AGM 2021

Luca

Gustav

Mishka Boots

Iris

 

A Eurasier Show from the perspective of a Dachshund

Mom just got us up super early and I’m not happy about it. She keeps brushing my ears! Take me back to bed! There’s bags everywhere and her and Dad keep throwing questions at each other. Have you got the poo bags? Have you got the leads? What about water? Do we have enough poo bags? Jeez, how many poo bags do we need? Where are we going? Can I go back to bed?
They’ve packed the car completely full of bags and shoes and coats and Dawg knows what else. There’s not a lot of room for me. I need quite a lot of space actually. Pretty sure I can smell treatos though… They’re still talking about poo bags.

The journey was sooooo long. So long! But we did eventually arrive. Mom’s just disappeared and Dad’s put me on the driver’s seat of the car. Maybe I can drive us home! I would be a great driver. He’s unloading some of the bags. I hope they’re all full of treatos. 

Mom just came back with a little yellow booklet and she’s reading out names to Dad. We’re all in the same class she said. I guess we’re at a dog show or something. Sometimes Mom likes to get Luca’s fancy, sparkly lead out and they run around for a little while and then when she comes back Luca and I get loads of treatos. I knew I could smell them. It’s a day full of treatos! Maybe that’s why they need all the poo bags.

Mom’s just put my lead on and we’re going somewhere. The grass is so long I’m swamped! There was no point brushing my ears, they’re going to be soaked. There’s dogs EVERYWHERE! Definitely must be a show. But why hasn’t she taken Luca? I hope she’s not showing me. I’d rather…look after…the treatos. We’re going over to some people who have dogs that look like Luca but they’re different colours to him. These ones are more similar to my colour. I like their style! Some of these people are trying to talk to me but I need to be keeping an eye on these other dogs. Sheeba, Annie (she’s pretty similar to Luca, actually!), Ruby, Ursa, Arwen and Frodo are their names, Mom said. I need to make sure they don’t beeline for the car while I’m not there. I hope Luca is guarding the treatos. What if he eats them without me? Mom we need to get back! No time for talking! Treatos at stake! Mmmm steak.

Okay we’re going back now. But Mom’s panicking. It’s okay Mom I got the treatos! Where’s the brush? I need his squeaky frog! Oh! They must be going in the ring. That was quick! Mom hasn’t even brushed Luca, he’ll look all scruffy! Wow she’s really speed-brushing now. Poor Luca. Oop they’re off. Dad’s got me now, can’t see Mom and Luca. Dad and I are making our way over too. They’re doing their thing when they run around in circles with their fancy leads. They must get dizzy. Luca keeps peeing everywhere, how embarrassing. I do not know him!! Oh my Dawg! Luca got first place! I was only joking when I said I didn’t know him. That’s my bro! They’re calling him 'Bob' or something. He’s not called Bob! Dawg humans are so slow sometimes.

 

Arwen came second, Ursa came third, Annie came fourth, and Frodo came fifth. Mom says we have to wait here longer now and go for a group whatever that means, so I guess I’ll have to guard the treatos longer. Dawg this is hard work. Sheeba and Ruby went to go and run around their ring with their fancy leads so we’re watching them while we have to wait. Mom says they’re in the AV Veteran class so that must mean they’re really good and been doing show stuff for a long time. I bet they’ve had loads of treatos. Jealous. There’s two new humans here now and one of them gives the best butt scritches. 10/10 would recommend! Ruby got first and Sheeba got third! They really are good at this. Well done the me-coloured Luca lookalikes! 

Okay, Luca and Mom are going in the group now. It just looks like another class but this time it’s all different kinds of dogs, not just ones that look like Luca. Me and Dad are sat on the other side of the ring. I guess so that we can stay nearer the treatos to keep an eye on them. Good thinking Dad. Maybe I’ll let you have one later too. Maybe. Oh Mom and Luca are running towards us HI LUCA HI MOM HI IT’S US ME AND DAD HI Luca saw us and he wanted to say hi but then they ran away again. Oh well I guess they’re busy that’s okay. Oh my Dawg my bro did it again everyone is cheering! He got first place! This is amazing we’re going to get so many treatos. Everyone is hugging Mom now, that’s nice, these are friendly humans! Dad is really happy too. I think that means we have to wait longer. Gosh they better be some good treatos! At least the sun is shining. Sun AND treatos oh boy oh boy. 

