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)

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

For many people in the dog world, preparation for Crufts starts weeks before. For others it is a one off show visit to qualify their dogs and then they may never see another show until Crufts itself. For us, well we started our journey in winter 2006 and a visit to a Crufts qualifying show in Croatia. We then had to attend another qualifying show in the January of 2007 in Moscow to make sure our attendance was guaranteed. So for us, this was a journey of many months, many flying miles and many shows. We wanted to savour the whole experience, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy every minute we were there along with every hour of T.V coverage

To appear at the largest and most prestigious dog show in the world is every dog owners dream and like so many, we all hope our dog will shine on the day and bring home the recognition we as the owner think it deserves.

Although travelling with our Danes has become second nature, the UK poses a different set of guidelines to those we had become familiar with and used to whilst travelling around Europe. We are fully supportive of the strict quarantine restrictions as you just can not compromise on animal health issues. As for the rules on transportation, well I have to say it became a minefield of sizes, volumes, weights and height, combine this with the incredibly high prices being quoted, then you begin to wonders if the journey will ever take place at all.

We had researched the Judges in advance, we had weighed up our competition and despite numerous suggestions that our journey would be wasted, we decided that stiff competition was good & healthy competition and any suggestion that we would be better staying in Cyprus was like red rag to a bull, it made us all the more determined to attend the show and let them see what we were made of.

We had a fairly smooth and hassle free journey, Zac nicely crated in his oversized travel box and settled on his nice thick continental quilt for comfort. He really didnít care less where he was going, as long as he knew we were going to be at the other side to meet him. Arrival was quite late in the UK, but we are pleased to say that our friends had arranged for transportation from Gatwick to their home once all the cargo documentation had been completed. Zac is such a good boy; he really is no trouble what so ever when we travel and instinctively he knows that it is show time within a few days.

With Zac fed and watered and given a tour of his new home for the next few days, he settled down to sleep. We decided he had the best idea, so in hot pursuit we headed for our bed to make sure we were bright and alert the following day. Always surprising what a good nights sleep can give you, we woke to find a beautiful day surrounded by the most incredible back drop of acres of lush green fields, stables full of Danes and that morning chorus of ìcome and feed meî in various pitched levels of barking. The following couple of days were spent planning our journey to Birmingham, fitting in the grooming requirements and buying any last minute items we had forgotten or decided we would need.

Saturday was our show day, day three of a dog filled four days, so Friday night was sandwich making, filling the flasks with hot water and making sure we had adequate drinks for ourselves and visitors. Now at this point I was not sure if the purpose of our visit to the UK was to show our boy Zac at Crufts, or if it was to enter the Duke Of Edinburgh Awards for Industry. I say this because Craig made that many sandwiches, he really could have started a food chain, and so with this in mind, I thought maybe it was a small business start up grant he was hoping to secure. As we went to bed that night we were all made aware of our responsibilities and as a last reminder we were told to make sure the alarm clock was set for 0330hrs. I had fortunately remembered our alarm clock, so I took it out of our suitcase, set it for 0330hrs and then settled down for a few hours sleep as it was already approaching midnight. In no time at all the alarm clock was ringing its tiny little sides off, Craig was up and out of bed, in to the bathroom, shaved and showered before trying to raise me from my slumber. Not having much luck he decided to try his hand on the bedroom door of the remaining sleepy residents, only to be informed that the time was not 0330hrs, but in fact it was only 0130hrs !!!!!!! Whoops I thought to myself, seems like I left the clock on Cyprus time of 2 hours ahead of the UK, no wonder I still felt tired. For 2 hours I lay with my eyes open, listening to the outside sounds and afraid to fall asleep in case I did not wake on time !!!!!!!! Yes at the correct time of 0330hrs.

All dogs packed in their vans, our bags and show leads ready we all started our journey ready fro CRUFTS 2008. This was what it had all been about, this waiting time was now upon us and we were about to show Zac in the largest dog show in the world. A coffee stop at the motorway service station was almost about to put a stop to those dreams as Zac jumped out of the van and limped his way to the nearest tree to leave his calling card. Oh NO !!!!!! not a lame dog on the day of the greatest dog show in the world, this could not be happening to us. As we tried to put him through a few paces, his limp seemed to worsen, so we put him back in the van and decided to take him straight to the Vet when we arrived at the exhibition centre.

