One of the very own British traditions is to breed dogs, to exhibit and to present in appealing premises exemplary in to present to the public. In 1859 the first dog show was held. So it is not surprising that today the largest and most prestigious dog show in the world is named after a British dog lover Charles Crufts. To the 100-year-old. The Crufts passed this dog show to today`s venue, the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham. Crufts is an admission-restricted event, because not every dog ower can simply report his dog there. For that must the dog to be exhibited has a Cruftsqualification of the previous year. He will receive this only on one CACIB exhibition per year from an eligible European country. This should be
represented in the Crufts as high as possible breed standard of each race.
Such Cruftsqualifizierung received Mrs. Esther Neuhaus from Emmental with her Small Schwyz Hound "Lilli of the Ilkahöhe FCI" in Amsterdam on the World Dog Show. She became World Winner 2018 with her bitch. The joy was great and was even doubled, as from your kennel a young Small Bernese Hound runner bitch "Anke vom Emmenlaufnest FCI" the CACIB and
BOB (Best of Breed)and the title World Winner 2018 received. This bitch is owned by the German breeder Mrs. Ilka Becker from Brandenburg. Both breeders had fulfilled one of the requirements to participate in the Crufts in March 2019. Now
began the elaborate preparations and for both dogs ever an ATC - licence number (Authority to Compete) at the British Kennel Clubs was requested. Unfortunately we were in the midst of the travel arrangemants a rejection from the Kennel Club, as the Swiss downhill dogs are not on their racial participants list. To Crufts not even half of all FCI breeds are allowed ! In order to obtain a license for an exhibition with a Swiss low-cut dog in Great Britain, there should be at least 20 specimens and a corresponding pedigree dog breed club. However, not a single one of the rare Swiss Short-Legged Hound lives in England. Of the Swiss dog breeds we found on the 2003 list only of the Saint Bernard. This is too bad, but not to change for
us. Since we were looking forward to the trip to England with our dogs and the ferry from Hock van Holland to Harwich, we decided to go there anyway. The program for a week was quickly full, we had good dog and hunting friends in Norfolk.
Norfolk is a county in the UK in East Anglia East of England. Norfolk borders the counties of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk South. The area is bounded on the north and east by the North Sea. In addition,
there is an area of salt marshes between the counties of Norfolk and Lincolnshire. We visited Oxford, Cambridges, Norwich, the North Sea coast between Cromer and Kings Lynn, Thetford and experienced England in the best spring weather from
its most beautiful side. At this time there was still snow in Switzerland and here daffodils, crocuses and maiden trees were already in bloom.
Of course, as a hunter, we were also interested in pasturing in England. The Small game occur were unusually
high for us.Pheasants flew up everywhere, rabbits hopped over the lush meadows and a special feature here
was the presence of the Chinese water revolutions and the Muntjak. They are relatively small deer and are
charakterized by a simple antler, that per rod has only one or two ends and does not become longer than
15 centimeters. As with almost all deer only males have an antler, the bony base, called " Rosenstöcke", is
extended. As with the musk deer and water turns have male Animals in the upper jaw to chew proponged
canines, which protrude from the mouth. The coat color varies depending on the type of yellowish over gray-
brown to dark-brown, sometimes there is a bright spot plattern. The head-fuselage length of the Muntjaks is
here in Norfolk at 64 centimeters, to which are added 6 to 24 centimeters tail (fronds). The weight is about
14 kilograms. Characteristic of Muntjak are the elongated canines, wich are slightly bent outwards. They are
used as a weapon of attack, while the males defend themselves with their antlers. Typical for them are barking
fright sounds, in English usage they are therefore referred to as "Barking Deer". The actual distribution area.
The Muntjaks encompasses southern and eastern Asia. From India, they are spread east to China and Vietnam
and are coming on numerous islands. Here they hide in the dense undergrowth of the woods. Fossil finds prove
that Muntjaks are also in the Tertiaey were common in Eutope. Its altitude range extends from the sea level to
altitudes of 1525 meters. The territorial behavior varies depending on the species and partly depending on the
habitat within a species. Especially in the species that are native to densely wood regions, male muntjaks
maintain territories that defend them bitterly against other males. If two males meet, it come to the fight, with
less the stub-like antlers than the sharp canines rather than Weapons are used. The muntjaks, which live in more
open habitats, show a more social way of life, but form no packs here either. Above all, males fight a ranking here.
These different behaviors influenced by the respective habitat can also be observed in other types of deer. Muntjacs
can be both day and night active, but many species are dusk active. They are predominantly herbivores and take
mostly grasses, leaves, flowers, buds and fallen fruits to themselves. However, representatives from the tropical regions
can also be good with poisonous plant species Ilex (holly) and yew come clear. At the Muntjaks in Norfolk, coming
from the tropical regions of the distribution area. There is no specific breeding time.
Mating and births can occur all year round. Therefore, our hunt was on Muntjak the male animals. Hunting is mainly
on a stalk with target stick and a muffler. Since the game was very numerous in the forest areas, we had always good
sight and everyone could at the first stalking a Muntjak shoot. The experienced professional hunters were happy about
our good shots, as the search for a muntjakhirsch for the dog can be very dangerous. You know how to use your long canines as a very sharp weapon against dogs. The last three days of our trip we spent together with our English friends,
who could tell a lot about their hunting experiences with their dogs. Our brought Swiss run down dogs were greeted everywhere friendly and met with great interest. The Crufts 2019 will always be televised live in the UK on the days of their event and so we enjoyed these live performances of the show in an English living room in front of the roaring log fire.
I believe that our dogs enjoy hunting more than presenting themselves in the exhibition halls. All in all, our Swiss Downhill
dogs were very pleasant companions, whether in the city, on campus, in English parks, during hunting, in the evening in
the pub or on the ferry in the car.
