finished the weekend with Cyprus Junior Champion, she had become a Crufts qualifier and she had won Junior Aphrodite Winner title at the same time as taking Best Junior Bitch of Breed.

Polo finished the weekend with Cyprus Champion and he had won Aphrodite Winner title.

So finishing off 3 Champion Titles, 2 Junior Champion titles and taking 2 group places was for us more than we had expected. Our weekend was a huge success and we would like to thank all the Judges for their confidence in our dogs to put them through, to all the Kennel Club staff who work so hard to put these shows on and to the new President who’s first show this was in his new role.

We can now sit back a little as we have decided that this year we will concentrate our efforts on hopefully and successfully mating Odette who is expected in to season any day now. She will be covered with Zsacharias and advance registrations are already being taken to secure any future puppies they may have. We have a data base of names who have already expressed an interest, but for those reading that have not completed one of our Advance Registration forms you can do so here.

For those having already completed a form and who are still interested, please drop me a line to say, form already completed, we are still interested.

We have many more photos on our flickr site and you can get to the different sets by double clicking on any photo and it will take you straight there.

We hope you have enjoyed our update and show news. For those wishing to be removed from our list, please send a reply asking to be removed.

Many thanks and kind regards from all at APOLLODANE GREAT DANES.

LATEST BREAKING NEWS

The first bitch to come in to season on our expected mating is the beautiful CYPRUS CHAMPION / AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION / APHRODITE WINNER & CRUFTS QUALIFIER, Rorlyndane Who Spilt The Paint “DIVA” who you can see above or on the following link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/apollodane/sets/72157605526917077/show/.

She will be covered in the next few days with the very famous “ZAC” who can be seen in full on the following link

 http://www.apollodane.com/blog/our-dogs/cyprus-best-dog-of-the-year-2006/ 

We would expect if all goes well, puppies to be born around the middle of August. We have already gathered from those interested, a number of advance registration forms completed on behalf of securing a future puppy. So could I please ask, to all those people who have kindly completed a form and for those who have not yet completed a form, if you are still interested in a puppy or would like to secure a puppy, could you please send an e-mail to info@apollodane.com with immediate effect. We understand many peoples circumstances change and we would just like to bring our details up to date so people are not let down, many thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

   

    

     

      

      

      

 

 

 

 

 

Not quite having taken breath since we landed 2 days ago, once again we are off on the show circuit, but this time fortunately I can say, here on our home turf in Cyprus. We have a double show, one Saturday and one Sunday and the forecast for the weather is as we expect of Cyprus, clear blue sky and a day full of sunshine.

We were only showing the three puppies, Donny, Darrian and Tina, Zac was resting and the others we had decided were just going to be to much of a handful so soon after getting back from the UK and our visit to Crufts.

Our class on Saturday was at 1035hrs, so this gave us time to drive to the show ground and set up our crates and get the tent organised. In no time we were ringside and putting the dogs through their paces. Darrian (the Mantle) has really blossomed and showing true signs of a star in the making. His coat is at its best and he is starting to fill out and turn in to a real rebel look a like. Donny a chip off his dads block knows what it is all about and looks forward to getting in the ring and showing them that he is the pup dad should be proud of. Me, well I am still not sure as all three of them appear to have what it takes and they really need to mature and reach those crucial terrible 2ís and threatening 3ís before we will really see there true form.

The Judge was Anita Whitmarsh from Sweden who quite coincidently had seen the ìYELLOW SUITî at Crufts the weekend before. Well one thing is for sure, at least she realised we were serious about our Dane showing. As she looked over the dogs her decision was without question, first place to Donny (Harlequin) but also delighted to have taken second place with Darrian.