Arriving at the National Exhibition Centre was a feeling hard to describe. Beautifully groomed dogs in all directions, each one looking a winner and not one of them seemed in the least bit concerned at what the day had in store for them. We unpacked the car, filled our bags and followed the crowd. At this point it didn’t really matter which direction they were going, we were just so thrilled to be a part of the marching army. They walked and they disbursed, filtering off in to their own show arenas as we did the same. Handing in our tickets we soon found our bench, set out our blankets and went about locating the Vet. Before taking Zac to the Vet I wanted to see how bad he was with his limp, so I took him for a quick practice run in the ring before people started to fill the arena. Now I am not sure if it was the excitement of the ring or the other dogs his size pouring in, but for the moment Zac had lost his limp and was walking like a dream. A few rounds of the ring confirmed nothing more than a stiff joint that had clearly relaxed itself ready for action. It was now time to sit back, relax and enjoy the day, first watching all the other entrants arrive and set up their own bench whilst eyeing up the competition.

It is many years since I was a part of the show scene in the UK so I was interested to see how it had changed, progressed or expanded. My breed in those earlier years was the good old English Cocker Spaniel, although I have to say, most certainly not quite so heavily involved as we are today with our Danes. I think that the UK really set the scene for standards in showing and in breeding and many countries have the UK to thank and Crufts is still the pinnacle of any breeders dream. In my opinion though, and speaking purely from a Dane breederís perspective, I was surprised at how elitist many of the more established breeders were within their own breed and how difficult it was as a new comer to infiltrate such a tight nit club. We never have socialisation issues, we personally speak to anybody and everybody, nor do we let that sort of practise worry us or faze us, but it was clearly very obvious that some of the lesser established breeders and with some very beautiful Danes were just not being allowed in to take their share of the awards on offer at some of the smaller more local shows. I have never been a shrinking violet, the type to worry about another’s opinion or be intimidated by those thinking themselves holier than though or mightier than most. Actually I thrive on their insecurities and rise to the challenge, this was one of the reasons we had finally decided to attend Crufts 2008. You see many think that Europe is a distribution spot for Champion titles for dogs without class or distinction, quality or breeding. Now yes, I have to agree, many years ago this may have been the case, but NOT any more. You only have to look at the quality of dogs what ever breed you wish to cover and you find most of them, unlike years ago are not starting life in the UK. The quality dogs of today’s breeding pool are coming from European destinations and unless the breeders of the UK start to sit up and take notice, then I have to agree with many of the articles written in their very own dog papers, the breed will go in to decline.

I know personally of imports that are being sidelined because they have dared as breeders to import and they are told quite categorically that bringing in quality imports is not the route to obtaining a C.C that they must serve their time as the established breeders have done and only then will they start to be given credibility and recognition. It appears to me that a handful of those that have had years in the breed are closing ranks on those new kids on the block, when really they should be looking at the future of the breed and encouraging them to come on, bring in their new lines and develop the breed standard as it is written.

As a Harlequin breeder with a fraction of the years experience of many of the UK’s established breeders, I can honestly say I do not feel any less equipped to know a good Dane when I see one, nor am I less equipped to know the breeding patterns of the lines I am developing, but what I and many others like me do have, is a burning enthusiasm to take the breed forward and learn from those that are prepared to teach us. To those who close the doors, close rank and do not have the common courtesy to acknowledge another mans efforts when we are all striving for the same end, then I urge you to think of the future, look at where the breed has gone in the UK and start to relax the dictatorial approach that seems to be sweeping through at the higher levels in the breeding world.