Mom and Luca went in the ring again and they did their fancy running, but they didn’t get a place this time. The dog that came first was a dog that looks like me but had short hair, so that’s okay! Mom said That was such a nice day, and we did Eurasiers proud! I have to agree, especially as no one stole the treatos. We had amazing support and company, too. She is really happy and she said we have salmon sticks and beef jerky, and we’re going to get some chimken from the shop too. I dunno Mom, I wouldn’t say this was a nice day, I’d say it was the BEST day! I guess getting up early wasn’t so bad after all.

 Can’t wait to go again!

 

 

Spitz in the Park 2021

Click her to see the full article

SEA 1st Virtual Dog Show

By Harriet Lacey

One of the best things, in my opinion, about having a dog, is the social aspect. Making new friends, being part of a like-minded community and feeling that sense of belonging when around those who share our passion for pups, is something that is quite wonderful.

When lockdown was enforced across the UK and many other countries around the world, that social element was lost. Group walks, play dates and dog shows around the world have been put on hold, and many of us, myself included, long for these to return. So what better way to satisfy the itch than with a Virtual Dog Show?!

The Southern Eurasier Association (SEA) took up the challenge, and lots of our members joined in the fun. In doing so, we raised money for The Mayhew; an animal welfare charity that aids people and their animals both in the UK and overseas, and helps with the rescue, adoption and veterinary care of our beloved companion animals.

With 10 competitive classes, and an extra, non-competitive class to remember those now with us in spirit, there was something for everyone in this fun-filled event; and the SEA members did not disappoint! The entries came pouring in and our judge, multi-breed expert and Eurasier-enthusiast, Christina Chapman, had a tough job on her hands.

The show was split into two, a “Breed Show” and a “Fun Show”. The Breed Show sported ‘Puppy’, ‘Open Dog’, ‘Open Bitch’ and ‘Veteran’ classes, while the Fun Show celebrated ‘Waggiest Tail’, ‘Best Movement’, ‘Fancy Dress’, ‘Biggest Smile’, ‘Biggest Goofball’ and ‘Best Pack’. Our final, non-competitive class was ‘Rainbow Bridge’, where we simply revelled in the love for our dogs and remember those who may have left this earth, but will never leave our hearts.

In the Breed Show, entrants were requested to submit both a headshot and full-body profile image of their dogs. Based on the Eurasier breed standard, (which you can find here, places were selected, and the results came in…

PUPPY: Christina: “Some very promising puppies here.”

1^st: River (Darchen Red River Rebel; 6 months; male) – What a super head shot and lovely alert expression, super dark eye & good pigment. In stance, absolutely right for age, nicely proportioned and Oh so promising.

2^nd: Vienna (Pacific Coast Vienna Wolfsong Dignity of Lakota; 6 months; female) – Yet again a lovely head and expression, dark well-set eyes, & good pigment. Looks good in stance for age, again a promising puppy.

3^rd: Ludo (Darchen Kipawa; 11 months, male) – Well grown outline; fine for age, just a tad 'bum high' Head & expression very pleasing, good dark eyes and nice smile. Should have a good future.

OPEN DOG:

1^st: Arnold (GCh Naku’s Major Dutch Shaefer; 5 years) – Impressive looking male, rich colour, well-proportioned throughout and super head and expression; good, dark well-shaped eyes and well-set ears.

2^nd: Bel Ami (Bel Ami von der Traunseebahn; 4 years) – And really good-looking dog, great colour and markings looks well made through. Another really good head and expression.

3^rd: Gustav (Alphacanis Gustav; 2 years 3 months) – Yet another very good, well-proportioned head and expression, good eye and pigment. Looks good in stance just a little leggy at the moment, which you would expect at his age.

