Tag Archives: dog show

Catskill Pumis Behind the Case of Southern Discomfort

August 2, 2017

Csinszka’s new grand champion ribbon

I had a busy six days last week. I have traveled with the small contingent of three Catskill Pumis, Anka, Csinszka and Otter, to Greenville South Carolina, to participate at the Carolina Foothills Cluster, sponsored by Purina Proplan.

It was a relatively large entry for the breed, 14 Pumis have been present including us, to showcase a cross segment of the breed in the US. I also had a chance to meet some of the new Pumi owners and reconnect with old ones.

Jan and Anka

The venue, the TD Convention Center was a comfortable place to exhibit and seek shelter from the scorching southern heat. The heat and humidity south of the Mason Dixon line is drastically different than our mild summer temperature Upstate NY.

I was pleased with the strong performance of my Pumis. Anka is gradually regaining her pre pregnancy condition. Her hair is also coming back without complications. Seeing her rebounding so fast after her first litter reassures me that my dogs’ BARF diet is working well and that her body has handled the burdens and challenges of pregnancy beautifully.

our weekend result

Me and Csinszka in the Ring

Csinszka is maturing by the day and she is turning into a beautiful proportional bitch with well balanced movements. She is one of the lightest movers, barely touching the ground.

Otter, the well kept Catskill Pumi secret is out now in the open and keeps winning hearts and minds of those who are looking for quality males. He needs to be traveling and shown more to gain confidence and to become more comfortable in the ring.

Overall, my Catskill Pumis have delivered a steady and successful performance.

Catskill Apacatancos Anka got one “Select,” two BOS and one BOB placements.

Catskill Csucsai Csinszka has earned three “Selects” and one BOS. Csinszka also finished her Grand Championship over the weekend!

Catskill Otter has received two “Select” placements.

This successful week could not have been possible without Jan Kolnik, Anka’s handler, Eryn Glenn who showed Otter, and Marilyn Funke who has shown her group of Pumis and we shared the hotel room and an enormous amount of gossips for four days.

Otter

Fear and Loathing in Pécs, Hungary

March 13, 2016

The flag of Pé with the coat of arm of the city. it says, Seal of the Free Royal City of Fivechurch" granted by Maria Theresa (i thin

The flag of Pécs with the coat of arm of the city. It says,
“Seal of the Free Royal City of Fivechurch” granted by Maria Theresa (i think in the center MT stands for her)

Studio detail of Marta Csille where I planned to have two days of felting workshop.

Work station at Martha Csille’s felting studio

The county building. Pecs is also the county seat of Baranya County

Barely back to Budapest from Graz, Austria on Monday and by early Thursday morning we hit the road again to the south, to the City of Pecs. First we stopped in a small town, Egerág, at the studio of Marta Csille Hungarian felt artist, for a two day workshop to learn more about the tricks of the trade and enhance my felting toolbox. I felt tired and a bit sick, I thought because of the crazy weather, lots of traveling, and lack of sleep. By mid day, I had high fever, serious sinus pain and major headache. Things did not go well. I finished the day early, got some cough and headache medicine that somehow got mixed with some palinka (Hungarian distilled spirit) and went to sleep. Since I did not improve overnight, I got some antibiotics next day. I cancelled my second day of workshop and took an early and a pretty drowsy drive to Pecs, to the weekend FCI dog show. I could not wait to arrive. I crashed at the duplex that I rented in the middle of town and tried to get some rest.

empty street with one of the perfectly preserved petrified body of one of the victims of the massive volcanic eruption.

empty street with one of the perfectly preserved petrified body by the massive volcanic eruption. He never got to finish his coffee.

Even though, my condition improved somewhat by Saturday morning, I was still heavily under the effect of the unfortunate mixing of medicines and alcohol from last night. First thing, I took the dogs for a big walk in the city center of Pécs, while holding my swollen running nose and barely balancing my 100lbs head on my neck.

The streets were dead empty not a single soul in sight. It seemed strange.

the empty Szécheny Square, where is everyone?

Location Location Location…Hungary might have been the real estate dream market throughout history, however, it must have been the nightmare for insurance companies for close to two thousand years. No wonder why. Hungary has been a virtual crossroad between east, west and south where different cultures have clashed for hundreds of years. They thrived, prospered than disappeared overnight, giving space for the next weave of invaders, Romans, Avars, Celts, Mongols, Ottomans and others who fought over religion, land and resources.

The ghostly street sweeper and the Pumis

Pécs’s history go back to the ancient Romans. The City was established in the 2nd century and was named Sopianae. Excavation have unearthed Celtic burial sites and a Christian Necropolis. By the first millennium Pecs, like other parts of the country was under the control of the first Christian Hungarian King, Stephen I. As the nation accepted its new religious faith, the semi nomadic tribal military culture gradually faded into extinction and the ruling feudal system has risen from the blood and tears of the past.

