Norwegian Elkhounds

On the Road with Linx & Adele

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Read Part I of “On the Road with Linx & Adele” as featured in The Newtown Bee

Part II “Barking Nights for Linx & Adele”

There are some things you just don’t think about until they happen. Day one on the road to Illinois was a long trek, 14 hours, including three stops for potty and water breaks,  from Newtown to Elkhart, Indiana. As we nestled into the Red Roof Inn for a good night’s sleep, it was anything but continuous. A group of camo-dressed hunters held a tailgate party right outside our room until the wee hours. Every time they laughed, my Norwegian Elkhounds, Adele & Linx, barked back. Have I mentioned that elkhounds are notorious barkers? Finally we were all fast asleep when someone was banging on our door at 5 a.m. Amidst more barking than before , I opened the door a crack, “Taxi,” said the driver.

“Taxi?” I said to a cacophony of canine vocalization.

“Yes, Taxi,” the driver offered again.

“No, Taxi,” I replied.

“No Taxi?” came his response as I closed the door.  Bark. Bark. Bark. Boy, this was going to be a long trip.

Mr. Sock

Linx hadn’t been on a long overnight road trip since 2007 when I took him to Canada as a puppy. This would be Adele’s first extended trip. Overall, they were really good dogs, but at night, the demons arrived to deprive us all of sleep. The next night was our first night at the resort, the day before the big national specialty dog show started with the Veteran Sweepstakes for the older dogs.

Crash! Bang! Rattle! Clang!  I woke up with a start in the dark. No barking, but I knew that Linx had exited the bed, the wrong side of the bed. He opted for the tight space on the right side next to the wall. He had somehow hit the metal dolly (what I use to pull cargo around the dog show) that I had propped up against the wall at the foot of the bed for storage out of the way. I guess it wasn’t out of the way enough. Linx settled back into sleep on the floor across the room.

Next morning, we all woke up, and I noticed Linx had some dried blood on his left rear paw. Upon closer inspection, he had actually pulled off his toenail. I went to investigate and found it on the floor next to the dolly. Then I got out my first aid kit and cleaned his paw. Next up, with the help of friends, we managed to get him bandaged in a donated clean sock and started him on antibiotics. He was no worse for the wear. But I needed to keep him from licking his paw, so the sock would stay on unless he was in the show ring. That night he proudly picked up a second place in his age group at the sweepstakes.

Crash! Shatter! Rumble!  That night, a bottle of Pellegrino I had in the mini-fridge froze solid and exploded! Woke us up and set off the dogs barking. Three nights, three disruptions. But we tried to sleep on.

A quick trip the next morning sent me to Target to purchase a 10-pack of clean socks. Linx  garnered the nickname “Mr. Sock” among his friends and looked quite fashionable in a rainbow of colors, until someone made fun of him wearing a lady’s pink ped on his paw. I kindly informed them it was for good luck. His next class the following day was a large competitive Veteran Dog class with an entry of 10 and that the first place ribbon in that class was pink and it had his name on it.

The next day as predicted, Linx, at 9 and half years old, the oldest dog in the class, walked proudly into the show ring, performed his best, and walked out with the first place pink ribbon under a Norwegian judge. It qualified him for the Best of Breed class the next day. That night all three of us enjoyed one long uninterrupted slumber.

Best Brace in Show

Refreshed, we were ready to tackle the final day of the national specialty. Early in the day, Adele captured a first in the Open Bitch class. Then came Best of Breed, where Linx gained an Award of Merit, one of only 15 given among nearly 200 elkhounds. But the real fun was just about to start. The last class of the show is called Brace. According to AKC rules, A brace is defined as two dogs of the same recognized breed or variety that are similar in appearance, performing in unison, and presented by a maximum of two handlers. Both dogs competing in brace competition must have at least one common owner. I’ve always opted to show my brace a single handler. I must be crazy!

Adele and Linx stepped into the ring. Our first test was around the ring.  Then we had to stop and stack. Linx on the outside, Adele on the inside. Then the individual exam, showing their bites. And the big test, down and back across the diagonal of the large ring with an outside turn. Stop for the judge for one last look and one more time around the ring. Then months of roadwork and training paid off as Adele & Linx became Best Brace in Show with the point of the judge’s finger. After another two days of a regional specialty and two days traveling home, Adele and Linx, finally got to sleep in their own beds. And there was no barking. Good dogs!

 

 

 

Morris & Essex Kennel Club Dog Show – A Vintage Experience

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Every five years all of us in the dog fancy don fashionable hats and period outfits to celebrate a commemorative version of an iconic dog show. Since its reincarnation in 2000 by a group of dedicated fanciers, the Morris and Essex Kennel Club dog show has become a modern classic with a serious nod to its traditional roots.

Donning my M&E outfit in the grooming area.