OPEN BITCH:

1^st: Skye (Jolene Skye von der Wolfswiesen; 3 years) – Beautiful feminine head and expressive dark eyes. In stance looks to be in lovely condition and well proportioned. Great outline.

2^nd: Della (Albionspitz Tanzanite; 5 years) – Looks good standing with nice proportions, good depth of chest. Pretty head and expression, super dark eyes and lovely smile close up to 1.

3^rd: Holly (Fridlyckans Holly; 6 years) – Another who looks very good in stance with nice proportions and good dark eye & pigment. Just not quite the expression of those above.

VETERAN: Christina: “Lovely class.”

1^st: Bubbles (Buffspike Bubblicious Beat; 13 years; female) – Beautiful head with an expression that says, seen it and done it all. The wisdom of the ages.

2^nd: MishkaBoots (Cewpark Creamy Chiffon; 12 years; female) – Lovely head and expression, so elegant and poised.

3^rd: Kyra (Willowfalls Misty Dawn; 11 years; female) – Gorgeous colour, lovely head and a quite mischievous expression.

The first two of our Fun Show classes required video entries: Waggiest Tail and Best Movement.

WAGGIEST TAIL:

Arguably one of the best physical features in our lovely Eurasiers is their big fluffy tails! Our happy-go-lucky pups sure know how to show them off when they’re in their highest moods. The placings are sure to make you smile…

1^st: Jazmine – 91 wags per minute

2^nd: Lux – 90 wags per minute

3^rd: Luca – 89 wags per minute

Christina: “So only 2 wags between them, but highly delighted to see so many lovely happy dogs.”

BEST MOVEMENT:

According to the breed standard, the Eurasier “moves with strides of moderate length. Straight coming and going.” The art of good movement falls in a well-balanced dog. (Read more about what makes a dog balanced here:) Therefore, the fact that Christina struggled with this class in particular, is fantastic! (Sorry, Christina!) A very good sign for our breed. “This was a difficult choice, as I didn’t see a bad mover anywhere. Places were separated by small degrees.”

1^st: Luca – Really driving so well off his hocks, good front to match and looked so, so easy in profile.

2^nd: Lux – Only 8 months old, but so sound and positive for age; just had to have this place.

3^rd: Gustav – Very good rear action, enough drive, sound in front, and easy profile stride.

Our remaining four competitive classes were guaranteed to brighten your day.

FANCY DRESS:

1^st: Blue Thor – A lovely Reindeer but the expression says to me: 'For goodness sake Mum how long does Christmas last???'

2^nd: Annie – The jester – pretending to be a Jack in the Box.

3^rd: Gabriella – Not a happy bunny, guess the Saints lost? 

BIGGEST SMILE: Christina: “I loved this class.”

1^st: Isha – Not so much a smile as a LOL!!! Sure this is a laugh ...

2^nd: River – Showing off lovely clean teeth with a gorgeous smile.

3^rd: Timber – The kind of smile an older ‘wise’ dog saves for puppies.

  

BIGGEST GOOFBALL:

1^st: Lumen – Although I am not a fan of inbreeding I do think this is a good example of an 'In Bread' dog!!

2^nd: Grietje – Was this an audition for a part in 'The Exorcist?'

3^rd : Ty-Ohni – Obviously wants to change breeds and be a 'boxer!'

 

BEST PACK: Christina: “I also have to comment that had I actually been with the dogs, I would have checked every one in every photograph to see if there was 'Blu-tack' on their paws!!!”

1^st: Fridlyckans Danish Delight, Glimma, Holly, Karma-Lily & Love Bug Lux – Gorgeous looking group and looked very well matched too. Plus I couldn't resist the little one in the middle.

2^nd: Timber’s Puppies – Ooohh I wish this had been the ones the Judge could take home.

3^rd: Arnold, Winnie & Hildy –  So lovely and looked very much a typey bunch but I think a little too well behaved to be true!!! 

And finally, our non-competitive class, Rainbow Bridge. I share this quote from author and Reike Master, Dr. Elizabeth S. Eiler: “There are spiritual guardians at all the transitional places in our mysterious multidimensional Universes. The precious sacred souls of animals are created to beautifully traverse these regions when their bodies are no more upon the Earth.”