The holy Trinity statue erected in 1714 to commemorate the escape from the plague, the Black Death. There are the plague saints on the bottom, and above the father, the son and the holy spirit – do not mix it with your medicine (I mean the holy spirit).

Medieval Pecs was built from the remains of five christian chapels and Sopianae was renamed “Five Churches.” Its new name was used in all of the languages of the area. The name has been reduced to Pecs over the next 1200 years. The city has become a major cultural center. By 1367, Pécs has opened the doors of the first university in Hungary. Next, the expanding Ottoman Empire has left its impact on the region and the whole country for 150 years…and I kept walking with the dogs in the empty city streets…

Pumis and of Janos Hunyadi the Overlord of Transylvania on horseback. I wonder what was he doing here...

No signs of life except the Pumis and Janos Hunyadi the Overlord of Transylvania on horseback. I wonder what was he doing here…

The dramatic eruption of the nearby volcano of Mt. Mecsek destroyed the city of Pécs, killing all and burying the city under 20 ft of volcanic ash. For several hundreds of years the buildings, objects and the bodies that lay beneath the ash cover have been untouched and perfectly preserved because of the lack of air and moisture. When the excavation uncovered the hermetically sealed site, plaster fillings were injected in the voids of the ash layers that held human bodies. It allowed to see the body positions of the people, as they died. The city has remained an empty haunted place, virtually an archeological site ever since.

First floor of the duplex that I rented in Pecs. It served more as a hospital.

the Pumis got comfy while I was chatting with Timothy Leary

The Mosque Pasha Quasim converted into a catholic church in 1702. The largest Turkish building in Hungary

The Mosque of Pasha Quasim converted into a catholic church in 1702. It is the largest Turkish building in Hungary

As I walked on the empty streets with the two dogs, the rhythmic clacking noise made by the impact of the dogs’ nails with the cobble stones pavement, echoed from the thick walls of the empty buildings. My brain was pulsing, my vision was blurry and my body still exhausted from the fever when finally the fresh air and the warm rays of the morning sun slowly started clearing my druggy head. I felt hungry and my brain craved for coffeine. I walked into a patisserie and I bough a croissant and a large cappuccino.

When two Pumis occupy an empty city.

After a few sips of coffee, I went into panic mode as I realized that holly @*#%…! I was mixing up the history of Pécs, Hungary and Pompeii, Italy. But something still did not add up, where did all the people disappear from the city…? “Why are the streets empty?” I asked the barista.

“There is a dog show in town and they all went to see some wonder dog from New York, I think a Pumi…,” she answered.

p.s. Agyag did fantastic both days. She got BOS, CACIB, CAC and Excellent 1 Saturday and Sunday too.

Kaffogo Agyag BOS, CACIB, CAC, Excellent 1 both days. the mystery has also been resolved. Yes, indeed, the good citizens of Pécs all came to see the American wonder Pumi at the dog show just look at the seats behind me.

Kaffogo Agyag BOS, CACIB, CAC, Excellent 1 both days. the mystery has also been resolved. Yes, indeed, the good citizens of Pécs abandoned their city and all came to see the American wonder Pumi, Kaffogo Agyag at the dog show. Do not believe me? Just look at the seats behind me.

the proof of that we were there and the rest was a nightmare.

the proof of that we were there and the rest was a bad dream.

I am sinus free and back safe and sound in Budapest again.

on the way back to Budapest. Double vision? oh not again…

there is light at the end of the tunnel. Huhh…

“Budapest Budapest Te Csodas…”

February 16, 2016

“Budapest Budapest You Wonderful…” The title is a popular Hungarian song, I think back from the 1960-70. For Hungarians it is sort of the equivalent of Sinatra’s “New York New York.” https://youtu.be/TIsXvH-e6bU (it is heavily edited and appropriated sorry original content owners….)

I am so thrilled to be back again…

Catskill Pumis waiting to board at JFKIt is that crazy time of the year again when we travel to Europe to check out the royal and not so royal Pumi houses of Europe to make some holly alliances between the Pumis of the New World and some of the Ancient Regimes of the continent.

It is that crazy time of the year again when we travel to Europe to check out the royal and not so royal Pumi houses of Europe to make some holly alliances between the Pumis of the New World and Pumis of the Ancient Regimes of Europe.

Catskill Pumi petting ZOO at JFK every one loves the Pumis

I’ll spend six weeks traveling in Hungary and a few other countries. The plan is to enter some dog shows, visit breeders, get some unofficial breeding and health history on the breed. I will put my light blue NATO helmet on and try to do my best to clean off the dirt that comes with all the information from the various sides… and we also try to breed if all works as planned.