Donning my fashionable M&E hat and outfit in the grooming area.

M&E sprouted in 1927 when Mrs. Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, niece to the oil baron, sprayed large white tents across her polo field to host thousands of show dogs. The scene at her “Giralda Farms” estate became the annual setting of her signature kennel club in Madison, New Jersey. She personally financed the show for decades. It became a valuable place to come study the best dogs while appearing on the social scene. Mrs. Dodge made it special by offering sterling silver trophies, lavish flower decorations, catered meals for VIPs and the famed boxed lunch for all exhibitors. Only the war years silenced the great show which ended its run in 1957.

If you want to know more about the original M&E, a new book, The Golden Age of Dog Shows: Morris & Essex Kennel Club, 1927-1957, with a forward by William Secord, famed canine fine art historian and gallery owner, promises not to disappoint dog show historians.

Morris & Essex Kennel Club 2015 

Last week M&E’s 2015 edition did not disappoint. A record-breaking 4,666 show dogs made it the largest, outdoor one-day dog show in American History, something Mrs. Dodge would have been proud of. For the previous two shows, in 2005 and 2010, my employment dictated I remain a spectator. But this year, unencumbered, I became an exhibitor for the first time. My kennel of three Norwegian Elkhounds would be among the thousands.

Showing Adele in the 12-18 month puppy sweepstakes class. She went on to win the 12-18 months regular class at M&E.

Showing Adele in the 12-18 month puppy sweepstakes class. She went on to win the 12-18 months regular class. Her litter sister Marnie (seen at the end of the line) took Winners Bitch for a 5-point major as part of the GSNEC specialty held at M&E.

Because this is a special show, I decided it would be a fitting tribute, rather a retirement of sorts, to bring my 12-year-old veteran bitch Jinx, officially known as Ch. Elvemel For Your Eyes Only, CGC, to her final show. Her show career ended a decade earlier due to my AKC employment restrictions. The day she earned her championship I was barred from showing her. I remember how I cried winning that major at Bucks County Kennel Club on a blustery May morning in 2005.

Jinx becomes a Ch. Elvemel For Your Eyes Only at Bucks County KC dog show in 2005.

Jinx becomes a Ch. Elvemel For Your Eyes Only at Bucks County KC dog show in 2005.

She is the culmination of 20 years of careful breeding, one of the best bitches I’d ever produced. She’s showy with no off switch, a handler’s dream. A direct line back to my foundation bitch, I never got to show her as a special. As an owner/breeder/handler, giving up showing and breeding my dogs to work at AKC to promote showing and breeding dogs was a bittersweet burden.

It’s Show Time! 

My dogs know when its time to go to a show. The cues are everywhere: baths, grooming, packing the van and cooking the liver. The morning of, they see us scurrying around the house gathering last minute items, leashes in hand. They are smart, they have memories of fun and excitement. Jinx was especially animated last Thursday. I could hear her brain, “Dog Show! Dog Show!” She knew, after all those years, where she was going. We left at 4 am since we heard the lines to get to the rings might be long. We arrived at 6 am and unloaded ringside in the dark, under one of those large white tents, now sprayed across Colonial Park in Somerset, NJ.

After walking the dogs around the well-appointed grounds, past trophy displays, floral arrangements, and fashionably dressed folks, I gingerly placed Jinx on the grooming table. Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Jinx announced. Some things never change. After primping the old bitch, show lead on her, we headed to the ring. As the steward called our number, we proudly walked in. Our heads held high, her’s looking for treats, mine trying to keep my fancy hat on my head in a blowing wind.

Jinx at age 12, shows like a charm at M&E in the Veteran Sweepstakes. Her son, Ch. Elvemel Casino Royale CGC, captured Veteran Sweeps Best of Opposite, making us very proud!

Jinx at age 12, shows like a charm at M&E in the Veteran Sweepstakes under Judge Sue Ratz. Her son, Ch. Elvemel Casino Royale CGC, captured Veteran Sweeps Best of Opposite, making us very proud!

It’s customary at shows, when veterans (dogs over 7 years old) are gaited around the ring, to give them a round of applause. Most veterans are returning ‘show veterans’ with long careers. For Jinx, she was here because she belonged here as the fruits of my labor as a breeder. She was here so others could study dogs, could study her. As the judge went over her aging body, she sparkled. Those beautiful dark brown eyes still captured hearts. As we gaited around the ring for that final time, applause as Jinx pulled the lead between us taught, I felt those tears well up again. This time, it was pride, not sadness. The owner of her sire was watching ringside. She commented how watching Jinx was like watching Jag move gracefully around the ring. As a stud dog, he had stamped his quality on her. As a breeder, I had recognized that and matched it well with Jinx’s dam. It was good to know that after decades of studying dogs, as a breeder, I finally got it right in a beautiful bitch who disappeared for a decade from dog shows.