Critique for Donny read;

Nice masculine dog

Good bones and good size

Well covered body

Excellent head

Excellent front of chest for a young dog

Good strong back

Excellent rear end

Slightly gay tail when presenting today (owner says needed toilet)

Good attitude

A very promising dog for the future

Tina now ready to enter sees more of a challenge. You see Tina is just like her mum Heidie & Auntieís Odette & Olympiah, nutty as a fruit cake, has more on her mind than presenting a good stack and if your lucky you may just get her to stand still long enough to catch a good photograph to present her as a half decent Dane. We know through Heidie that when the penny does eventually drop with Tina she will truly shine. Even so, she still came through and won her class with an excellent critique which read;

Lovely feminine bitch

Excellent bone

Well covered body

Parallel head with good reach of neck

Little bum high, but still developing

Excellent angulations

Excellent mover

Little narrow on chest and wild in attitude but still a young girl

Excellent pigmentation of colour

For the Best of Breed we were very fortunate to be given the place to Donny which now meant this was his first Best Of Breed Win at the age of 11 months. Donny was now through to the Groups and of course the all important, Best Junior In Show.

Best Junior in Show was a line up of 26 dogs, all of excellent quality and all making a good job of their time in the ring. Donny we are proud to announce took third place In the Best Junior in Show and went quickly in to his very first Group 2 line up. He really looked fantastic and no matter what, we were just so proud that he was there with dogs so much older and so much more qualified to be in that line up. Unfortunately for Donny he did not get a place, although he was picked out for the short list in readiness for selection and for us that was quite sufficient and totally accepted.

Day two was an earlier call, only by 30 minutes, but it seemed to make a much bigger difference when it came to getting set up on time. Today I was showing Darrian, Craig was showing Donny & Tina and the Judge was Elizabeth Chwalibog. Again all dogs presented extremely well and once again it was Donny who came through and eventually took Best of Breed on the day. Once more through to the Best Junior in Show which sadly today was not the turn of Donny and nor did he get placed in the group 2 line up. Now Group 2 I can fully appreciate as it is a difficult class anyway always attracting the most in the line up, but as for the Best Junior In Show, in terms of his efforts to show well and run beautifully, in my opinion and many of those standing around me, Donny was certainly worth of a place at some level. He looked amazing in his stack position and despite the distractions of the Rottweiller and Doberman double handling which in a Group line up should be disallowed in my opinion (we had one behind us in Best Junior in Show and the other behind us in Group 2) A lesson learned and never to be repeated. Actually, I think it is so totally disrespectful to those who spend time getting their dogs trained to stack naturally, for the screaming, shouting and throwing of toys to cause their dogs to look alert, to actually be permitted and the individual kennel clubs should start to clean up their act and take a stance and get this practise stopped at their shows. I suspect the revenue brought in from these breeds prevents certain clubs from making a stance, but I have to say, when we visited Crete they really were trying as much as possible to stop this going on, so credit due to them for at least trying. I have actually been at the point of walking out of a Group line up because I had a Doberman right up my dogís backside whilst its double handling companion was in my dogs face beating the floor with the dogs play toy. Two points of ring etiquette. First, do not get up the dogs backside in front of you. The rings are ample big enough to share the space and present your dog accordingly, if you need more room then move to another part of the ring where you can get it. Second, do not present in such a way that you need toys to be thrown in to the ring for its attention. This happened in the Best Junior In Show line up on Saturday and nobody challenged either the owner or the double handler and it just frustrates the remaining people in the line up who are presenting like professionals.

So for the weekend, we were more than happy with all the dogs performances, Donny, Darrian & Tina, they all got excellent critiques and for Donny to get a 3rd place in best Junior In Show and an opportunity to sample his first group 2 line up for us was a great weekend.

Thanks to the individual Limassol Canine Association for putting on a great show. We would like to compliment you on the venue and we look forward to supporting it again in the future.

Our next big show is in may and will be the Cyprus Kennel Club International Show CAC/CACIB to be held in Paphos on the 17th & 18th May 2008. this is also the Aphrodites Winners Show and the 2009 Crufts qualification show, so it would be very much appreciated for those Kennel Clubs reading this show news, to advertise the fact throughout its members so they can take advantage of all these elements in one show.