There was a selection of what I personally would class as ‘GOOD DANES’ and I applaud those individuals who we actually took the time out to go over to and converse with and acknowledge their efforts. My own opinion was that the general standard of the Harlequin was far lower than those which we compete with in Europe, that we have shown against in Australia and that we have observed at the shows in America. I was disappointed that from a country who led the field in Harlequin breeding, that it had allowed its standard to drop so low. There needs to be a serious look at the colour of the Harlequin in the UK at the moment and although many would put confirmation over colour, it is the overall package that is the beauty of the beast. A couple stood out as being worthy winners, but if the truth were known, even these had come from imported lines, so the individual breeders had recognised that need for change and were doing something about it. It has been pointed out to me that getting a dog titled in the UK is far more difficult than in Europe, so to put the record straight, for those who have never stepped foot over the water to show, I can officially confirm that the European competition is far stronger, at this moment in time the Danes are far more attractive, especially coming from the Scandinavian countries, the colours are far more in line with what the breed standard suggests and the overall confirmation is how we expect our Danes to look. As for the Champion titles being easy to achieve, once again let me put the record straight. First of all, when showing under F.C.I rules we have to show with a dogs full dentition, something I know for sure some of the dogs in my Crufts open class would not be eligible for. We also have to show with a dog in tact showing both testicles, again something I know whilst sitting ring side the Judge pointed out to a couple of dogs handlers.

In 2007 we took a combined number of 42 separate flights with 2 adult Danes, we hit 16 different countries, encountered winters in Moscow, summers in Switzerland, stayed in 22 hotels, hired 18 vans, covered 42 shows and competed with numerous World Champions, European Champions, Mediterranean Champions and Grand Champions. We are not fortunate enough to be able to jump in the car, travel a few miles up the motorway and compete with a handful of UK Champions, NO !!!! Like many of our European colleagues, we have to put backbone and effort in to our presence at a dog show and when we do eventually arrive at our show destination, we compete based on the quality of our dogs and not on the favours we are owed. So in 2007 alone, to come out with Champion titles in 9 countries, Grand Champion in 2, European Champion, Mediterranean Champion, 30 Group Wins, 8 Best in Show, 3 Reserve Best In Show, Breed Champion 3 years running, Dog Of The Year and Champion of Champions for just one of our Danes ZAC I feel we have earned our stripes. To be given the frosty reception from some as we were is evident that the UK show scene in the Dane world has a lot to learn in order to bring it in line with the now very high standards of Europe.

European shows in my opinion at the moment are by far much warmer and more inviting and they actually go out of their way to congratulate you on your wins. Our experience has been most enjoyable to the point where we actively return year after year to support the overseas shows and I think a valuable lesson could be learned by many UK breeders not having experienced the warmth and hospitality of shows outside the UK to pay them a visit, check out the quality of the Danes and just see how tough it is to actually get placed under some of the strictest Judges on the circuit, never mind take a Champion title.

In Europe we encourage new blood, both in handlers and in our lines. When we enter overseas shows and take a good win, the first people to come and shake our hands are the locals. To be accepted in a country as a complete stranger means a great deal to us and we never dismiss it or ever take it for granted. I feel the UK Dane circuit in parts has lost this ability to see beyond their own closed circuit and there is a fear from new comers to actually enter shows or bring out their dogs which I feel is detrimental to the long term of the breed. Of course this is not all, it is a handful of breeders who have dominated the show scene for many years and who believe they are untouchable and unstoppable. We know it goes on in many countries, yet I have to say as a visitor it was very obvious to me and had I have been the type of character to let it upset me or offend me, then maybe I would think twice about going back. There were of course those who didn’t have this air of aloofness about them, clearly loved their breed and went to the shows, not only to show their dogs, but to make friends with new people.

The whole Crufts experience is awesome and for those reading from overseas and never having visited, it is a date for your diary you must take time out for. With over 25,000 dogs on show over 4 days, with every shopping experience catered for and with overseas entries now taking many of the top honours, it really is a dog show for people from all over the world. You need a good pair of walking shoes, a few pounds in your pocket and sufficient liquid refreshment to get you through the day.