Our dogs are all stars, both in the current life and the afterlife. We use this class to celebrate the light they bring to our lives, and remember the love we will always have for them.

To wrap up the SEA Virtual Show, both the Breed Show and Fun Show had overall winners.

Our Best in Fun Show is Lumen, our “in-bread” (or is he “pure-bread”?) Eurasier.

Our Best of Breed is the ever-handsome Arnold!

All those who placed received their very own SEA Virtual Show coasters, and our Best in Show winners received personalised versions.

Thanks to all of your fantastic 130+ entries, we have raised a minimum of £218 for Animal charity The Mayhew! This is a huge amount, so thank you to each and every one of you for your generosity.

Special thanks go to Brigitte Mordan-Grimm and Peter Mordan, who sponsored the prizes for the show; to Jon and Hilary Cowdock, who worked behind the scenes designing and ordering the coaster prizes, and then having them sent to all the entrants who placed; the SEA Committee for allowing and encouraging the show to go ahead; our fantastic judge, Christina Chapman, for being such a good sport; and of course, to all of our lovely members who entered, made the show a success, and helped to raise so much money for The Mayhew.

Comments from our judge, Christina: “Well now the results have been posted I can comment. First, if not too late, a complaint about a certain Brigitte!!! First she asks 'Will you Judge our Show?' 'Yes, love to!' I replied. Then she says 'It will be easy!!!' SHE LIED ..........! Seriously folks this was extremely hard, which is why it took me so long. There were some absolutely wonderful photographs here, some made me smile and some made me cry. But most made me think how even in quality and the movement in all videos was good; not something that can be said about all breeds. You have had my comments regarding individual dogs, but in most classes I could have closed my eyes and thrown a dart and still finished with a good one. Thanks so much for the entry; I am now going to lie down in a darkened room to have a rest!!! Christina XX P.S. I want River!!!”

Here's to our fabulous pups, and to hoping that “we shall meet again” soon!       

VIRTUAL WALK - Sunshine and Showers

Basingstoke Canal

by Ann Winter

Unable to host my usual walk from the Basingstoke Canal Centre, I decided to offer a virtual alternative as an opportunity for Eurasier lovers to have a little fun , to see how many would attend our ‘walk’ and the number of miles each participant would ‘travel’ to join in. No prizes -  as anyone that owns a Eurasier is a winner. 

However the 90 furbies clocked up over 36,000 carbon free miles !

In summary :

Across the miles to all our friends

Was sent an invite to attend

A type of walk not known before

You didn’t even need to leave your door

You came from near, you came from far

You were called ‘The Eurasier’

Across the counties many came

Your presence noted by your name

And cousins from around the globe

A throng of Eurasiers, young and old

From mountains high and valleys low

Your little paws knew where to go

The sky was blue, the sun was bright,

We really were a fabulous sight

And whilst this was a virtual walk, we couldn’t meet, we couldn’t talk

To have so many friends united

Has made me so delighted

And though our lives are now restrained

I know that we will meet again

They came from far and wide

My Visit to CRUFTS 2020

My name is Helena Jansson, I am from Sweden and have been breeding Eurasiers since 2007 under the name Fridlyckans. Back home I have three Eurasier girls, and in 2019 my puppy boy Love Bug Lux found his way to England and is living with my friend James and his new brother Lumen. So what would be nicer than combining a visit to Lux and Lumen with a trip to Crufts and meeting some Eurasier friends and seeing some British Eurasiers showing? Isn’t it just lovely with all the friends we have on Facebook and Instagram through our beloved dogs and then to finally get a chance to meet them live?! It was just amazing to arrive at Crufts and find the Eurasier ring and discover friends all the way from Finland as well as local folk. Most impressive might be Johanna and Anna who had travelled all the way from Tammerfors, Finland, to enjoy Crufts to meet 2- and 4- legged friends.

