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