41st Internationale Rassenhundeausstellung Berlin – (Berlin’s Dog Show) April 2008Berlin’s dog show was hosted by VDH (Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen e.V.) boasted 3000 dog entries and was held in two Halls on the huge Messegelände on the outskirts of Berlin. The venue is very similar in feel to the NEC in the UK, but is notably easier to get to than it’s UK counterpart. Well serviced by public transport and placed on the insider of the Berliner Ring road, by car or of foot you are there in a jiffy. Not quick enough for me. I still missed my aim of seeing the Mals on the Sunday morning.
One thing I didn’t manage to glean from the rather annoying website was the real timetable of exhibits nor the number of entries in each class. Mals were first up on Sunday and as there were only three present, the whole class lasted mere minutes. It was long gone by the time I came sniffing along. I managed to speak to a Dutch woman with a very relaxed Mal bitch sitting on top of her crate (without lead being attatched!)
She told me her bitch hailed from a UK kennel. I did expect a few more Malamutes, and even some German ones but there were only a couple from Czech republic, one from Poland and the Dutch one with whom I spoke to.
I had the misguided expectation that the Berlin show would be in some way comparable to Crufts, but the show was perhaps only third or a quarter the size of Crufts, only really comparable to a regional show and the rings were a tad small for the bigger breeds. The concrete floor didn’t seem to be the optimal surface either. Am I sounding cynical? I suspect the dog breed with a real big entry was the dachshund! The rings were more than adequate for them!
There was an interesting exhibition of cart pulling dogs, then a demonstration of a German shepherd rescue dog. After an interesting chat with a Dog portrait artist, she told me that none of the European shows are as big in reputation as Crufts and that the biggest German show happens in October in Dortmund. Interesting.