As the Dane classes began, I took a seat ringside to see how the events unfolded. I wanted to get a closer look at the Judge Mrs J M Macdonald to see her style, to see what she was looking for and to see how she was placing her winners. As she worked her way through the classes it became obvious her style was more relaxed than had been anticipated. It is always nice to see a Judge sharing a few words with the handler and their dog, it makes life more relaxed and puts everyone at ease. I like the Harlequin and naturally they get my vote, but I have to say, there were some very impressive fawns who not only looked well, but who presented well. There were a couple of choices that again from a personal point of view I would have questioned, but this is about the Judges choice and not the exhibitors choice, so if that is what the Judge liked on the day, then I support her decision, after all that is what she has been invited to do.

It was soon time for our class, ‘OPEN DOG’ one of the more difficult classes of the day. In all over the day there were around 250 Danes entered in total, open dog and open bitch are the combination of the more experienced, more mature and more qualified in their field. Champions from all over the world come together in this class and it is the créme de la créme that go through and take the winning places.

I thought on this occasion my yellow show suit was most appropriate as red already seemed to dominate the show rings. What I had not planned for was a kidney infection which immediately saw my stomach bloat and combined with the extra few kilos I had gained in the winter months, getting in to the suit proved a little more difficult than had been on previous shows. I want to say that unfortunately it was not a case of Cinderella slipping in to the perfect fitting glass slipper, but more like one of her ugly sisters forcing her foot to win her Prince. Could I breathe in sufficiently enough to get the pants to meet in the middle, could I run around the ring without exhaling? and could I bend over my dog to place his feet if he did not walk in to his perfect stack. Well all this was a little late to start worrying about at this stage of the game, the pants were fastened and meeting in the middle, the last intake of air had been taken, enough to last me three times around the ring and the jacket was there to hide a multitude of sins, this was not about me I said to myself, this was about my dog. Who was I trying to kid, of course this was as much about me as it was about my dog, you see we come as a package and if the package was right then we stand more chance of a win. I am not one seen at the local shows in the UK, so how on earth would I get to stand out in a crowd already known to many. Well it was time to go out there all guns a blazing and let them see we were afraid of nothing and nobody.

