Best in Show

Today we took Lou & Serge to see the dachshunds of the South African Teckel Club compete in a dog show.
















The show was hosted by the Goldfields Kennel Club on its sprawling showgrounds and clubhouse located in Bedfordview. Goldfields has been in existence since 1895 and has been affiliated to the Kennel Union of Southern Africa since 1909.  The club is the home of many of the top shows in the country including the annual Dog of the Year show in August.

Serge and his breeder / handler Alexandra von Weber

Serge is no stranger to dog shows.



















Vince showed him a few times back in the USA and he was awarded an Excellent by the Deutscher Teckelklub of Germany when the German judges came to Pennsylvania in 2010.

getting ready to enter the ring

But we have not registered the dogs with the International Kennel Club here in South Africa so for the time being we can only watch.

dogs will be dogs ... especially wire-haired clowns

afghans wear protective ear snoods before the show to keep them clean

The show today was not just for teckels and dachshunds; it was an all hounds show. There were separate competition rings for each breed of hound competing, including borzoi, afghans, Irish wolfhounds, Rhodesian ridgebacks, and pharoah hounds.

There was even a competition in which any breed of dog - even non-hounds - could enter. It was an obedience competition. Each dog pulled a cart through an obstacle course and was judged completely on how well they followed the silent lead of their owner. They were amazing!

Of course the dachshunds were still the cutest pulling the cart with their little legs.

Lou attracted quite a lot of attention with the South African Teckel Club. We have noticed when we travel outside of the USA that wire-haired dachshunds are much more popular than long-haired or smooth dachshunds. In South Africa, we were told, they are the dachshund breed of choice.

We were encouraged by all the dachshund breeders and handlers at the show to register Lou with the International Kennel Club and enter him in some shows.

And apparently American wire-haired dachshunds in particular are very desirable for breeding. They were all very excited to know that Lou is completely "entire" for breeding. You could just see his little ego inflating as they spoke. There will be no living with him now! We were given several names to contact should we wish to pursue a love life for Lou.

One of the breeders even showed us the proper way to groom Lou ourselves so that he will have the desired seal-like coat of the wire-haired show dachshund. I kind of like him scruffy but Vince is psyched to give it a try.


Of course we came for the teckel show but once we got there, we found a big surprise with the Irish wolfhound competition. They pipe their competitors into the ring to begin the show! If there is one thing I love, it is the bagpipe.

Once they are all in the arena, they pose for a group photo.

Sit!

Irish wolfhounds are cool and I'm into the bagpipe deal, but some of the handlers go a little overboard with the whole Irish thing!

Even though Lou & Serge were not competing, I still think they deserve Best in Show for being the cutest dogs there!
















Lou claimed his prize - a zebra squeaker ball chew toy! But with Lou's superior desirability and virility reaffirmed by the South African Teckel Club, I fear Mr. Zebra doesn't stand a chance.

grrrr