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Information & Events
On Sunday 02 April 2017 the club held its annual Open Show being held at Baginton Village Hall.
The judges report is available on the link below:
otterhound-club-open-show-2nd-April-2017
The following article is taken from the Otterhound Club Spring newsletter and is courtesy of Ian and Daryl Brotchie.
Crufts/ Discover Dogs March 2017
The Discover Dogs Stand was up and running bright and early on Thursday 9th March until Sunday 12th March. We had various different hounds in attendance over the period and all were extremely well behaved – thanks must go to all those owners who brought their beautiful hounds along to meet and greet their adoring public. The show hounds were also having a very busy time and congratulations must go to all the winners. How could you ever be a loser if you take home an Otterhound!
On the Discover Dogs Stand we tried to show the versatility of Otterhounds in various guises: –
- Ivy the Search and Rescue Hound
- George the Military Mascot
- Richard, our Chairman’s, Pack Hounds
- Show Hounds
- And of course, the family pets
- Characteristics and Health
- Grooming
- History of the Otterhound
- General information including numbers of hounds etc.
We tried each day to have at least one young hound and, of course, they all had their regular rest periods, meal breaks and walks. We thought it would be good experience for the young hound to be with another experienced hound to show them the ropes.
On one particular day, all the hounds decided to have a siesta and a little boy passing was heard to comment “Hey Mum, look at all the big, hairy, stuffed dogs!” The Mum was laughing so much she couldn’t answer the child before one of the hounds heard something and let out a wonderful howl. The little boy jumped out of his skin at the sound and then they all stood up and started. The little boy, having got over his shock, shouted to his Mum above the din “that’s cool Mum, can we get some of ‘em?”
Peace restored and the little boy spent ages stroking the hounds – I don’t think he will ever forget his first meeting with an Otterhound!
Another interesting tale:–
A woman came up to the stand and said “I hear they smell terribly.” We duly proffered two Otterhounds and suggested she have a sniff and judge for herself – which she did. She appeared extremely surprised; we said it’s a bit like people if they’re not kept clean or they perhaps lived with a lot of other dogs they might smell, but no more than any dog living in those circumstances. However, they do have the name ‘mud magnet’ attributed to them.
Whilst setting up the stand on the Wednesday afternoon, we were asked by someone if they could borrow our dog. Apparently, they needed to set their camera lens and needed a dog in the back of a Jeep – Heather duly posed very regally for their camera!
One question we always seem to get asked is “Why are they called Otterhounds?” The clue is in the name, which caused much hilarity on both sides.
We were extremely fortunate that Noel Fiztpatrick and Iwan Thomas visited the Stand on the Friday and drew an enormous crowd. He was mugged by Heather and loved by Flo but his enthusiasm for the breed appeared so genuine. He spent a considerable time filming with hounds, considering his busy and schedule and Helen answered all his questions with eloquence. This had a huge knock-on effect the next morning. EVERYONE had watched Noel on the TV and wanted to come and see the Otterhounds. I am afraid we caused quite a bottleneck in the walkway as everyone was craning their necks to get a glimpse of an Otterhound! Our thanks go to the Kennel Club and of course Noel Fitzpatrick and Iwan Thomas who proved so knowledgeable in all aspects of our wonderful hounds.
All the hounds who served on the stand over the four days were extremely well mannered and patient with their adoring public. The owners were kept on their toes and quizzed hard by the public on many aspects of finding, buying, rearing, training and showing Otterhounds. The public were amazed how rare they were and most people fell in love at first sight. Some needed to be appraised they are ‘mud magnets’ and do have a tendency to bring the garden into the house – the estate agents might describe this as an asset but I think every Otterhound should come with a steam mop!!
We must thank Rae Ganna who steered us through our first attempt at organizing Discover Dogs – without her help and advice the job would have been more difficult. She and John kindly dismantled the display, carefully weaving their way through the crowds with all the equipment – no easy task with two hounds to cope with! Helen, Tom, Mandy, Jane and Adrian were also so helpful. Our thanks also to other club members who brought their wonderful hounds on the stand and remained great support throughout the days:-
- Sarah and Graham Hewitt
- Chris and Julia Neale
- Jennifer and Brendan Baldwin
- Fi Beazer-Dimond and Lillian Jones
It was so nice other club members visited to offer support and renew acquaintances with neighboring stands. We had some nice emails on our return for which we were very grateful. If anyone is interested in helping at any of these events please get in touch with us.
The hounds and their humans had a great time at The BBC CountryFile Live 2016 show held at Blenheim Palace.
Flo and Henry Icon and Ida
Kess meeting his public Heather, Kess and Flo meet Peter Pervis
Helen Hacking with Peter Pervis Daisy taking lunch
Held on Sunday 04 September 2016 the club Fun Day was a great success. A big thank you goes out to Super Dog Indie, Trip Hazard and of course Lucy Heath for their patience while teaching our hounds.
Lucy demonstrated Heel Work to Music with both Indie and Trip Hazard and then it was down to our hounds to try. They all did extremely well on their first attempt.
Will we see Otterhounds competing in Heel Work to Music soon?
The Otterhound Club’s annual championship show was held on Sunday 25 2016 September at Baginton Village Hall.
The judges report can be found on the links below:
THE OTTERHOUND CLUB JUDGES LISTS & CRITERIA 2016
The link below show the judges who have been passed by the Kennel Club to award Challenge Certificates in the breed and whom the society would support.
THE OTTERHOUND CLUB JUDGES LISTS