Following that the next big event will be the mating hopefully of our Multi Champion winning dog Zsacharias and his details can be viewed on

http://www.apollodane.com/blog/our-dogs/cyprus-best-dog-of-the-year-2006/

and our Multi Champion winning bitch Odette and her details can be viewed on

http://www.apollodane.com/blog/our-dogs/odette/

Providing Odette comes in to season at the expected time which is May 2008, we then expect that any puppies would be due to leave the home around October 2008, this is following the normal gestation period plus we like to keep the puppies until 10weeks old and having had their full set on vaccinations.

should you wish to view a sample of the puppies expected pedigree you can do so on the following link.

http://www.quintessa.net.au/cgi-bin/trial.pl?sire=67053&dam=66562&sirepattern=Hildydane+Zsacharias&dampattern=Hildydane+Odette&gens=7&db=Quintess.dbw&submit=Create+Now

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

Crete has had a special place in our hearts since we bought a home there in the summer of 2006 following our visit to the 2nd Heraklion Society CACIB Show. The island to us has a magical feel and a warmth shown by all the locals. So for us this seemed an ideal place to make our next property investment, recognising that of many of the Greek Islands, Crete really does have a lot to offer and is tipped to be the next property hot-spot. Channia was the chosen location for our holiday home, but the dog show was held just outside of Heraklion which is the home of the main airport for the island. When we were planning the years events, this show had to be on the programme as it had proved to be a very well run and organised show in 2006 when we were just spectators.

In Greece, each Canine Society has the right to organize a Dog Show. At the moment they have Societies in most Greek cities (Heraklion, Katerini, Thesaloniki, Athens and more). You can see the show schedule for each year at the web site of Greek Kennel Club.

This particular show was organized by the whole team headed by its President, Elena Alexandri and assistance was given to us in completing entry forms. Even though we live in a Greek speaking country, we have not yet mastered the art of this beautiful, but quite complicated language, especially as the older you get the more difficult it gets. This is their third show so still quite new, but I have to say it is important for us all to get behing these shows so they continue to provide us with shows for many years to come.

It was now time to book the hotel recommended by the Kennel Club, the Gallini Hotel which was a perfect choice, clean, very friendly and most reasonable in price, especially as they were very dog friendly, having 4 Great Danes of their own.

Arrival at the airport we were collected, transferred to the hotel and there we got ourselves ready for a nice evening meal and our evening stroll with the dogs. Odette and Zsacharias were the 2 chosen Danes for this trip and very quickly they got in to their show routine. The evening was spent being admired and adored in the hotel bar and I have to confess, that was the Danes and not us. I can only assume as the events of age take over, our personal appeal is less desirable and attractive than that of our lovely doggies. So for about the next 4 hours our Danes were truly spoilt by every person walking in the bar that night. They really lapped up all the attention and were on their very best behavior.

The following day we decided to explore the local area, walking first to the village and then as we had hoped in to the main town and tourist area. As we first approached the village, our thoughts turned towards the hire of a car, as this seemed by far the most obvious solution to us seeing as much as we could of that particular area, in the short space of time remaining before the show. A quick negotiation with the hire company saw us 10 minutes later driving off and exploring hidden coves and waterways we would not have normally seen on foot. After a couple of hours out of the road, we decided the heat of the day had passed and it was an ideal temperature to collect the dogs and let them share with us our sightseeing experience. Back to the hotel we went, dropped the back seats of the car, covered them with our traveling blankets and loaded the Danes in ready for their trip around the island. We had been traveling a few kilometers down a very narrow, winding and extremely dangerous road when a car behind started to furiously BLAST their horn. Now I have to say, Craig is a great driver, but patience with road hogs he does not suffer to well.

“Stay calm” I said in a reassuring voice, “Just let them BLAST their horn because it is impossible for them to pass”
We continued a few more kilometers and now this road hog is mounting the grass verge and trying to pass, screaming at us in a very angry Greek attitude. I could see Craig now beginning to get himself agitated by this car so I asked him to pull over so the car could pass. Happy to oblige, Craig pulled over, but the testosterone levels now at boiling point, his male pride would not let this car pass without him at least shouting something back that sounded equally as rude as what this ROAD HOG was shouting at us. The car passed and came to a halt at our side, our window was quickly would down and Craig asked “What is your problem, you can see this is a single road and impossible to overtake, the sun is hot and I suggest you stop shouting”
“Stop shouting” he said “I will not stop shouting, I am the owner of the car you are driving and I do not want dogs in my car”
“Ahhhhhhh I see said Craig, but we did explain at the time of making the reservation that we had dogs.”
“Yes” he said “but not such big dogs like that.”

