AGM 2021

Luca

Gustav

Mishka Boots

Iris

 

Just as well I watched that suitcase!

Hi, 

My name is Indi….though my life started in London in 2014, last year my human and I moved to Germany. It was a strange year, where, when we were not with the horses, we walked a lot and my human did not seem to go anywhere without me. That was amazing!!!

After a busy summer at work, I had to go to the vet three times, but they were nice to me, so it was not too bad….Mum got a small blue book from the vet and seemed really happy about it.

 

The evening after the last vet visit my human seemed very excited. She had cleaned the car and loaded it with lots of things and she had packed THE SUITCASE!!!!! For any dog that does not know, this is the time where you have to watch your human very closely, or they might disappear for a long time and leave you with other humans…….

 

It was dark when we set off on our journey and I was happy my human had taken me with her in the car, PHEW! She drove a really long time to the sea-side and onto a ship I had been on before…it was noisy and smelly, but I was safe in my car.

 

At the end of our journey we arrived at a familiar place with lovely smells….

 

.......could it be possible we were back HOME, REALLY? 

 

OMG I was soooo exited!!!!!!!!

 

There was Margot, my best friend and 2 amazing humans, I knew from before…..my human seemed really happy too.  We were finally together again, yipeeeeeee!!!!!

Margot and I

One day my human put Margot and I in the boot of my car and we drove to a familiar place. I had been there before a few times, but best of all there were other Eurasiers there with there humans and some excited humans who just came to meet us. One human was very familiar, my human called her Brigitte. I saw her often when I was little and still living with my mum, brothers and sisters. 

 

It was raining a little bit, but that did not bother me, because I got to play with lots of friends and enjoy a really long walk. There was Lottie, who was still quite like I used to be when I was younger, Murphy and Bubbles, who were quiet and very polite. Sheeba, she`s family, and Annie too were super nice….in a nutshell, It was great to catch up with old friends at a familiar place.

 

The woods were full of lovely smells and we met lots of different dogs too. Afterwards we all got together to celebrate Murphy´s birthday with some dog treats for us and biscuits for the humans, which Anne, Murphy´s human had brought for us. She was so very nice to us all and made sure we were all happy.

Thank you for a perfect day for us and our humans. Lots of licks and wags, Indi xxx

 

Thank you, Anne, for organising a lovely walk, Bille (Indi´s human) xxx

 

 

Sun, woodland and mud - a normal Eurasier walk

It was one of the hottest days so far this year, and mum, dad and I got in the car to travel somewhere for a walk. I had a nap on the back seat on the way and mum and dad chatted excitedly about meeting up with all our Eurasier human and canine friends after such a long time.

Finally we arrived at the Basingstoke Canal Centre (which isn’t actually in Basingstoke) and met up with the pack. There was a fabulous array of Eurasiers, including Bubbles and Murphy whose mum Ann hosts this popular and regular woodland walk near Mychett. There were 29 people and dogs including some potential Eurasier puppy parents, who enjoyed seeing our wonderful breed “in the fur”. It was a great opportunity for the humans to catch up with friends, and for us dogs to explore and sniff all the paths through the woods. 

Fortunately, being woodland, there was some welcome shade and also a couple of paddling and swimming opportunities to keep us water babies cool, although dad did his best to stop me from my other trick of rolling around in the mud! After the walk, we had refreshments from the café and Brigitte (AKA the Furry Godmother) handed out home-made cake to the humans, which was very tasty from the crumbs I managed to forage from being in the right place at the right time! Looking forward to meeting up with the pack again soon. 

Thank you to all those who came along and special thanks to Ann for hosting the walk.

Julie with Gabbie

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

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

Eurasier Walk Mytchett Woods, October 2019

Having arranged a walk in September only a relatively small number were able to attend so a further date was agreed for 6^th October .

The preceding week it was fair to say the weather was mixed, and as we approached the weekend there were concerns. However, I was determined the walk would go ahead and hoped for a good turn-out. (I secretly had a little word with the weather gods Zeus & Quora and asked them to be kind to us). Amazingly, the day dawned bright, and a fantastic array of Eurasiers with their families turned up, along with several would-be owners wanting to meet the breed. As always, we created quite a talking point amongst the many dog owners enjoying the café, as we waited for everyone to arrive, with someone even correctly identifying the dogs – something of a first!

We all had a lovely walk through the beautiful woodland bathed in bright sunshine, except for Grande Dame Pamina, who is a bit slow these days but thoroughly enjoyed all the fuss and treats before and after. Whilst we avoided the canal , the recent rains had created some huge puddles in which many of our fluffies found great delight racing and chasing and generally having fun.