We had plenty of time before the judging of the Eurasier to meet and talk to some friends. We found Leo and Mishka Boots or Cewpark Creamy Chiffon which is her pedigree name. Can you believe Mishka was once a very shy and tufted rescue? And today she was shining like a star together with her owner Leo. At the age of 11 this miracle girl entered the ring at Crufts! Quite an achievement and credit to you Leo for the work you have done with Mishka. We went on to meet Harriet and her handsome boy Luca, Albionspitz Rigel. Luca is a nice boy and had a very lovely sweet temperament and did so well in Post Graduate class. Yay and congratulations, well shown and you are a nice team! And finally we met Sheeba, Alphacanis Betsheba and Brigitte. I don’t know how many years we have been friends on Facebook without ever meeting live. So it was absolutely lovely to meet you Brigitte and steal a kiss from Sheeba, this adorable veteran lady.

  
It is always interesting as a breeder from another country to see the types of our breed abroad, as it seems most countries have slightly different types. And like in Germany, even dogs from different clubs differ slightly. We all have different tastes and prefer different types and since we have 3 different breeds going into the Eurasier, we sometimes see quite different types such as build, heights, heads, coat and temperament. It can be quite fun at shows back in Sweden to guess the breeder without looking at the names in the catalogue, and quite often we guess is right. I for one am known for (or infamous for depending on taste ;-) ) having a soft spot for reds or creams with a reverse mask and Samoyed smile.

At Crufts 2020, a little bit to my disappointment, most Eurasiers originated from maybe 2-3 breeders. It would have been fun to see Eurasiers from more kennels.  So I can’t say we really got to see that much of your beautiful Eurasiers that I know are out there, but hopefully there will be more entered in 2021 from different breeders. This year, I must say, I felt some of the Eurasiers were maybe a bit petite, both height-wise and type-wise.  I am used to bigger and more powerfully build dogs than some of the adult dogs shown today.

But I know there are a whole lot of very nice Eurasiers in the UK, so once again I hope to see more of you guys in the ring next year with your great-looking dogs that I see here on Facebook :-) 

Finally the judging started. This year’s judge was Mr Mark Cocozza. First out was a single male puppy, Kaydanmy Deluxe Edition. A nice young boy for his age and he was of course Best Puppy.

4 males entered in the Junior class and a very well deserving winner here was French male Phyre Des Origines de Faid’drone.

Harriet with Luca

Post Graduate dog had 4 entries and I could have taken the winner Silmoralbion Llewellyn back home with me. A big bear with a reverse mask and a ‘pawsome’ temperament. 2nd was lovely Albionspitz Rigel with Harriet. Both males were so well shown and presented; both beautiful young boys! 

Open class was won by Albionspitz Blue Moon. A very well balanced and well presented male.  Good Citizen dog was won by Caromarda Just One Look.

First out when it was time for the bitches were the Veteran Ladies. No less than 5 very well presented Veteran bitches were shown. The winner was Albionspitz Beloved, a lovely looking 9 year old bitch. And Alphacanis Betsheba and Brigitte were placed 3rd! Lovely to see such a well kept and good-looking almost 11 year old lady like Sheeba. And 5th was Cewpark Creamy Chiffon or Mishka Boots as most of us know her. ‘Pawsome’ to see a former rescue happy, safe and shining in the ring with her owner Leo.

Leo with Mishka Boots

5 Postgraduate Bitches and class was won by Silmoralbion Undomiel.

7 entries in Open class and the winner was Caromarda Okey Dokey.

Good citizen dog 5 Bitches entered and the winner was Albionspitz Tanzanite. 2nd place was awarded to our Alphacanis Betsheba and Brigitte. And if there had been a prize for happiest tail, Sheeba would have been the indisputable winner. Well done and happy tails Brigitte and Sheeba!

Best of breed was Albionspitz Blue Moon and Best bitch was Albionspitz Beloved. She was also best Veteran bitch and it's quite an achievement for a 9 year old veteran to be best bitch at Crufts.

Congratulations to SEA members Harriet and Luca, Leo and Mishka and Brigitte and Sheeba! Well shown and well done.