Now !!!!!!! what are the chances of driving down a country lane and bumping in to the owner of the car hire firm you have hired your car from whilst you are transporting 2 full size Great Danes on a sightseeing tour of the island ?

Greek balding men in the heat of the day with extremely high blood pressure do not make a good sight, so the easiest option was to smile, apologies most profusely and retreat back to the hotel to return the dogs to their room. It was so funny and we laughed at the time thinking we were like naughty school boys who had just raided the neighbor’s apple tree.

The day arrived for the show and in the reception area of the hotel whilst paying our bill; we met many old faces who had traveled from many of the Greek Islands also to visit the show. It is nice to catch up and see the enthusiasm and support coming to these local shows that in some ways are quite difficult places for many to travel to. A quick hello, and exchange of each others show results from previous shows and then off we went in search of the Exhibition Centre where the show was to be held. It is actually very easy to find once you have an idea of your location and 20 minutes later we were the first to arrive. First to arrive means best pick of spaces, spread your things out to save the all to annoying barking dog setting up home next to you and then sit watching the others arrive looking for a suitable spot to set up camp.

We met 2 really lovely young ladies from Athens who had traveled 9 hours with their American Cocker Spaniels. There was the Cretian Hound club and their selection of recently accepted in to the FCI ‘Cretian Hounds’. We met once again the local German Shepherd breeder who was local to the area and had a very good following along with many other faces we had begun to recognize from shows around Greece.

It was a great venue with beautiful sea views on your arrival and space doubled from the previous year. This was actually quite a good move as last year was rather cramped and difficult getting your dogs in and out of the ring. This year we had none of those problems as classes were a good size, the rings were manageable and there was space enough to maximize on your dogs potential.

Judges for the day were quickly observed. First judging the class was a Greek lady by the name of Dekaristou, Maria-Marionka an All Breeds Judge, GROUP FINALS AND BEST IN SHOW JUDGE.

A really impressive background on dogs and involved in a project very dear to our hearts, that of the welfare of animals that have been abandoned or rejected.

The other Judge was a Russian gentleman by the name of Kupliauskas, Jevgenij an equally impressive background and always a great privilege to show under such a wealth of knowledge.

The show proceedings were opened with prayer from the local Priest, which as overseas visitors we found to be nice and personal giving a local feel to the event. Show started around 1030hrs. Classes moved fairly quickly as the judge gave her opinion and wrote out her critiques and all eyes were on her winning dogs to check out her style. I have to say from a judge’s point of view and from an organiser’s point of view; there really should be a basic dress code for some of these events. I am very much from the old school and I have covered this point many times in previous show news reports. If you are expecting to be taken at all seriously in the show ring, then respect the judge who travels many miles to assess your dog and respect the show organiser who has spent many months putting this event together and dress with an element of respect for the dog you are showing. If you can at least go this far towards PRESENTATION you are half way towards winning the points you are there for in the first place. I saw people running around the ring the wrong way, showing their dogs on the wrong side, letting their dogs become most uncontrollable in the ring and angry onlookers shouting abuse whilst the show was in progress. This is no way to carry on at a dog show and as we have been dog show educated in the UK and over in Australia, there is a certain show etiquette and the sooner we all start to learn a few principles from this requirement, shows in Europe will be elevated to a different level. This show I have to say was by far better than most we have attended and it was refreshing to see a very clear message going out regarding the double handling going on at ring side, a practice most show organisers are getting extremely tired of and now seem to be fighting back to eliminate it. It’s a start and credit goes out to all those organisers who are standing firm and removing the offenders from the ring.

