counted much more for the dogs who gave demonstrations in Frisbee, Agil- ity, Dog Dancing, Rescue and police work and all other disciplines that were shown in the demonstration ring in Hall 1. There was also a “theater course”, a new discipline where dogs are learned several tricks that could be of use in films and television work. That a World Dog Show requires a massive amount of helpers and people involved is certainly no secret. In order to welcome all those dogs and owners from 74 different nationalities, 450 vol- unteers were active every day to clean up every evening, prepare the rings, assist as ring steward, cleaning up excrements, collecting results, guide visitors and exhibitors... it is a massive job with lots of volunteers involved, not only from the Netherlands but also from the neighboring countries and Belgium in the first place as they speak the same language. The breed stand, about 200, were not placed in some kind of village, but next to the ring where the breed was shown. In total there were 60 rings. On the map of the halls I count- ed 78 rings but probably the 18 extra rings were reserved for the specialties. About 200 judges were invited from 50 different countries and there was a lot of press registered, about 120. And in Hall 1 most of the 150 Trade Stands were located including the two main sponsors, Royal Canin and Eukanuba. Statistics were not to be found in the catalog but at the Press Conference, we received an overview of the top ten breeds and the participants. Here we learn that there was a massive repre- sentation from Russia, leading for the Benelux Winner and the Specialties and with 1851 entries for the World Dog Show, right after Germany with 3 more entries and the Netherlands who were leading with 1921 entries. France had 1544 entries, Italy 1344. Another impressive number were the British entries; on the 4th place right after Fin- land with 655 entries, on the 7th place for the WDS with 901 entries and on the second place behind Russia with 717 entries. Let us not forget that England recognizes far fewer breeds than the FCI countries. The Benelux winner was a one day show held on Thursday and it took very long before the Best In Show was cho- sen, almost 9 in the evening. Not only were all the 10 groups on term but if you do that not only for the adult dogs, but also for the juniors, plus choosing the best Brace, Group, Progeny Group, Junior Handler, Minor Puppy, Puppy, Veteran, Working Class and Dutch breeds.... no need to tell that this pro- gram had no climax towards the end, just a longing to go home, sleep and
focus on the WDS or Specialties the next days. Fortunately, the main ring for the WDS ended at a reasonable hour, between 6 and 7 PM and around 8 on Sunday. The specialties, however, lasted late almost every day. They were held on Friday and Saturday only, not on Sunday. The best In Show went to the Scottish Terrier “Mcvan’s Big Bop- per At Beameups” shown by Rebecca Cross from the United States of Amer- ica. On Friday Groups 1, 3 and 4 were on term, good for 4993 dogs judged by 54 judges. Big numbers in breeds were the American Staffordshire Terrier, 185 in total, Australian Shepherds, 170, Jack Russels, 218 all together, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, 154, 107 Scottish Terri- ers, 107 Miniature Bull Terrier, 98 Wes- ties, 125 Yorkies and 237 Welsh Cor- gis, Cardigan and Pembrokes together. The Dachshunds are one group in FCI, Group IV and here we found 751 speci- men, all varieties is size and coat. The groupwinning Dachshund was later dis- qualified. He belonged to a judge, Mr. Jean-François Vanaken from Belgium, who was officiating on this show and that is not allowed by the FCI rules. It is a missed chance for the other winning Dachshunds as they could not compete for BIS in the main ring on Sunday. I think in general that judges should no longer show dogs they own at all on shows, even if they don't officiate on that show. It gives always a corrupt feel- ing, certainly if they win, and automati- cally they win more easily because they know so many judges. It gives other judges also a very discomforting feel- ing and for sure tend to place their dogs higher than they normally would. On Saturday we found some inter- esting groups as 6, 7, 8 and 10 were on term. Only 4413 were to be judged also by 54 different judges. Groups 6 and 7 have so many rare breeds that one hard- ly sees but in the native country or on a World or European dog show. Let me sum up a few: Bleu Gascony Basset and Griffon, Bleu Picardy Spaniel, Ariègois and Ariègois pointing dog, Poitevin, Auvergne Pointer, Briquet Griffon Ven- déen, the Istrian hounds, the Polish hounds, the Swiss hounds, the French hounds, Spaniels and Waterdogs, the Segugio's from Italy, the Great Gascony Blue, the Norwegian hound, the Hamil- tonstövare and a I can go on. Several of them can be seen in different coats and most of them had only a few of them present on the show. But it was very interesting that this World Dog Show had one of the most wide spectra in breeds and breed varieties recognized by the FCI. Aspirant All-round judges should grab the opportunity to have a close look at certain breeds they will probably see only a few times in their
lives and they should discuss them with specialist judges. Notwithstanding the many rare breeds, these groups contain also some of the most popular breeds. And the big overall winner is the Rho- desian Ridgeback that had 231 exam- ples on this show. The two second most popular breeds were the Labrador and the Golden Retrievers, both with 219 entries. The 4th place was also taken by a breed of group VI, the Beagles, 212 were present. More big numbers are lined up here: 154 Dalmatians, 167 Eng- lish Cocker Spaniels, 139 Flat Coated Retrievers, 127 Salukis, 171 Weimara- ners and 163 Whippets. No specialties on Sunday because there were 8220 entered for the WDS. 94 Judges had to judge them and all 78 rings had to be available in order to finish in time for the start of the finals. It was the day of the groups 2, 5 and 9.Large groups with lots of popular breeds and that counts certainly for the breeds of group 2. Rare breeds were the Dutch Smoushond, a dog rarely to be found out of the Neth- erlands, only 4 were entered, teh Eeast Siberian Laika, the Asian breeds like the Hokkaido, Kai, Kishu, Korean Jindo dog, the Shikoku, Taiwan dog and Thai Bangkaew dog. The Rafeiro de Alentejo and Jämthund are certainly to be men- tioned too, and I was surprised to find such a high number of Danish-Swedish Farmdogs, 32 imagine, but that is prob- ably because Denmark borders the Netherlands. I like this dog as it looks so ordinary like the farmdogs that I used to see a lot when I was young and that were called “farmers fox”. I also need to mention a non recognized Dutch breed, the “Markiesje”, a black spaniel like companion dog, seen often in old Dutch paintings. There were only 9 entered. High numbers were found in the Ber- nese Mountain dog with 174 entries, the Boston Terriers with 153 entries. The Bulldogs are still very popular, 204 were on this show. Chihuahuas too, 315 were entered, long coats and smooths together. 155 Chinese Cresteds were shown, 236 French Bulldogs, 275 Great Danes, 142 Cane Corso’s and 323 Min- iature Schnauzers (all colors together). Pugs keep on being popular, 200 were here and the Pomeranian is coming up a lot with 141. The Siberian too keep well with 174 entries while the Black Russian Terrier is also a rising star with 122 entries! The main ring was large enough with stairs left en right from the podium, the press facing it and upstairs below them the VIP area. The presentation was very well done, in English and Dutch. The carpet was green, not the most wanted colors for the photographers. The press was divided up in those who write and those who took photos for all breed
194 • S how S ight M agazine , S eptember 2018
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