Brigitte with Sheeba

I think the UK Eurasiers and this year’s Crufts have nice temperaments. Sometimes we see some ‘sharp’ temperaments especially in the male ring, so it was nice to see such well-behaved and well-presented Eurasiers. One thing that really made me frown though was the stacking of dogs from some handlers. Eurasiers are a free-standing breed and should never ever be stacked! Let's hope this is just a passing thing and not something here to stay from some handlers who don’t know how to properly show a Eurasier.

I enjoyed every minute of Crufts 2020. All the ‘pawsome’ Eurasiers; the other classes and shows going on. Then a nice cider with friends. And the shopping…. oh my, the shopping! I am glad I was flying back with only a cabin bag, so I couldn’t shop much ;-)  It was absolutely amazing to meet so many old and new Eurasier friends. To each and everyone of you ‘thank you all so much’ for the lovely, warm welcome I received and I can’t wait to be back in 2021 to see you all again. Hopefully I will meet even more of the beautiful SEA Eurasiers out there. If you have the chance to show at Crufts next year do it. It is a great experience to be there at that show. And who knows… maybe your dog is the Best of Breed 2021!

Best wishes,

Helena

The First Virtual Eurasier Walk

by Becky Mayer-Esaw

for the video: https://www.facebook.com/beckymayer27/videos/10222624438704286/

Because we had to cancel our walk today because of the lock-down due to the Corona-virus situation, we had a very different walk. It was the very first of its kind. The virtual Eurasier walk. Blue was so excited to meet his cousins and half brother Wolfie . They greeted each other with a sniff and a twirl. The excitement extended when Luca, Iris, Sif and Cato turned up. The dogs ran, leaped and did playful barks greeting each other like long-lost friends. Rex and Bella turned up with River; they sniffed the air taking in the forest around them. River looked quite shocked when Blue jumped into the stream and splashed about. River did not appreciate getting wet. Sheeba, Gustav and Annie quietly walked to the waters edge showing that the Eurasier also has a calmness about them. Looking regal was very much in vogue. Gabbi and Ludo bounded amongst the leaves making the most beautiful rustling sound.
The magic of our virtual walk is that our cousins from across the Canal joined us. Chevalier, Grietje and Rifka. And of course language was no barrier, these dogs have that deep understanding of each other. Just one look and they were in the middle of full play-bow. Every dog stopped when Mishka Boots arrived late. She strolled up to the pack, nose in the air and had the look of “yes these eye brows are real, no blading for this gal”. You could see hearts appear in the eyes of the boys as she strutted her stuff.
It was a successful walk Bubbles and Murphy were fast asleep as soon as they got home. 

'I hope you enjoyed this little made up story. I’m sorry if I missed anyone out. It’s taken me best part of a day to put the photos in once place'.    Becky

Short minutes of the 2019 IFEZ Conference 2019 - with some important news for the UK

Beat Kempf, President of Eurasierfreunde Schweiz (EFS), as the current President of the International Federation for Eurasier Breeding (IFEZ), greeted those present at the IFEZ meeting with a short statement on the fundamental intentions of IFEZ.

The initial main part of the conference concerned information and questions about innovations and problems of the IFEZ members:

In a first round of discussions, the IFEZ clubs presented the changes in personnel in the committees of their clubs. Even if in some cases there have been many changes, it is very positive to note that it has been possible to get younger people to adopt an active role in a Eurasier club.

The questions and problems surrounding the membership of the Eurasier Society UK (ESUK) in IFEZ (now dormant for a year) were discussed and evaluated in detail. As the requirements of IFEZ have not been met for more than 12 months, a final reasonable period for fulfilling these obligations was decided by the full members of IFEZ. ESUK will be automatically excluded on the scheduled date if the multiple requirements have not been met by then.

Since the English club "ESUK" did not fulfil its obligations as an IFEZ member by 20/11/2019, the IFEZ President Beat Kempf sent a notification to the club committee, dated 23/11/2019, that the Eurasier Society UK, following the vote of the IFEZ full members, is, with immediate effect, no longer a member of IFEZ and must stop advertising IFEZ in any communications or advertising.