First to show was Zac in Champion class, we approached the ring, waited our turn and then moved slowly as requested to stack in front of the judge. The smile on the judgeís face filled me a little with confidence that despite her own breed of the Papillion, she may just also like big dogs. Zac stood to attention!!!!! STAND I said to him, SHOW. The judge went over him from top to bottom. How old is he? Three and a half years old I said. He is beautiful, like a statue. Thank you very much, I said. He is actually a Champion in 9 countries and Grand Champion in 2, I informed excitedly. Well he deserves it replies the judge. By now Zac is relaxed and enjoying the judges comments and his ears stand to attention. Me on the other hand, beads of perspiration running down my back, hands all wet and I hear the instruction, please run your dog once around the ring and then corner to corner. Now Zac if you read my Switzerland report at this point decided to call it a day, so what was he going to do today I wonder.

Good boy Zac, show time, lets go!!!!! and off we went around the ring in just the way we have all begun to expect of Zac. He was a dream, moved like a spring lamb and shows all his Champion qualities. We did our corner to corner and then both Zac and I stood to attention, always observing the judge at all times. There was lots of writing, a little smiling between the judge and the lady writing the critiques, I later discovered to be a language misunderstanding. Zac we are happy to say won his Champion class and then we were thanked and asked to leave the ring being handed our critique which read:

SUPER DOG, EXCELLENT IN EVERY WAY. EVEN IF I TRIED TO HARD TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG, I COULDN’T. THIS DOG IS A TRUE CHAMPION AND GIVES A GREAT PLEASURE TO JUDGE HIM. EXCELLENT PRESENTATION, A REALLY SUPER MOVER.

We then prepared to take in Odette, both of who had been entered in to the Champion classes respectively. Once again we were given our instruction and we obeyed to the command. Stacked and showing her highest qualities, Odette really caught the eye of the judge again.

“Both very beautiful Danes you have, you should be very proud” and then she went over Odette from top to bottom “Can I see her teeth please?”
Odette, Teeth, good girl and as good as gold she did not move a muscle whilst the judge went over her teeth.
Once again I would like you to move your dog around the ring and then do corner to corner. This is when Odette comes in to her own and so we set off with all eyes watching and to the click of cameras. She glides and floats around as though she is on air, she just loves it and she knows she is on full show. We came to a halt, stacked once again and allowed the judge to write her critique. Happy to say the critique was of the highest standard and Odette took winning place in Champion class, her critique reading !!!!!.

ANOTHER SUPER DOG, EXCELLENT TAIL, SHE DESERVES ALL THE TITLES THAT SHE HAS, SWEET AND LOVELY DOG, SHE IS NOT RUNNING IN THE RING, SHE IS FLYING, EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.

Now we have the unenviable position of Best of Breed with both Zac & Odette in the head to head. Both received an Excellent on the critique and both had been awarded CAC & CACIB.

I have a very difficult decision here said the judge as both Danes are beautiful, but my final choice is going to the Dog, Zsacharias. Wow, we were over the moon and so happy that the judges choice was such a close one between Zac and Odette and Odette is really now starting to come in to her own, quite coincidently at the similar age to when Heidie started to realise what it was all about.

So here we were in preparation for group which to be honest I have to say is always a difficult one. Compared to some of the other groups we always face some very tough and stiff competition and it is never guaranteed a place. At the end of B.O.B I made a point of thanking the judge for her super and very complimentary critique to which she replied;

“If I was judging Best IN SHOW, I have to say I would seriously be looking at placing your dog, he is beautiful and when I feel from my heart something is so good, I wish for it to happen. Unfortunately I am not the judge for Best In Show so I can only wish you the very best of luck”

What a lovely and reassuring comment for her to make and how kind to say such complimentary things about both Zac & Odette.

Groups were soon called and in a different order to how we expected, so nearly missed our call. Fortunately the ring steward saw us at ring side and quickly told us to get into the ring. We moved slowly in to place and I have to admit, for my particular liking it was not the best place in the line up for Zac to show himself to full potential. He had a dog behind him that was getting a little to close for comfort and then to my horror his show lid came undone and I was left fumbling to get it back on again. Lucky for me the judge was now down at the other end of the line up and missed my little accident and when he returned we had regained composure and were standing to attention.

Third place, second place, to me they were just a blaze of names and dogs, all I wanted to do was make sure this first place which still had not been announced went to Zsacharias. First place is the Harlequin Great Dane. !!!!!!!! Oh my goodness me, I felt like a Miss America finalist, overcome with emotion and so proud of Zac and so very privileged to have been chosen by this very authoritative judge. This is the judge that was going to be judging Best In Show, so again happy that he had chosen us, feeling he may recognise us and place us in the Best In Show line up, but this was something we would just have to wait and see.

