World Dog Show Stockholm 2008

This post is going to have to be fairly short! I cannot believe I haven't had a chance to sit down and write about the World Dog show that we went to last week. I am starting to get nervous about leaving for Germany and the European Open Agility in two days so can only think about that right now!

Dennis and I flew to Stockholm Sweden last weekend to see the World Dog Show 2008. It was a nice chance to just get away for a weekend without dogs but yet to be with dogs! hahaha. Mostly we went to see Johanna compete with Soda and Spooky in Freestyle and with Hob-b in breed.

Sweden is very expensive but we got a great deal on flights and car rental. And Johanna (of course) knew someone in Stockholm where we could stay. The family we stayed with was very hospitable and it was really nice staying in a "real" swedish home!

The World dog show itself was a little disappointing to me. It was no where as posh as Crufts and the standard of dogs showing there was not as great (in my eyes). I did not really see any dogs that I FLIPPED for. I was hoping to see something that looked special or had something that caught my eye for future breeding programs. But, alas, no I will be sticking with my own plans for now!

Here is Dennis sitting next to the Best in Show car! Did the Best in Show actually win it?? I don't know! Everything, of course, was blue and yellow (the swedish flag colours). Why is Dennis dressed like that? Ask Johanna!



Hob-b showed like a little trooper. She did not get anywhere in the placings and received a "Very good" ribbon. Out of nearly 40 bitches he only gave 7 excellent ribbons. He actually gave quite a few "blue" ribbons which are a lower grade than excellent (pink) and very good (red). And even gave a few "yellows". The grading goes like this: excellent (pink), very good (red), good (blue) and then yellow. I forget what yellow means but basically it is not a good ribbon to receive!

Here is a blurry photo of her! Isn't she just adorable!



The shopping at the World Dog show was no where as good as I expected either. Bummer as I was so ready to spend spend spend! After Johanna showed Hob-b and we checked out the shopping; there was not much to do other than watch the Freestyle (dog dancing). There was some really good teams there and some pretty poor teams. It was mostly Swedish teams; so not really a great "international" compeition. Johanna and two other Danes were the only other country represented I think. Johanna, of course, was great! It was so nice to finally meet Soda. She is, well...a border collie! And not a Pikkupaimenen border collie so I am a bit biased against her! haha But I liked her anyway although I would rather have Wizz (the lovely Pikkupaimenen BC) live with me anyday! Soda is so young but she looked really good out in the main ring. And she still looked like a puppy out there which I liked; she was not a polished machine at only 15 months; she was still bouncy and a bit silly as a 15 month old border collie should be!

I have no photos of Johanna other than her waiting in the queue to get into the venue. Did we wait in the queue with the hundreds of other people? No of course not, Johanna had her own devious plans to get in quickly! But if I told you I would have to kill you!



All in all, I remember why I do not like breed showing! Kind of boring, lots of grooming just to stand around looking like you don't care in the ring. Having someone tell you your dog is too small, too big ect ect. Ya know...I don't care! haha!

How is this for doggie transportation and grooming table all-in-one?



We did do some sightseeing and went into Stockholm for 2 days. The old town was lovely and we did a tour on a horse and carriage which was nice. It gave a nice overview of the city. I still prefer more rural holidays; but for a short city break it was nice. We learned lots about Sweden and need to come back again.

Funny signs were displayed in one plaza. They were signs from around the world and made Dennis laugh.



This was actually the fire extinguisher on the boat ride we took. I have no idea what "skum" means in swedish but am sure Johanna will tell me!



And finally the obligatory photo of me standing like a dork in some pretty square in some city somewhere!



Actually it is a square in Stockholm but it looks like it could be anywhere in Europe doesn't it?