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At the European Dog Show 2008, 14925 dogs were entered among which 7351 were male and 7574 were female dogs.  About 338 dog breeds participated in the show.

The classification of the FCI (Federation Cynologique International) groups were done in the following manner for the three days.

Day 1 (October 3, 2008)

Terriers, Scenthounds and related breeds, Pointing Dogs and Sighthounds

Day 2 (October 4, 2008)

Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossoid Breeds, Swiss Mountain and cattle Dogs and other breeds, Spitz and primitive types, Retrievers, Flushing dogs and Water Dogs 

Day 3 (October 5, 2008)

Sheepdogs and Cattledogs, Dachshunds and Companion and Toy Dogs.

Here is another delightful video from the Show.




The Euro Dog Show 2008 came to a glittering finish as the best dogs walked away with their laurels.  For the results you can visit the official European Dog Show 2008  site. 

Guest Writer: Lindsay Stordahl

One mistake I see people make while training their dogs is how they don’t follow through after giving a command. For example, a dog owner might say, “Rover, sit!” and Rover ignores the command.

His owner might say “Sit!” one or two more times, but if Rover still ignores her, she gives up and says her dog doesn’t listen, he’s stubborn or “he does it when he feels like it.” This is not good because it is teaching the dog that sitting when told is optional.

Here are four tips to remember when training your dog:

1. Give your dog a single command.

Dogs have good hearing. If my dog doesn’t respond to “sit” the first time I tell him, it’s not because he didn’t hear me, it’s because he isn’t taking me seriously. Dogs become conditioned, and it is very possible to accidentally teach your dog not to sit until you’ve said the word five or six times.

2. If he doesn’t respond the first time, make him do it.

It does no good to scream “Sit! Sit! Sit!” at a dog over and over again or to gently say,
“Rover, sit? Can you sit for Mommy? Rover, sit, honey. Come on, Rover, sit!” Just say the command one time and then put him in a sit position.

This is true with all commands. If you call your dog and he doesn’t come, then walk over and bring him to where you called him from. Don’t stand there screaming, “Rover, come! Rover, I said come!!” This is teaching him not to come.

3. Be firm when you give commands.

A dog learns when he can get away with not listening by the tone of your voice. If I softly say,  ”Ace, sit?” he is a lot less likely to do it. But if I say in a calm but firm voice, “Ace, sit!” then he knows I’m serious and pays attention.

There’s no need to yell or sound angry, but it is important to speak with authority. A dog picks up on confident energy just like he picks up on weak energy.

4. Don’t give your dog a command if you can’t enforce it.

This is especially important when teaching the recall, or “come!” When I adopted Ace, I made sure never to call him unless he had his leash on and I could follow through and make him come to me.

It is not a good idea to call your dog if you know he won’t come to you, like if he’s chasing a squirrel. All this does is teach your dog that listening is optional. Until you are
certain your dog will come when called, only call him when he is on a long rope or you are in an area where you can easily catch him.

This is true with all commands. If you are not willing to make your dog sit if he doesn’t listen, then don’t tell him to sit in the first place.

About the writer:

Lindsay Stordahl maintains the popular blog That Mutt, which covers all topics related to dogs from training, behavior, and adoption to personal stories about her mutt Ace.