The new homepage of the IFEZ is almost finished and is very successful. After the latest revisions, it can be activated safely at the beginning of 2020.

The conditions under which club officials could participate at meetings via Skype was discussed.

A second main part of the conference was again devoted to a variety of topics about the Eurasier:

The moderate changes in Standard 291 presented by EKW (in co-ordination with KZG and ZG) and approved by VDH, are again to be considered for approval by the FCI.

Underactive thyroid is one of the autoimmune diseases that have a large hereditary component and develop gradually. Various thyroid values are tested in all clubs for as many animals as possible, but is mandatory for the breeding dogs. The problem of comparability of reference values of different laboratories was discussed. Not all clubs can use Biocontrol as a laboratory. An assessment of all previously recorded anonymized values is highly desirable.

Other health issues addressed were: epilepsy and the problem of correct diagnosis and recording; ways to prevent the popular sire syndrome IFEZ-wide; meaningful genetic tests; and state of genetic diversity in our breed.

The discussion of all these topics was lively and engaging!

Information was also exchanged about regulations such as different breeding fees and health deposits, and puppy prices were compared and discussed.

From January 1^st, 2020 the presidency of the IFEZ passes to the Eurasier Vereniging Nederland (EVN).

After working through the usual formalities, there were many interesting, exciting chats about Eurasiers during the evening of the meeting, as well as on the Friday evening and Sunday morning. This large, international group only meets in person once a year. Throughout the year, communication is usually only possible by phone or email. It was an all-round successful meeting for the good of our beautiful breed.

Gisela Aach, IFEZ Secretary
Translation: Brigitte Mordan-Grimm

The IFEZ meeting (International Federation for Eurasier Breeding) in Stuttgart/Germany

  by Ian Cottrell, Hon Chairman SEA, Willowfalls Eurasiers   

I like planning, I love planning and having contingencies to the plan if the plan doesn’t work. So when Brigitte invited me to attend the IFEZ meeting in Stuttgart, I jumped at the opportunity and set about, well you know, planning. In the various conversations I thought it was for a day and a half, so over the Saturday and the Sunday morning. I was not going to go all the way to Germany without seeing something other than the inside of a hotel and booked an early morning flight so I could have a mosey around the town before meeting everyone for dinner on the Friday night. I had researched which S Bahn (Railway) to catch and how much it was going to be. A few weeks in advance I printed off all the tickets I would need. The plan was impeccable!

In my head I was catching the 21:30 coach to Heathrow on the Thursday. Pottered around, had a nice bath and a lovely dinner and doing my final check of the passport and paperwork and saw that it was the 19:30 coach I should have caught. Oh Bum!  I did manage to get to Heathrow Via Victoria and arrived at 00.30 on the Friday morning. My plan was to catch the free tube service between terminal 3 and terminal 5. Followed the endless walk to the free tube and found that stopped running at midnight. Retraced my steps back to the bus station and eventually found that the free bus ran all night so hopped on. On the very helpful Heathrow website it did say that “Areas have been designated for passengers to rest, lights would be dimmed etc” The website lied. The only chairs available had been specifically designed to offer no comfort whatsoever and actively encourage people to move on. As for the dimmed lighting, well I have been in operating theatres that have been darker. No chance of sleep then, crack on!

The flight over was great, no problems on the S Bahn and arrived in the City at 10:30 local time. Pulled the straps of my rucksack tight and went mooching. I did a lot of mooching. Stuttgart has one of the longest shopping precincts I had seen. Must have been close to a mile long and not one shop was open. It was a German Bank Holiday and boy do they take their Bank Holidays seriously! Plan A, had me eating sausage and chips with mayonnaise from the kiosk that was right outside the rail station. I don’t know exactly when they had started the station redevelopment, but the first casualty was that kiosk. Had to settle for Currywurst and a bread roll. Oh well I had been 31 hours without sleep so head to the hotel and get my head down.

