Dachshund Club 2015 BIS

It was a great honour to be invited to judge BIS at The Dachshund Club. I had the pleasure of serving on the committee of this distinguished club for a few years and I still miss the fabulous years Kari and I spent with our Miniature Dachshunds. This year the Club had invited three well known judges from abroad which gave the show a bit of extra flair. The guests were Jose Homem De Mello and Carla Molinari from Portugal who were joined by Elisabeth Rhodin from Sweden. I was totally taken by the Standard Smooth, Phaeland Special Driver At Rijobeau, which fitted the standard like a hand in the glove. He came from Jose's ring and I had no hesitation in making him BIS. This dog is of international class and he could win all over Europe. Gone was the overgrown heavy type with weak temperament which we so often have seen among the Standard Smooths in the UK. The runner up was Elisabeth's BOB in Standard Wire, Silvae Solar. She was also an impressive dog, but I would have liked her with better curves. She was a bit square for me so she got RBIS. Best among the puppies was Mike Turner's choice among the Miniature Longs. I absolutely adore this baby. This is what I wrote about her when I gave her Best Puppy at the Hound Show in August when she was six months old: "1 Lokett-Walters & Lockett-Walters' Ralines The Last Word. When you are judging you sometimes see puppies which you wish you could bring home. For me The Last Word was one of those. I loved everything about this 6 months old girl and it will be interesting to see how she will develop. My guess is that she will be a big winner because she has so many attributes which this breed is missing. I wish her all the best". Once again she pleased me no end and I can now categorically state that "The Last Word" is a star in the making. An easy runner-up was the very promising Miniature Smooth, Trixhund Bring Me Sunshine. His name was very appropriate because he brought sunshine to the show. The Best Veteran was the Min Smooth, Ch Kathington Coeur De Lion. This was a fabulous grandfather in great form. He was light on his feet and outshone all his competitors.