Groups came and went, then they went on to do Best Puppy which I have to say the Harlequin Great Dane puppy took 2nd placing, so well done to him and then on to Best In Show. By now the crowd had built up around the main ring and it was so gratifying to know that they had stayed to see the final part of the show. At this point so many have left and the best part of the show is left with a hand full of hardcore show groupies, staying to offer their support and see the outcome of the day.

In we all went and presented when requested to the Best In Show judge. We were then broken down in to smaller groups and asked to run our dogs and then it was the turn of the remaining group. The judge looked us all up and down, kindly shook all our hands which makes such a difference to know that they also appreciate our hard work and efforts and that they can see the dedication that has gone in to getting this far.

Announcements in reverse order and I am looking at the club President for a clue when she was taking instruction from the judge, but not a clue did I get. I stood there, Zac stacked like he knew he had to stand out in a crowd and 3rd place was announced. A round of applause and a few cheers and third place took to the podium. 2nd place was announced and once again that all familiar sound of cheers for yet another popular choice. First place was !!!!!!! the silence seemed to take forever and I stood there thinking, well either we have done very well or we have blown it big time. First place and Best In Show goes to the Harlequin Great Dane, Zsacharias. Yes we had done it again, but this time in a country not our own, which I have to say for us is more important than the place itself. Donít get me wrong, Best In Show is the best accolade we could have bestowed upon us at any show, but to be accepted amongst local clubs who have also worked very hard to get to the final line up was in itself more than our words could express. People genuinely cheered and applauded us as we ran around the ring and we really do owe a huge thank you to the judges, firstly for believing in us and second for having the faith to place us in such an honourable position in the show, representing the clubs show and a country we were merely visitors to.

We came out of the ring on a complete high and we have to personally thank the clubs President Elena Alexandri along with her husband who were one of the first to congratulate us. To both judges who I have to say it was an honor and a privilege to show under and to the show stewards and show personnel, both in front and behind the scenes, thanks to them for what they did to make life so much easier on the day.

It was a great venue, a great show in terms of it’s organization and the results of the day made our journey all the more worth while. Like the Switzerland show last week, we would fully urge anyone to make the journey the next time a show is organized and we look forward to returning, not only to the show in Crete, but to supporting the other Greek Societies Shows as so far they have all proved to be very well run ad very well organized. Like so many who have not experienced the European show circuit, despite many of the comments that come my way regarding the standard of dog being poor, that titles are easy to win, that European titles do not have the same value as titles in non FCI ruled areas and that the standard of judging is by far lower than non FCI governed regions. What I would say to all those who express their thoughts openly and have not yet experience the European culture, please accept our FCI invitation, come and show your dogs here in Europe, sample it first hand and let us see how well you do in a country where dogs are judged on their quality and standard and not on the person at the end of the lead. We have a very tough circuit indeed, the FCI rules are very clear and the FCI judges I have had the priviledge to show under are as experienced and knowledgable as any up for the challenge. So please do not sit there thinking we have an easy time of it, believe me we do not. We have stiff competition, we have a very high standard of dogs and many of the most famous lines have come from European shores.

We have our own specialty show next week in Nicosia where we will be taking 9 Great Danes and then for all you would be travelers, our Double International Show is being held on the weekend of the 21st / 22nd October. Cyprus will play host to the Mediterranean Winners Show again to be held in Nicosia and I would urge all that can attend to either show or just support all those that have entered. They should to get in touch with the Cyprus Kennel Club. It will be a really good show weekend with the added bonus of the Mediterranean Show also being a Crufts 2008 qualification show.

From the show it was a swift transfer to the airport ready for our return flight to Cyprus.

The whole weekend was most enjoyable, it was a credit to all the organizers and once again we would like to thank them from the bottom of our hearts for giving us such a lovely weekend.