The Catskill Pumi Teddy Bear Collection – I WANT ONE!

We had a very orderly departure that is usually a pretty rear occurrence. Left on time from upstate, made it to the airport without incident, checked in dogs and luggages, I even get to check in an extra duffle bag without paying a penny. The early arrival to JFK gave us some extra quality time with the dogs. They could eliminate, hang out and get used to the new environment without any tension so when they were hauled away to load them on the plain, they did not care too much.

We let Mommy off leash for a pit stop…

The flight was uneventful. In Helsinki I changed plane to Budapest. While boarding, the captain assured me that the dogs were transferred to the second flight and so we went. After the brutal cold spell of of Upstate NY (we had -40F windchill Friday night) I did not mind the unseasonable warm temperature at my arrival in Budapest.

Agyag and Fruska are checking in at Finnair

We walked through customs like middle eastern migrants enter to Europe; no one checked my papers or really cared about me or the dogs. I picked up my rental car and we were on our way to my sister’s house. The station wagon I rented is a blessing because I can fit both crates in the back so I can keep the car clean from muddy dog paws for six weeks. It was funny to see the dogs when we got out of the car and entered the lobby of the high-rise building where my sister lives. As we were waiting for the elevator, they kept looking and wondering why the sheep live in vertically stacked stalls and why they have so many shepherds around. I needed to pull through the day without going to sleep until the evening so I can manage better the jetlag aka desynchronosis (a fancy word for you).

The Catskill Pumis are ready to board the subway

The Catskill Pumis are ready to enter the Budapest subway system

Today we took it easy. I bought a monthly public transportation pass so I do not have to drive in Budapest traffic unless it is necessary. I also bought a gym membership to a fancy gym just a few blocks from my sister’s house because even though, i promised myself that I keep my relatively healthy diet while in Europe, I am afraid I will get tempted and breaking down within minutes after walking into one of those famous indoor food markets where they sell all those mouthwatering insanely delicious food creations.

My sister Zsuzsa with my Pumis

The rest of the day we are off to the central shopping district on the Pest side of the City. Lets see what the fancy boutiques of Budapest can offer comparing to Delhi’s “Tractor Supply” selection or Oneonta’s “Walmart” back home in New York. Do not tell this part of my trip to Laszlo…

Dogs and owners need to know a lot before entering a dog run you have to pass a "dog body language test" study material is available at the entrance. Turid Ruugas would be pretty proud

Dogs and owners need to know a lot before entering a dog run. Everyone has to pass a “dog body language test” Study material is available at the entrance. Welcome to Dog Run University… Turid Ruugas would be pretty proud

Murphy’s Law

December 15, 2015

Catskill Badger and Laszlo in the ring

What a week we’ve had during The Eukanuba National in Orlando Florida. The Catskill Pumis and their close cohort, Kaffogo Agyag have entered five shows and collected three BOB, one BOS, five BBE, five Best 6-9 months old Puppy Dog, three Best 6-9 months old Puppy bitch titles and several additional placements. Yay…!

Ildiko and Catskill Csinszka sharming the judge and spectators

Ildiko and Catskill Csinszka charming the judge and spectators

We’ve been coming to show in conformation to The Eukanuba National for four years. This year we had the largest Catskill Pumi turnout, with seven Pumis and we are proud of them all, especially the three pups from our C-litter, Csobanka, Csinszka and Csoma aka Badger. By the time the Pumi enters the herding group next July, they will be the sharks of the conformation ring.

What has changed for the Pumi at Eukanuba over the years? Honestly, not too much. Inconsistent judging is still one of the most disturbing aspects of showing the Pumi in the US.

What has changed for the Pumi at Eukanuba over the years? Honestly not too much. Still inconsistent, sometimes substandard judging (I am simply puzzled why a judge need to ask the handler at the table, “how is the correct tail setting…?”) This is not to take away anything from the winners’ achievements, however, after ten years it is obvious that judges have lots more to learn about the Pumi.

Another thing I noticed that some handlers kept initiating chit-chats with the judge while stacking their dogs on the table. I could never figure it out for what reason? I wonder whether they have had an ulterior motive…? Also, there have been some friendly fires in the ring (what happened to sportsmanship…?) and of course the usual ringside tackling.

Standing tall... Aida Dungan and in the Miscellaneous group during The Eukanuba National.

Standing tall… Aida Dungan and Pushkin in the Miscellaneous group during The Eukanuba National.

After ten years of Pumi history, in the United States, I am still not sure why dogs with obvious disqualifying conformation need to be shown. Trust me, I love them all equally, but some just do not qualify for the conformation ring. In my opinion, it reflects bad on the breed and all breeders. If you remember my blogs from Finland two years ago, I noted that reputable Finnish breeders would rather not show if they do not have show quality dogs to enter.

