46 Saber Tails Fall 2018
Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America
Showing in Our First
National D’Elevage Griffon Vendeen
By Bayje “Leslie Pomeroy”
The 2018 D’Elevage Exposition took place in a beautiful park campground just outside the small town Nedde, in the
French region of Limosin, known for its beautiful cows and cheese. The grounds were spacious, with verdant trees and
grass, with a mellow stream flowing along one side.
I arrived the afternoon before the show. Parking was easy and close to
the cages and pens set up for each breed. There were four large rings
in the center of the park, outlined by pens and cages, with a large path-
way in between. Men gathered around a stand drinking beer after set-
ting up the spacious chain link pens and nice size cages for owners with
fewer than six entries. Owners’ names and dogs’ breeds were printed on
each cage, so you knew exactly where your dog was to go in the morn-
ing. All the Griffon breeds were represented.
Later that afternoon, many people arrived with low trailer cages. Most
dogs were French, but entrants came from all over Europe: Denmark,
Italy, Holland, Germany, and England. It was wonderful to see so much
commitment to preserving these breeds. Owners unpacked, added hay to the pens, and the dogs settled in.
The first night began with a welcome party with raw oysters, a champagne like bubbly cocktail, and potato chips. Ev-
eryone was chatting when I turned around and saw Sophie Dunkley, whom I’d previously chatted with about the show
on Facebook. The world of Facebook amazes me because I can establish friendships with other dog owners, and then
meet them face-to-face at shows. In true French style, a full dinner was served in outdoor tents for all participants. We
retired early, preparing for our early wake up call. Everyone was scattered in different hotels 20-30 minutes away.
We were all up early to groom and prepare. I was told not to use any products by several people who had showed pre-
viously. Some dogs were well groomed, others not. Some dogs were brushed, others were clean, but not bathed, and
some dogs were even slightly matted and dirty. Most were definitely not the spiffy show dogs like I see in the USA. There
were the in-between groomed, not overly stripped or styled, nicely cleaned up, not blown, and not powdered. I could
see the pride in the hunting groups to present their dogs as they are. I was worried about how much to groom Mar-
cel. I think it could be hard to mess up grooming, unless one over
groomed. Marcel had not had bath for 6 weeks and was not really in
need. This lack of pressure definitely relaxes the atmosphere.
In France, handling is a much more casual affair than in the USA.
There are no professional handlers; each dog is shown by its owner.
At this show, men and women showed in almost equal numbers. No
one kept their eye on the judge. People wore shorts, dresses, and
jeans. Owner appearance was not an issue. The judges, however,
were well dressed in ties and suits.
The judging started late, but there was no sense of stress. From the
357 dogs entered, they were divided into separate rings by breed
and sex for judging. Classes are a bit different in France: young,
Photo Contest Category:
Puppy Petits
Parti Litter by Karen Clugston
Bullet by Mendy Marshall
Doobie
by Tim Bryant
Cont’d on p 65