Among the throng of about 20 dogs, of all ages and glorious colours, two pupsters also attended their first Eurasier pack walk, Ida and Ludo, who were completely unfazed by the crazy behaviour of their full-sized ‘cousins’. Another first was Thatcher going off lead, but not ‘off piste’ and as always, Blue gave his all – he is a boy whose mantra is ‘I just wanna have fun’!

Our walk terminated with a return to the café for refreshments for those that wanted to linger a little longer and enjoy some home made Eurasier-shaped biscuits (check out our Merchandise page to buy the Eurasier cookie cutter!). I think it is fair to say the walk was a great success. Thank you to all those who came along and we look forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Murphy, Bubbles & Ann

Photos: J. Cowdock

Annual General Meeting & Fun Day 2019

Despite the rather inclement weather we had a wonderful turnout for this year’s AGM at Lewknor Village Hall. It’s always encouraging to meet up with new owners and ‘owners in waiting’ at these events and I would like to extend a personal thank you to all the owners of Danni’s puppies who made the journey with their ‘babies’; it was great to see you all again!

Our Chair, Ian Cottrell, opened the formal AGM by outlining the enormous progress SEA had made over its first year, and thanking our members, and in particular our Vice Chair Brigitte Mordan-Grimm, for all they have done to make this enterprise such a success. Brief reports from the Secretary and Treasurer were followed by a vote in favour of adding a requirement to DNA-check all breeding stock for Dandy Walker Like Malformation to our Code of Ethics. Brigitte rounded off the Meeting with a summary of her activities as the Kennel Club’s Breed Health Co-ordinator and our representative for the International Federation of Eurasier Breeding (IFEZ).

After the AGM, a break for lunch was followed by a short, mercifully rain-free walk, offering a chance for both dogs and humans to stretch their legs and, though a few dogs came back slightly muddier than when they left, they enjoyed the chance to let off some steam! On our return Tracy Cottrell treated us to a very informative demonstration of ‘Shaping’, a training process by which you can teach your dog a new behaviour by breaking it down into easily achievable steps. At the end of the demonstration there was an opportunity to practice the technique with your own dog, which was thoroughly appreciated by dogs and owners alike.

A hugely enjoyable day ended with a well-supported Raffle with a seemingly endless supply of prizes donated by our generous members (many thanks to whoever donated the Duck chews, they went down very well with my old girl who is eating very little nowadays!).

Finally, could I just say, that ideas for events, or indeed anything else that could be included at our next AGM, are always welcome.

Caroline Allen

Photos: Cowdock, 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

Walk Richmond Park 23rd June

Kopi - does this biscuit look like me?

After arriving late due to a few of us being stuck in traffic, we met up with our Eurasier pack. It was a lovely walk round Isabella Plantation and the weather was just the perfect temperature for human and canine.
All the pack sniffed and played along the walk with Jenson becoming quite taken with Annie. Blue was his normal self and found a small stream to cool himself off in. Genie gave us her best smile showing of her gorgeous white teeth. It was so lovely to see all the Eurasiers in all their glorious colours together. They really did look quite magnificent. 
After the walk, Brigitte handed round her home-made Eurasier-shaped biscuits; they were very tasty indeed and all eyes were on us as we ate them. You can Purchase the cookie cutters as well as the the book 'Eurasiers Yesterday and Today', which I can highly recommend as a must-read for all potential and already Eurasier owners. After catching up and comparing Eurasier stories it was time to head home.
A wonderful walk was had by all.     by Becky Mayer-Esaw

Eurasier and Friends Walk - Acres Down - New Forest

It was great to see old and new friends who managed to find the remote location in the middle of the forest. We had to give warnings about the wildlife we were likely to see, including the ponies, donkeys, cattle and deer. As it was there was only one hooligan in the whole bunch and that was our own dear Isha, who has a memory of an elephant when it comes to remembering where she had seen deer before and became selectively deaf as she went off to find her ‘friends’. The route we decided on was a mix between plantation, ancient woodland and heath. It gave everyone a good idea of how diverse the forest is and included a coffee stop at one of the old ponds in the woods. The first stop was at the oxbow in the stream called the swimming pool.

All our furry friends had a paddle and a drink but no one ventured any deeper than their elbows. It is a long steady incline up through the woods till you get to one of the higher points in the forest. The mud round the pond proved irresistible.

Kopi 'going deep'

Ann doing the de-mudding of Murphy

Caroline and Vico

Caroline had a picture-perfect moment when her boy had both front paws on the log, looking up adoringly .... until the camera came out and then he simply refused to do it again.
From the pond, the walk takes you along the side of the heath down to a wooded glade with yet another stream to play in. Kopi actually being the most adventurous and going deep.

After telling everyone about the wildlife, finally three ponies were spotted in the distance.

We finished back at the car park and all went for a cream tea. Lots of lovely comments from the other customers about how wonderful our dogs looked and of course we all basked in the praise.

by Ian Cottrell