Each dog showing at The Eukanuba National deserves its “fifteen minutes” to get a full and fair judging.

The judging during the actual Eukanuba National, I think, was quite disrespectful to all Pumi exhibitors in the Miscellaneous Breed’s ring on Sunday. The judge, Mr. Murphy, showed up 45(!) minutes late and then sorted through the breed in seconds without properly examining the dogs. He did not allow time for stacking the dogs on the table and did not look most dogs’ structure, barely the bites. He did not let the dogs show in full circle and on the diagonal in the ring in order to catch up with the time. (Even if he has the right to do that according to the rule book, hey this was The Eukanuba National where each dog who showed up there deserves its “fifteen minutes” to have a fair chance to be fully examined and judged.) Another annoying surprise and significant delay was that in the “Open Bitch Class” where there were only two bitches in the judge’s book out of the five entered the show. It took additional long minutes to sort out the entry list.

Huhh… no comment

The highlight of the chaotic judging was, when entering the ring for the 6-9 months Puppy Bitch Class, the judge walked up to me during the first going around before even reaching to the table to stack Csinszka(!) and declared her as the winner of the 6-9 months old “Puppy Dog” Class.… (!?!?!) He looked quite confused when I told him that this was the 6-9 months Puppy Bitch NOT Puppy Dog Class. He did not care too much, simply brushed it off saying, “I guess I am a bit confused…” I wonder what the other handler felt behind me in the ring. Those of you who missed it, Mr Murphy was also the center of discussion last year on FaceBook when judging the Pumi at one of the open shows here at The Eukanuba National.

But enough of the drama and congratulations to last day’s winners, Aida Dungan with Pushkin, BOB and Ginger Butler with Lyric BOS!

The week went fast and I think we did not realize how much we worked to groom the dogs for the shows and properly exercise them daily at Cocoa Beach and Lake Baldwin Park to pull through the week. We also visited our Orlando Florida Pumi, Catskill Csaszar aka “ZEKE” and his family.

Visiting Catskill CSaszar aka Zeke and his family the Larkins in Orlando Florida, if you believe in reincarnation this is to place be a dog in your next life.

Visiting Catskill CSaszar aka Zeke and his family the Larkins in Orlando Florida. If you believe in reincarnation this is the place to be a Pumi in your next life.

We rigorously exercised the dogs to maintain their daily routine after each show. What did you do with your dog?

Our weeklong nightly culinary adventure has also been a wild ride. Korean food scored the lowest on Tuesday. It was extremely hot (spicy) and relatively tasteless food, we had a long wait at the table and an awful waiter. Dining at the“Outback” on Wednesday, was a great testament to everything that is wrong with chain restaurants. I was also disappointed with the Turkish restaurant when comparing it to other Turkish places from the past. Even though the veranda of the restaurant was cozy, some smokers certainly “smoked” our experience. The Thai and Indian dinners were our default cuisines Friday and Saturday. Our “last supper” with almost all Pumi people present was a final and long awaited big bang at the cozy Cafe TuTu Tango. We got together to celebrate Marylin Funke’s birthday and the closing of Eukanuba week in Orlando. We got great food, great atmosphere and fast and pleasant servers. TuTu Tango was simply a nice hip restaurant with music and art works by new and emerging artists.

Egysegben az ero (you have to figure this out by yourself...)

“Egysegben az era” (you have to figure this out by yourself…)

Over the week, we have tightened our friendship with Marilyn Funke, owner of Catskill Csobanka, who has shown Kaffogo Agyag and won BOB at the KCUSA Open show on Friday. She also showed Catskill Csinszka on two occasions and she was also very helpful in changing dogs, and entry numbers between the different classes. Thank you Marilyn!

Marika Foreman has also been there for us helping whenever she could each moment of the week, just like family. Thank you Marika and congratulations to Bikfic’s two BOB wins!

Paul Foreman’s faithful photographing of the five days, provided all Pumi aficionados here in the U.S. and abroad a chance to sit at the virtual ringside and experience the shows each day.

Catskill Csobanka – the next generation

Happy Birthday Mr. President! Oops… correction, Happy Birthday Marilyn!

One of the nicest persons we got to know closer this week, was Aida Dungan who won BOB of The Eukanuba National” with her Pumi, Pushkin on Sunday. She is funny, pleasant and always cheerful. Hope to see you soon Aida.

I cancelled Direct TV last year because I barely watched it. Staying in Orlando, I could watch my favorite show again, put up by Nurse Jackie. Boy, I did miss her… Did I really…?

i canceled Direct TV so when I go to dog shows I am always happy to see this character.

I canceled Direct TV, so when I go to dog shows It always cracks me up to watch this character.

Next year this time, the Pumi will already be part of the AKC “major league,” in the herding group. Hopefully it will be judged accordingly.