The class was called, the dogs entered the ring and of all the 21 entries that filled out the ring completely, we focussed on nobody in particular. The Judge started to go over each dog with a fine tooth comb and slowly we moved around the ring taking up our place on each stop we made. All the time Zac was being given reassuring words to put him at ease and to pass away the time it took to get from initially entering the ring, to finding our time in front of the Judge. It took in total around 1 hour 15 minutes to go over all the dogs and as these were the top in their class, that extra time was so important. There was just one more dog and then it was our turn. Zac had been a perfect show dog, he had held his stack to perfection, he had not been bothered by any of the other dogs and his time in the ring and under the lights had not left him feeling like he does on a hot summers day show in Europe. Looking at me with dry mouth as if to say ìcome on dad, what are we still doing here, does anybody realise we are touching temperatures of 30Cî No here was Zac feeling very confident with himself and I could feel it coming through the lead. We moved slowly in to position in readiness for our call, I stacked Zac in a place I hoped we would not get moved from and I waited for the Judge to acknowledge we were next. As the Judge approached, she looked over Zac and then looked over the yellow suit. ìI like the suitî the Judge commented with a smile in her eyes ìwe can certainly see you coming and how old is the dogî She had a very warming approach to Zac, talking to him as she went over him. Zac turned his head knowing this lady had a kindness in her heart for the dogs on show, he looked up and planted a big sloppy kiss on her face almost as though it was staged. Thatís a good boy I thought to myself, you know the way to a womanís heart, a sloppy kiss works wonders every time. ìCould you move your dog for me, in to the corner, up to the top and then complete the triangleî Zac does as he always does and moves well. We were then asked to run up and down and once again Zac sticks to his routine. We were thanked and once again we took our place in the line until the remaining dogs had been seen. ìI am not going to place at this point, just going to pull a few outî I heard the Judge say to the steward. This was our time to stack and be ready for her to once again see how good he was if we were to get pulled out for the short list. Slowly the Judge went around the ring, going over every dog with a very keen eye and now the time had come for her to start selecting her short list. It seemed like a world away, the point in which she seemed to be making her selection and the point at which we were standing. So far only Fawns were making the selection and nothing of colour was getting through. Eventually her eyes focussed on Zac, she looked at the Black dog next to me, she cast her eyes back on to Zac and raised her hand in our direction for selection. WOW, I had hoped but had not planned for this. It now meant I had to extend the intake of air I had inhaled at the beginning of the class for another round of the ring, I had to keep my fingers crossed that the buttons on my pants would hold out and I looked at the T.V cameras and smiled politely as I thought if my mother is watching, the last thing I want is for her to worry I am getting to big for my pants. They do say T.V cameras put an extra 5 kilos on you, so there you go, what chance did I have, I was destined for a lifetime of ridicule of obesity in the show ring just by the fact that I was about to appear on national television. We all took our places once again as the Judge walked up and down. Now then, how would she move us, would it be round the ring or would it be up and down? As she walked behind the dogs it became evident we were going up and down, so our route was observed, we stood to attention and we waited for our time. It was a tense moment for some who took it rather more seriously than others, maybe because reputations were at stake. I got Zac in to position and off we went, down to the bottom of the ring, stop, turned around and then back. As we came back Zac lost his momentum for the moment, he had a shake of his head and a lapse in concentration. I stopped, turned around, walked back to the head of the ring and started him again in our time and not that expected of those left standing. ìThatís betterî the Judge commented when we got to the end ìnow we can see how you move properlyî She moved to the next dog as we stood to attention, perfect stack and now just awaiting the Judges decision. At this point I was more than happy with our position. We were in a short list line up, we had seen Champions from around the world being thrown out and we had seen dogs who we had admired from previous Crufts also being thrown out. Now we were left standing in a predominantly fawn line up, we were the ONLY Harlequin left standing and we were in what is seen to be the most difficult class of the day. Was I looking for a placing, well of course, we all like to think our dogs are worthy of a placing, but in such a line up, I was just happy to have seen some of the stiffest competition being thrown out leaving us in a chance position for a place, I was also happy to have proved that despite the negative comments received regarding European Champion titles and the fact that it was suggested we did not go to the trouble of making the journey to the UK to enter Crufts, here we were, standing with the ones who are taking the prizes and we were showing we had what it takes.

The moment was now very tense as the Judge went over the line up once again to make selection. Zac was doing me proud, he stood like he has never stood before and he knew all eyes were on the line up and more importantly on him as a visiting Dane. I could see out of the corner of my eye, all the people we knew and who had kindly travelled from all parts in the UK to watch us, so I would have loved to have had a place, if only to make their journey worth while. As the Judge moved to the end of the line up I could see Zacs ears starting to drop a little. Oh no, not now I thought to myself, please stay with me, keep your alert expression and keep those ears up. At that point the in-house loudspeaker system crackled on to make an announcement, Zac pushed back his head, his neck went long a lean and his ears gave him that perfect expression. There was a point when the Judge looked at us for what seemed like a life time, for a small moment I thought we were going to get first place, she then walked over and raised her arm at the ;

1st place, Fawn dog CH LOMONDANE GIES A BREAK JW ShCM (MRS C & MISS E CUNNINGHAM & ROBERTSON)

2nd place, Fawn dog CH GARSAK SIR ALFIE JW (MRS A, MR G & MR J HURST, HOOKER & LOCKEY)

3rd place, Harlequin dog, INT, GR & MULTI CH HILDYDANE ZSACHARIAS [ATC AJ00171CYP] (MR P BAINBRIDGE & MR C HULME)

Res Fawn dog, CH MYHALSTON MR MALACHI (MR O GREECHAN)

VHC Fawn dog, ROMULUS OF BACARDI [ATC AH00869HUN] (MISS TINA FIGENSCHAU)

So the final choice had been made and we had done what many thought we would not do. First of all we had been placed in the strongest line up of Crufts qualifying Great Danes, we had beaten Australian Champions, Irish Champions, International Champions, but the biggest surprise of all to many except ourselves was that we also beat the Top Winning Great Dane dog in the UK, most certainly for the past 2 years and I am also led to believe of all times, CH MYHALSTON MR MALACHI.