Rail travel in Germany is cheap and on time. Caught the S Bahn to the University and then it was only a 2km walk to the hotel. In my research it proudly proclaimed that Stuttgart University S Bahn station is one of the deepest. I can attest to that as the escalators had been switched off. All I was missing was a Sherpa and oxygen for the accent. Having Google mapped the area I knew that I headed North from the station, get into the woods and hang a left. What a lovely forest and sooo big. At the 30 min point I should now be looking at the entrance of the hotel. Nope, just a lot more trees. Time to get the mobile out and look at the map. Walking back and forth to orientate myself a very nice German couple came to my rescue. They knew the area and set off through the vegetation and I went sliding down inclines like I was skiing. The conversation was about Brexit so I couldn’t escape it even over there. Finally, time to get to the room and have a coffee and some sleep. Unpacked bag and tried to put the adaptor into the circular electrical socket and it wouldn’t fit. It possibly would have if I had been in The USA or Australia. There was a distinct lack of kettle and no beverage making. Down the two flights of stairs back to reception. I could have as many coffees as I liked in the lounge area and they sorted me out a replacement adaptor. With only a few hours before Brigitte’s arrival I decided not to nap and pottered around.

Right on time Brigitte arrived, in a whirlwind of greeting everybody and being introduced to about a trillion people we had sat ourselves down and I treated myself to a large glass of the house red. Everyone was lovely and all had at least a few words of English and I truly felt welcomed. The dinner was excellent, but now at the 38 hours without sleep point, my brain was a little mushy and I decided it was time to head to bed. 

To sleep, perchance to dream. Four hours after laying in bed, Oh, that feels strange. Oh, that’s not good. Normally I have the constitution of a horse, not on this occasion, Delhi Belly effectively wiped out any more chance of sleep, so the rest of the night was spent watching the German equivalent of Money from Nothing.

Decided the best thing was to avoid food for a day. Saturday 09:00 we gathered in the large room and the IFEZ meeting started. My German stretches to counting to a few hundred, getting a room, getting fed and basic directions. I can understand a little more but get hopelessly lost when the conversation is fast and about technical points. Fortunately, Brigitte was my Babel Fish and I loved the way after someone had been speaking for 10 min she condensed the meaning to me in a short sentence. I was actually having fun stringing the few words I understood into what I thought they were speaking about and bobbing happily when Brigitte relayed what it was actually about, and I had guessed correctly. 

Everyone was afforded the opportunity to contribute, and they did with passion. I may not be fluent in the language, but you can still glean a great deal from tone, inclination and pitch. The knowledge and experience around the table was immense and I am terribly proud of Brigitte, who is obviously held with great regard and was asked to undertake a study on behalf of IFEZ. Having so many nations represented it was a mini United Nations. I suppose the overriding impression I was left with was that collectively they wanted to be as inclusive as possible and not cause any upset. At 18:45 the meeting was declared closed and I asked Brigitte if the start time was 09:00 the next day. She stated it was finished and this year was only held over one day (which, in all fairness, was in the agenda she had sent out) . The look on my face must have been priceless.

With calm resolve I retired to my room and thought that it would be moderately easy to re arrange flights with the world’s favourite airline. The 19:30 flight back to Heathrow was the only time that day that BA was visiting this part of Germany. Oh Bum!

Sunday, I checked the forecast and it was cloudy with only a 40% chance of rain. Knowing that the town was probably still closed I had the choice of a walk round a local lake with a charmingly entitled Bears Castle or do something else. It was only a 14 km walk to the airport so decided on that. A great way of seeing a different country and a productive way of wasting time.

Arrived back early into the UK and the extra ordinarily helpful ladies at the coach station were adamant that I would have to wait for the coach I booked at 22:30. That pulled into the final destination at 00:45 on the Monday and my darling wife had parked the car 200 yards down the road. The God’s had one last jest with me, the rain was so heavy that in only a short space of time my waterproof jacket and clothes became drenched.  

Today I bought a blue duffel coat, a red floppy hat and had a sign made. It reads .....

PLEASE LOOK AFTER THIS BEAR  – Thank You.

This, I decided, was the safest form of any future travel.  

Ian Cottrell, Hon Chairman SEA, Willowfalls Eurasiers