Special thanks also to Sam, her mum & dad who were a family we met in the hotel and who’s daughter (Sam) took to the Danes as though they were her own. So insistent was she that she came to the show, her mum and dad hired a car and brought her along as our support, so a big thank you to them. Our congratulations are sent to John & Eve who have 2 of our puppies and who’s daughter got married and who’s event we had to miss because of a clash on dates. Special thanks once again to the judges for their confidence in us that we were worthy winners. Thanks to the whole Heraklion canine Society for making us feel so welcome and finally to all those supporters who we did not get the time to talk to but who clearly loved Zac and Odette as they ran round the ring.

Last but not least, Apollodane Great Danes would like to dedicate this BEST IN SHOW win as a part of the Apollodane Great Danes tribute to ; Aust Ch Stordansk G’Stone Webe Awesum Imp USA and who can be found here. He is the Grand father to our girl Odette and our girl Heidie and Great Grandfather to our new puppies, unfortunately he passed away this time last week and we send Julie and family all our love.

Our show photos were all taken professionally at the show by RIALTO photo videography and will be forwarded to us some time this week when we can get them straight on to the web site and the link will appear as a separate e-mail for you all to view.

(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.

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. 

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.

SHOW NEWS

Day one. Over 800 dogs entered, 10 Danes, we took Best Dog, Best Bitch and Best Of Breed, Judged by Mr Hans van Den Berg, Holland, with our big boy Zac. Because we entered him as an overseas visitor in the Champion class and he took B.O.B with the C.A.C & C.A.C.I.B, he automatically became a Cyprus Champion. We went on to take BEST IN GROUP under Judge Anna Brankovich, Serbia (23 dogs) and then we took 4th Best In Show under Judge Rodrigues, Fernando Madeira, Portugal. My goodness, we were delighted and he was a dream.

Day two. More entries than Saturday and 12 Danes. We took Best Dog, Best Bitch, Best Of Breed under Judge Alenka Cerne, Slovenia with Zac again. He was then made and Aphrodite Winner Dog along with our Bitch Odette taking Aphrodite Winner Bitch, gaining an extra 5 points each, as both were awarded Excellent on the critique and the Aphrodite Show was a new show which started on Sunday. This also meant that as this was another show, another day, another Judge, Zac qualified once again as Champion and although Cyprus only recognises one Champion certificate as the qualifier, Zac’s achievements were non other than spectacular, to have qualified on two separate days under two separate Judges as a Cyprus Champion on both days, to add to his already Australian Champion and almost completed Greek Champion. Zac went on to take BEST IN GROUP, under Judge Alenka Cerne (23 again) and then with the toughest judge ever in the whole world, Judge Zoran Brankovich, Serbia according to the reports of everybody who had shown under him and met him personally this particular weekend, we were left facing some very STIFF competition. I must say, I found all Judges to be extremely nice, polite, caring, understanding and taking their responsibilities that little bit further by spending a little time with you and pointing out your dogs strenghts and weaknesses, giving you a reason as to why you had been placed in the position you had been placed. For me, that speaks volumes for their approach to the task and Apollodane Great Danes would personally like to salute them and congratulate them on their efforts. We were entered by our group number, then had to stack and run our dogs once round the ring, then we had to run them again this time LEAVING the ring, to which the judge called back the winners.

The Afghan was amazing and left last from the ring to rapturous applause and cheers, the Bulldog was beautiful and popular with everybody and the Bichon Frise that won the day before was a great favourite.

Fourth place went to the German Shepard, Third place to the Golden Retriever, Second place to the Akita (yes our friend Pheytos, well done to him once again for his success) and finally … left stood the Afghan, the Bulldog and the Bichon Frise, poor Zsacharias, I thought, my little STAR, you have done so well, but these dogs really are beautiful, so never mind.

And the Judge, Zoran Brankovich shouts…

AND THE WINNER OF THE FIRST APHRODITE SHOW IN CYPRUS, THE BEST IN SHOW WINNER OF THE 2006 CYPRUS INTERNATIONAL IS….

THE GREAT DANE!

