FCI World Dog Show 2025, Helsinki

Crufts, the European Dog Show, Westminster, the World Dog Show – these are the largest dog shows in the world. With the exception of the New York–based Westminster, we regularly participate in all of them with our dogs. We usually enter both of our breeds – the Bernese Mountain Dogs and the Jack Russell Terriers – and even if we don’t have a dog entered in one of them, we still regularly attend to watch those two breeds in the ring.

Why do we travel to world-class dog shows with our dogs?
Both of our breeds are large in numbers; at these shows it’s not unusual to see several hundred Bernese or Jack Russells entered, so achieving top results is very challenging – but that’s not our main goal. These events are the best places to see the highest-quality dogs within each breed, to get a clear understanding of where breeding is headed. We can discover dogs we’d like to bring into our own breeding program, and meet breeders with whom we hope to collaborate more closely. The experience of seeing these dogs in person is irreplaceable: it’s completely different to watch a dog’s movement, size, and temperament live – especially in comparison with the very best in the world – than to look at a few photos or videos online, or to see just one or two outstanding dogs at smaller shows with no real basis for comparison. That’s why we go – and of course, because it’s always a huge joy to see so many excellent dogs of the breeds we are dedicated to preserving and improving as breeders.

Naturally, we also hope that our own dogs will achieve great results at these events – and sometimes they do. We’ve collected podium placements in different classes with both breeds at several World and European Dog Shows over the years, and we’ve even had class winner before. We approached the World Dog Show 2025 with similar hopes.

We felt that Lenná had a real chance in the Intermediate Class for Bernese Mountain Dog bitches if everything went well. We had never before achieved such a result with a Jacks and Bears Bernese, so we were incredibly excited. As the show day approached, doubts naturally crept in – we kept asking ourselves why we had undertaken such a long journey with our dogs. Still, we were eagerly looking forward to the big day.

The day before the Bernese were judged, it was the turn of the Jack Russell Terriers. Among them was Fire, entered in the Working Class and handled by her regular handler, Liza Pócs. Under the judgment of French judge Christian Jouanchicot, Fire achieved an outstanding result: an Excellent grading and second place in his class! Second at a World Dog Show – it was an incredible thrill.

The next day came the Bernese Mountain Dog bitches, judged by Danish judge Hans Erik Pedersen. We hoped for a good critique and a strong placement. Lenná entered the ring with Oberna Dorottya, and it was clear that the judge liked her: she received a lovely critique and an Excellent grade. Then came the class line-up of all the Excellent-graded dogs for placement – and the judge chose Lenná as the best in the class: Excellent 1, Class Winner at the World Dog Show!

But the day was not over yet. The class-winning adult bitches were compared next: the winners of the Junior, Open, and Intermediate classes competed – and Lenná won again: CAC, CC Bitch at the World Dog Show!

Finally, for the World Winner title, Lenná was compared with the Champion-class bitch. This last step didn’t go our way, but we were far from disappointed: our young dog achieved an amazing result at one of the world’s largest shows – a tremendous joy and a significant recognition of our breeding work.

Even if we never attended another show again, we could be satisfied with this achievement – but of course, we’ll keep going. We still have many breeding and show goals ahead of us with both the Jacks and the Bernese.

FCI World Dog Show 2025, Helsinki – thank you!