Our Zac had done it, he was now a Crufts winner to add to his list of impressive wins, he was automatically given life entry in to Crufts, but most importantly for us, he is entered in to the very prestigious Crufts Stud book.

What Honours Does a Stud Book Number Give a Dog?

Firstly it is an honour for a dog just to be entered into the stud book. An added bonus is that a dog never again needs to qualify for Crufts dog show, his stud book number is alone a good enough qualification to compete at this elite show. As soon as you enter the world of dog showing you will become aware of the words ’stud book’. The stud book will become an important part of your competition and with luck your own dog will one day have his own name in the Kennel Club’s stud book.

For us, this was the finishing touch to a great year. We had flown thousands of miles, we had been granted our dogs own frequent flyer card issued in conjunction with the Cyprus Kennel Club and Cyprus Airways, we had shown under some of the toughest Judges the show world as to offer and we had met some really wonderful people. To take a Crufts Winning place for us meant the world and we would like to take this opportunity of thanking the Judge, Mrs Macdonald for having the faith in our dog to place him in the winners line up. We would also like to thank all our friends & family who set off very early to make sure we had support in the ring at the time of our class. Special thanks also to all our overseas visitors, especially Kate from Athens ìCuidadoî who kindly gave up her time to stand ring side when her true passion is the Rottie.

With our part now over, we were able to sit back and watch the rest of the day’s events unfold and a full list of the winners can be viewed on the Crufts 2008 show result page. Craig set about attacking the army of sandwiches he made and fortunately we had something to offer our visiting guests what they arrived. With so much excitement we decided to travel North to visit my parents for the weekend as a surprise and when we knocked at their door they had just finished watching the class results on the T.V. She very kindly gave reassurances that despite the extra few kilos, the cameras had been very flattering to the yellow show suit and although it was not the choice of many conservative breeders and handlers, for us it did exactly what we wanted it to do and even today we are still taking calls from people who have become so familiar with the red and yellow show suits, that they were able to identify us on the T.V.

Sunday was a leisure day enjoying the traditional Sunday roast with my parents and Monday we took the opportunity of having the sperm of Zac frozen in readiness for any overseas interest we may get in the future. Unfortunately frozen semen is not something readily available in our part of the island of Cyprus, so after a long discussion with the gentleman who put Zac through his paces, we have decided to bring the system to Cyprus for all to enjoy in the future. We will first need to purchase all the equipment, we will need to complete the training and once all this has been done we can start to offer the service, not only in Cyprus, but I am told it can be transported to shows which we are in attendance at, so other destinations can also take advantage of the facility.

Following a few days shopping and stocking up with all those things you tend to miss and have grown up with, we headed back to our sunshine island of Cyprus, 7 days from when we first set out.

This coming weekend 15th & 16th March we have a double weekend show here in Cyprus and whilst Zac rests, it is now the turn of Donny & Tina to hopefully bring back some trophies. Harry is over in Latvia for the Winners Show and then over in Finland at his second show of the weekend so we wish him luck.

I have added over 100 photos to the Crufts photo link and if you double click on any of the photos it should automatically take you straight to the album [or click here]. Both Craig & I hope you enjoy looking through them, we hope you have enjoyed our own views and opinions of how the Crufts show was observed by us and we would like to thank all those who did find the time to come over, converse with us and make us feel very welcome.

OUR 2007 SHOW NEWS AT A GLANCE

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

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

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

FINAL AWARDS POSITION IN 2007 FOR ZSACHARIAS

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

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

FINAL AWARDS POSITION IN 2007 FOR HEIDIE

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

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

FINAL AWARDS POSITION IN 2007 FOR ODETTE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

We have in the litter:

• 3 Mantle puppies (2 dogs and 1 bitch)

• 7 Harlequin puppies (3 dogs and 4 bitch)

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

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

Find the permanent new litter page here.

Some late night news to anyone visiting late this Saturday evening; 

Hildydane Zsacharias Wins Cyprus Best Dog of the Year 2006 & Winner of the Title Champion Of Champions!

Click the link for further information.

(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.