Boo & Charlotte

Before Boo came to live with us, I decided - determined as I was to be an excellent dog owner – that I would read lots of books on the subject. I don’t recall their titles now, but my memory of them was that their advice varied from ‘all you need to do is love your dog and everything will be ok’ through to ‘you must completely dominate your dog as they thrive in hierarchies and woe betide you if you are not the alpha dog in your pack’. If you knew me, you would know which of these I would incline towards. Let’s just say, I love to love. 

I was beyond excited that Boo was going to be our puppy. I say ‘our’ but to be honest, she was to be mine. My husband Gary was very willing to go along for the ride, but the deal was that she would be my charge. I was to be her owner / companion / teacher / best friend. And I don’t think I’ll be ruining this story to note that in the end she was, of course, all those things to me.

I will never ever forget the day we went to collect her. We had met her a few weeks before and she was cute beyond measure. Beautiful, and daft, and glorious, and a total heart-melter. Anyone who’s met a Eurasier puppy will know exactly what I mean. I felt honoured and excited – and was armed with all my reading. And I was also aware that we were about to take her away from her mum. I was thrilled and over the moon, but I felt for her. 

 

I felt for her all the way home, while she cried and climbed under the car seats and peed repeatedly on Gary’s lap. (I’m the designated driver in our household) I felt for her while she cried for her mum and siblings that first night, so forlornly, I almost drove her back to Brigitte! And I continued to feel for her while we slowly got to know each other and became increasingly entwined. Me and my Boo. And Boo with her Charlotte. (I know that second statement may sound trite and anthropomorphic, but that is how it felt.)

 

There were times when her judgement was way off. Like when she would charge at other dogs in the park no matter how large and quite obviously unfriendly they were. (A phase, thank goodness.) And there were times when my judgement was way off. Like when I thought I might prefer it if she didn’t sleep in our room! 

She chewed shoes and wallets, and I thought no dog would be so stupid as to run up to horse and nip at its hind legs. Our efforts to walk each other on a lead reduced us both to tears I think, and I definitely cried in those first couple of weeks, when she resolutely refused to let me go to the loo without destroying something in my brief absence. There were times I wondered what on earth I’d done, and there were times when she probably thought the same.  One Saturday quite early on I remember spending the whole day cooking homemade food for her, only for her to sniff at the bowl and walk off. I could disappoint. And on a few occasions, she did too. But my god, I loved her. I absolutely adored her. And as any wise dog owner will tell you. It’s never them that’s the problem, it’s always you. 

 

She continued through all the years to be utterly beautiful, adorably daft, yet gloriously wise, always a complete heart-melter – and also a wonderful mother herself. 

And….. well, I think I might stop there. I’m afraid we know how this story ends. And the hole in my life left by her absence continues to be as wide and as deep and as true as the love I felt for her. In the end, that first book was right. And my, how lucky am I to have been Boo’s Charlotte. 

Interview with SEA Chair Dr Brigitte Mordan-Grimm (Our Dogs, December 2021)

All text and photos: Mordan-Grimm
 

The Eurasier Tor of the West Country

In one of the hottest weeks the UK has experienced in years, we had our holiday in Devon and Somerset. We had planned for daily six- or seven-mile walks over Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Quantocks. Finding bed and breakfast willing to take three dogs was a little tricky, but the three we did manage to persuade were all really good. The first location was the East Dart Hotel at Postbridge. Long walks can be done from the doorstep, as you are in the middle of Dartmoor. So, with rucksacks bulging with six litres of water we ventured off to do the Tors. Sheep and cattle roam the landscape, so the three girls spent quite a long time on lead. If we had been in the Peak or Lake Districts, we would have been following a line of people trampling the path before us. The routes we had decided on were empty. Just the two of us, the furry daughters and bird song. Glorious!

Even after encouraging the girls to drink from streams, we were still stopping every 40 minutes or so to give them water. When brushing out the vegetation from their coats the number of ticks they had all picked up was very noticable. Some further advice would be, pack military grade insect repellent as the horseflies are particularly vicious. All three Dartmoor walks where challenging due to the inclines and temperature, but so worth it, as the scenery is stunning. Exmoor was equally scenic and just as challenging. This time we encountered more people round places they could drive to, like Watersmeet, but on our walks between those locations hardly a soul was seen. The tick situation on Exmoor was of plague proportions, daily 60 - 70 ticks had to be removed off each dog.

No plan survives contact with the enemy. The final B&B booked four months in advance cancelled a day before we were supposed to arrive. We lucked in and found a French style manor house with a very grand boudoir and changed the final long distance walk to around the perimeter of Stourhead Gardens.

