Vali Eberhardt seeks recognition for the breed she loves. Vali Eberhardt
and her Norwegian Buhund, Sophie, competed in the Seattle Dog Show.
Sophie's breed is on track for official recognition from the American Kennel
Club.
By J.B. Wogan
At its core, Vali Eberhardt's
mission is about equal rights. She wants her
Norwegian Buhund, Sophie, to have the same opportunity to compete in
American Kennel Club dog shows as common canines do.
"I'm hoping for them to be a little more known," said Eberhardt, who
acquired Sophie a year ago from breeders in British Columbia. Since August,
she has toted her friendly white herding pooch across Canada, entering
Sophie in an event every month. The Canadian Kennel Club already accepts the
Norwegian Buhund (pronounced buh-HOOND) as a standard conformation breed, as
does the United Kennel Club. But the American Kennel Club-better known as
the AKC-has refused to budge on the breed's classification as rare.
The American Kennel Club, the United States' major dog organization, already
recognizes 157 other breeds including the Australian cattle dog, beagle and
the Pembroke Welsh corgi.
But in the club's 124 years of existence, it has never allowed Norwegian
Buhunds to compete for top honors, otherwise known as Best in Show.
Because of proud owners like Eberhardt, that might change soon. At Qwest
Field's Seattle Dog Show March 7-9, Sophie finished first in the
miscellaneous category - a category for breeds placed on a trial period by
the American Kennel Club. Until January 2007, Sophie's breed could not
compete in the event, even in the miscellaneous category.
The judges rated Sophie a closer match to her breed's standard than six
other dogs March 8 and six other dogs March 9.
"One of the judges took me aside and said the girl (Sophie) was one of the
prettiest she'd ever seen," said Eberhardt, who explained that judges expect
Norwegian Buhunds to have a tail that curls tightly over the middle of the
back. Eberhardt also entered Sophie's brother, Kaare.
"The length of legs, body shape, size of the head, the ears, the tail -
that's the kind of thing they judge," explained Eberhardt. In preparation
for the shows like the one in Seattle, both Sophie and Kaare underwent
schooling in obedience, conformation and herding.
In conformation, dogs must jog around a ring and pass a series of alertness
and obedience tests, said Eberhardt.
"It takes a lot of work. She (Eberhardt) is very dedicated," said Kay
Schertzl, a former Norwegian Buhund breeder in Sammamish.
Schertzl said Sophie is part of a rich history, one that should be honored
by the club. "This is an ancient breed, a primitive breed. Bones of these
dogs have been found in Viking graves," she said.
Sophie is the granddaughter of Freya, Schertzl's first Norwegian Buhund,
and is the daughter of a Canadian dog show champion named Siri. Sophie's
father Trey was the first Norwegian Buhund to ever win Best in Show in
Canada. Eberhardt has hopes that success runs in the family.
The fact that Freya was born and bred in Sammamish is strange coincidence,
according to both women, especially since Eberhardt had to drive 12 hours
north to purchase Sophie.
Schertzl is also a longtime board member of the Norwegian Buhund Club of
America, a national organization dedicated to getting the breed accepted
into the herding group of the American Kennel Club.
Currently, Norwegian Buhunds can enter all of the so called "companion
events," including obedience, agility, rally and tracking. But conformation
and companion competitions are completely separate and only conformation
leads to championship points and Best in Show honors, according to Lisa
Peterson, a spokesperson for the American Kennel Club.
"They're different shows. They have different judges and different rules,
even though it's on the same ground," said Peterson.
To qualify for a standard group in conformation, a parent club like the
Norwegian Buhund Club of America must accumulate at least 300 dogs from 100
different households, and each dog must meet certain genealogy criteria.
"They have to have a collection of dogs that each come with a two or
three-generation pedigree," Peterson explained. But Schertzl and Eberhardt's
persistent efforts allowed Norwegian Buhunds to have the miscellaneous
status at the 2008 March Seattle Dog Show, and Peterson said the breed is on
target to become an accepted herding group breed as early at January of
2009. But, "That's not set in stone. It's always tentative. You never know
what happens."
Still, the efforts of Norwegian Buhund owners like Eberhardt and Schertzl
might have be worth it. Sophie's performance in the Seattle show raised some
eyebrows, and encouraged Eberhardt to continue promoting the Buhund. "A lot
of people who came to the show told me that they came just to see the
Norwegian Buhunds," she said. "(Sophie) was very well behaved. The judge
said she was very mature, graceful."
Reporter J.B. Wogan