We were over the moon, delighted and so overcome with excitement. Zac was almost human, as if he knew the show was over and he could now play. He jumped in the air, landed on all fours, took my arm in his mouth and proceeded to lead me round the show ring in a lap of honour. The crowd were cheering and laughing, taking photographs, it was wonderful for everybody. Craig for all his hard work, feeding and exercising, loving and caring for them day to day, Grace & Tony for all the help they give during the day with feeding and walking and for looking after them when we are away at shows, although Saturday & Sunday was treat day for them both, as they came to the show to share the glory, then of course, not forgetting the handler, who with his flashy suites, his great Top Line, his Well Placed Tail and his Good Set Eyes, managed to rank one step up from last years great result of RESERVE BEST IN SHOW with Heidie, to this years incredible BEST IN SHOW with Zsacharias.

It’s team effort as we all know and it was this team that pulled it off. So we are now still high on the success of our win, we are looking forward to more shows to come and we hope that others continue to see what we saw when we brought Zsacharias in to our home. It’s his 5th Best In Show Win and on points has achieved Champion five times already, three times in Australia and twice here in Cyprus and he is only just three years of age.

Thanks to all our doggie friends for their support in and around the shows, to our non doggie friends for being so understanding when we have to escape early from functions to care for our dogs and to the show organisers and judges for having the faith in our breed to represent the island of Cyprus as their number one choice this year.

• View the rest of our show photos by clicking on the thumbnails below.

SHOW NEWS

Our first trip overseas away from Cyprus with Zac, since Zac arrived here early in the year. We feel he has settled sufficiently enough now to be able to take this trip on board and it would be so good for him if we were able to gather some points.

We decided to share the trip with our friend Fytos and assisted by his wife Stella, who kindly did all the arrangements for us, we set off on our weekend trip to Athens. Not getting off to a good start, we were called before we left for the airport to say that the flight to Athens had been delayed 3 hours and not to set off with the dogs as they would only get stressed out. That gave us a little more time to put the dogs through their paces, give them a little more exercise before their journey and give them a feeling of fun and enjoyment for the journey ahead.

Arrival at Larnaca saw crowds of people all frustrated and anxious as to when their flights would be called. Our dogs as you can imagine caused a diversion of attentions and before long we were surrounded by crowds of people all wanting their photographs taking with the dogs. It was actually another two hours before we departed, the dogs now fast asleep in their crates and the owners more stressed out than the dogs, typical.

A short 1hr 30mins flight and we were in Athens, dogs were delivered to us with no problems and we headed for the Pet Taxi supplied by Nicos, the only official and fully registered pet taxi in Athens.

The hotel was a very modest, but fully recommended by the kennel club type of place, clean, very friendly and local to all amenities, except that is for the Equestrian Centre, which is where the show was being held.

The only one transportation problem we did encounter was that of our friends, fully groomed and most immaculate Akita. He had spent the day before making sure it was in top condition, only to discover on arrival at Athens, the poor little dog had decided to empty his bowels and his bladder in his crate, so you can only imagine what a mess his coat was in now. These things happen when you travel with dogs and fortunately, we all threw our hand in and helped get him showered, dried and back in tip top condition ready for his show ring the following day.

Day one at the show, saw an early arrival, we found a pitch to stay with our crates and then off to the reception area to register for both days. It was a lovely little venue, housed in the Athens Olympic Equestrian Centre on the outside arena. We had an early class and were delighted to take Best Dog and then Best Of Breed, especially as we had entered the Champion class and taken the title from a lovely Italian bitch from the Castello Delle Rocche kennels. We were over the moon, having achieved our goal of C.A.C. & C.A.C.I.B on both days. The groups were a little strange, with group 2 having 23 breeds in the line up and group 5 having only 8. I like to think I am a good loser and I take showing in good spirit, but there is something a little odd when it is clear for all to see that the dogs being placed are not necessarily the best dogs on show in the line up. It all gets very political at this level and that is why we are delighted if we get Best Of Breed, C.A.C. & C.A.C.I.B. anything else is a bonus and seen as the icing on the cake. So for us, out of a possible 21 points on offer each day, we came away with 19 on each day. A great result and well on the way to more success hopefully in Greece. We have promised ourselves a return visit to Athens on the 5th November to visit the show in Marathon.

• View more of our photos from the Athens Show.