Yes, it is possible to take a pack of dogs on holiday. As much as we dislike putting chemicals on or in our girls, we would definitely research and apply some form of tick repellent/killer to save them from anaemia and tick-borne diseases. In extreme hot weather, you must keep the dogs as hydrated as possible. The great news is, your rucksack becomes lighter the more they drink. All three girls, including Kyra, who is nearly 11, seemed to thoroughly enjoy their time away. Me? Well if we are going away next year it will be to some place flat, like Norfolk.  😊

by Ian Cottrell, Willowfalls Eurasiers

Spitz in the Park 2019

Its official - gazebos and gusty winds do not make for a good combination! However, apart from our ad hoc wrestling with the gazebo on Saturday (thanks to Becky and David for bringing theirs!) accompanied by the ad hoc wrestling of Blue and his new best friend Iris, our merry band of SEA members enjoyed a relaxed weekend among many curly-tailed and fluffy-bottomed dogs!! We were rather spoilt by Harriet bringing some delicious cupcakes not only for us, but also for our four-legged friends. Sif’s new girlfriend was briefly thinking of changing owner, but only very briefly.

To say we (Eurasiers) were outnumbered was an understatement. However all our dogs were on their best behaviour - great ambassadors for their breed among the unruly  throngs of yipping and yapping Poms, Japanese Spitz and Finnish Lapphunds, which accounted for a large proportion of the dogs on site. 

Throughout the day there were lots of enjoyable things to do, including some serious or not-so-serious dog shows, resulting in places for several, all of which included wonderful, larger-than-life rosettes. Gustav first won Handsomest Dog in the Fun Show and then went on to win Best Novelty! Sheeba came second in Veteran. Annie and Sif were both entered in the ‘serious’ Pedigree Dog Show and Annie won the big Open Spitz class (males and females of all Spitz breeds) and then Reserve Best in Show (like mother, like son)!

Good citizen assessments and eye tests by a qualified ophthalmic vet were also available. Maybe the best result of the day was both Gustav and Blue passing their temperament tests with ‘excellent’.

To keep us all entertained, on site there was a lovely canal-side walk along with a fabulous supervised agility course  - tickets just £1 along with an assortment of other  fund-raising activities e.g. raffles, ‘guess the number of biscuits in the jar’ to just name a few.

For those that chose to, overnight camping was available, or alternatively there was also the option of a local dog-friendly hotel, so no excuses for next year!!! 

By Ann Winter

A Hairy Memento

by Ann Winter

If you have ever wondered what to do with all that fur you remove after grooming, then this may be of interest to you. Chiengora  ( she-an-gora ) refers to the yarn spun from dog hair. Chien being the French word for dog and gora is derived from ‘angora’ the soft fur from rabbits.

Spinning dog hair is an ancient art going back to pre historic times in Scandinavia and was the main fibre spun on the North American continent before the Spaniards introduced sheep. Chiengora is usually made from the soft undercoat of breeds such as Samoyeds, Siberian Huskies , Alaskan Malamutes, Chow Chows, Retrievers & Newfoundlands.

Fact - chiengora is up to 80% warmer than sheep's wool and sheds water well. It does not smell like your wet dog !! The fibre is not as elastic as wool and is similar in its luxurious feel and appearance to angora. It is typically used to make scarves & gloves rather than jumpers (to avoid overheating!), but It can also be blended with other fibres during the carding process to reduce the heat insulation.

Do not worry about doggy odour as once collected the fur is washed , it is then carded, rolled into rolags, spun ( and this also removes natural oils ) and then the yarn is made into a skein which is washed again . The yarn can then be used to create beautiful items and keepsakes.

So now whenever you brush your dog, you could consider collecting the shed fur – keep in a cloth bag (an old pillowcase) and do not compress. You will need at least 1-2 ounces for a small keepsake.

If you are interested in having a memento made from your dog’s fur there is of course information online, alternatively please contact Ann (ann.winter3@btinternet.com) whose ‘petit chien ‘ was created in France .

From the Ashes a Mighty Phoenix arose

I must confess to a deep feeling of sadness having witnessed the dying throes of the previous incarnation of a club that was supposed to be the bastion of standards for our beloved breed. What has given me so much hope is that a group of like-minded individuals have put heart and soul into forming the Southern Eurasier Association and are all willing to be the stewards of sensible and practicable standards that should ensure healthy and happy dogs as well as ethical and fact based breeding. I do care deeply what our international, and particularly our German colleagues, think of us. We have been entrusted to take care of these fantastic companions and through educating our owners and mentoring new breeders we aim to uphold the sensible standards to ensure that we pass on well adjusted, happy and healthy puppies.

The majority of our owners are more than content with having a loving and happy companion at home. Therefore we should become the first port of call for advice or signposting to the most effective solution if they have any worries or concerns. Secondly, promoting group walks, events, fun days so that we can get together and share our passion. One thing we all have in common is our love and pride of the Eurasier and it is lovely to talk with like-minded people about this. The coming year still has its challenges but I am in no doubt each hurdle will be leapt, as I have seldom witnessed such enthusiastic people willing to rise to the occasion. We still would love to promote the Eurasier breed and that will entail discussions with the Kennel Club and public events.

The Willowfalls Girls

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone who has joined our association and especially those who have helped shape and form the new committee. It is an association for our members. The committee is there only to facilitate what our members want. Please bear in mind what our furry non-voting members would want! That is simple. They would always vote for us ALL to have fun!

‘From the ashes a mighty Phoenix arose’

By Ian Cottrell, Chairman SEA