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The canine world’s upper crust creatures in the kingdom will be stepping out in style hoping to convince a Serbian judge that they are the best in their category … and one will be top dog and chosen as ‘best in show’.
The Bahrain Kennel Club (BKC) will be staging its latest International Dog Show at the Batelco Club in Hamala on Friday.
Maggie Andersson, BKC secretary, said: “In my opinion, the best show attributes are soundness, conformation and movement.
l Soundness - alert, healthy and happy, never aggressive.
l Conformation - not too long or compact, big front, small rear - a dog should look like one dog, not two in one.
l Movement – it should have free flow movement, like the dog is gliding, not limping or with loose shoulders.
“I have to say that would make my top show dog but, bear in mind, I am not a judge!”
That job goes to international adjudicator Zoran Cucic who is flying into Bahrain for the occasion. He will pick the dog he thinks is most up to the standard of its breed and top dog for the coveted Best in Show accolade.
There are 350-plus different breeds divided into 11 groups – Sheepdogs, Pincher and Schnauzer type, Terrier, Dachshunds, Spitz & Primitive types, Scent hounds & related breeds, Pointing dogs, Retrievers Water Dogs, Companion and Toy Dogs … plus one for breeds not recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), the largest international federation of kennel clubs, such as an American Bulldog or a black and white Poodle, because only ones with solid colours are considered prim and proper.
“Often people ask us why we don’t use the same judge in all the shows,” said Maggie. “The reason we try to select a different judge for each one is because each judge might see a dog in a different way. For example, one might like perfect teeth and another like the ears, coat, or carriage of tail.
“Our way makes it fair for all the dogs to have a chance to gain a national certificate and on to become a qualified national champion.”
If a judge reckons two dogs are equally good specimens then he will look for small things like a toenail has some white in it that should not be there before making a decision.
Last year judge Miklós Levente, who travelled from Hungary, named Morasha Celestian Toulouse, pictured right, owned by Sara Rasdan, as Best in Show. The purebred champion Saluki beat an 86-strong entry at the Ethad Alreef Club.
The BKC has been the sole registrar of purebred canines in the kingdom since 1974. A year later the FCI, based in Belgium, approved Bahrain as an associate member with full rights to issue pedigrees and hold shows. This year, however, BKC was recognised at the organisation’s annual conference that took place in Leipzig, Germany, for its continuous contribution to canine excellence’ and became an active full member with the rights to vote on international laws and regulations of purebred dogs under the FCI.
The club operates under license of the Ministry of Social Affairs with its elections of a 12-strong board of directors monitored by the authority. Its current top team is made up of Danah Sehested Preetzman, founding president, Rasheed Bin Isa Alkhalifa, vice president and acting president, club secretary Maggie, Jassim Mohamad Mossawi, director, and Sadek Alfarsani, public relations.
Bahrain Kennel Club is holding five major international shows with internationally-certified judges from the FCI over the next 12 months. Certificates of CACIB and CAC are issued including Best in Show, Best Reserve in Show and Best Puppy in Show.
Pedigree dogs which achieve show recognitions can become international champions and ‘very valuable’ breeding dogs.
