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Alpabfahrt Schüpfheim 2025

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Alpabfahrt Schüpfheim 2025

Alpabfahrt Schüpfheim 2025 by Wilma vom Rickental

In September I took part in the Alpabfahrt Schüpfheim 2025. You may wonder what that is and why it was so important to me and Mum. Mum was so happy to be part of it that at one time she had tears rolling down her cheeks. You see, it is one of the special parades which celebrates the cows coming down from the Alps to the lower pasture for the winter. The cows are dressed up in flowers and headdresses with their wonderful bells and they parade through the streets. Along with the cows there is a bigger parade, with alphorns, bands and singers, all dressed in Swiss national dress. And then there’s us – the Entlebucher Sennenhunde – the dogs who worked to herd the cattle with their masters.

The Entlebuch Valley

We are the cattle herding dogs from the Entlebuch valley. It is such a special place that it is a designated UNESCO biosphere. Schüpfheim is a town in the Entlebuch valley, only a few kilometres along the road from Entlebuch itself. The Swiss Club for our breed takes part in the parade and I’m proud to say that not only am I Swiss by birth, but I’m also a member of the Swiss Club even though I live in England. That’s how we came to be taking part in the parade, along with around twenty dogs of my breed.

I may have barked

I have to admit to being somewhat stressed, but nothing was going to make me miss out. Unfortunately I barked quite a bit, but that can’t be helped. I was just proving what our voices have to be like to shout across the mountainsides when we need to. Except close up that can be a little too loud, as Mum keeps pointing out to me.

I had one funny moment when a man was trying to take a video down at our level and I stuck my nose right into his lens. I’d like to see the resulting footage, but I guess I’ll just have to imagine it.

There was a ten week old puppy as part of the parade and she did really well. One of the boys was pulling a cart and looked amazing too.

It is a day we’ll never forget and which will always be very special to us. Thank you to those who organised it for allowing us to take part – we were honoured.

Wilma vom Rickental

Invite from the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of GB – 24th August

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The Bernese Mountain Dog Club of GB has kindly invited us to join their garden party weekend in Northamptonshire over the Bank Holiday weekend. If you are free that weekend, it will be great fun to go for part or all of the activities and an opportunity for your dog to meet up with some of their bigger cousins – both Bernese and Greater Swiss.

The garden party is taking place at Hollowell Steam Rally Site, Teeton Road, Guilsborough, Northamptonshire, NN6 8RB on 24th August (What3Words – financial.outer.grading) For more information, head over to the Bernese Club website – www.bernese.co.uk – where you’ll find lots more information about the fun and games.

Fun in the Sun (and water) at Kedleston Hall

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Saturday 26th April saw the latest Entlebucher walk take place at Kedleston Hall, near Derby. Salvo and Izzy were joined by Arthur, Bonnie and Max and their humans, for a 4 mile walk around the parkland. The weather was perfect which was great but meant a lot of other people had turned up to explore the National Trust property. So, avoiding the crowds, we opted for the Wilderness Walk, where we were about the only people enjoying the beautiful countryside. The dogs were even rewarded with a play in the stream towards the end of the walk and had great fun, as you’ll see from the photos below.

Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a lovely day. Hope to see you all again soon.

CANCELLED Northern Fun Day – Breed Meet Up and Training Day

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I’m afraid we have had to cancel tomorrow’s fun day. We are sorry and hope to rearrange for a future date.

On Saturday 31st May we will have our second Fun Day of the year. As usual from 12.30pm to 3.30pm and this one is at Kyle Valley Scouts, Back Lane, Tholthorpe, YO61 1SL.  What3Words ///garlic.degree.simmer

For this fun day we will have Sarah and Michaela, both experienced dog trainers, teaching your dogs some new skills. Have you ever wondered how dogs are taught heelwork to music and how their owners have them doing such outstanding routines? Now is your chance to find out. Is your dog a prime candidate for ‘Strictly Come Dancing’? Could you be the perfect pair in the tango?

Come and join us for a chance to catch up with other owners and have great fun seeing just what our dogs can and can’t achieve!

Come join our next Entlebucher Walk at Kedleston Hall, Near Derby

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Our next Entlebucher walk will be on 26 April at Kedleston Hall, Kedleston Road, Near Quarndon, Derby. DE22 5JH, meeting by the main entrance at 11.00am. Kedleston Hall is a National Trust property so there is an admission charge for non-members – see here for details https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-district-derbyshire/kedleston-hall

The walk is an easy one, on trails for the most part, through a mixture of woodland and meadow and about 3 miles long. Please note, dogs must be kept on leads at all times as there are livestock and nesting birds near the trail. If it’s been raining a lot, the last part of the walk is through a field by the lake, so walking boots are recommended. There’s a cafe at the end of the walk and plenty of tables for a picnic if you’d prefer. 

If you’d like to join us or have any questions, please let Lynn know by emailing her at lynngibbins@btinternet.com.

Midlands Entlebucher Walk – Daventry Country Park

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Our next Entlebucher walk will be on 3rd March at Daventry Country Park, off Northern Way, Daventry, NN11 2JB. We’ll be meeting in the car park at 10.00am and following one or more of the marked trails around the park whilst talking all things Entlebucher for a couple of hours. There should also be an opportunity for some off lead time for the dogs. Here’s a link to the Country Park with some more information – https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/daventry-country-park

Please email rosjkind@gmail.com if you are planning to attend. We hope to see you there.

Salcey Forest

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Christmas Walk – 30th December

Nine Entlebuchers, including three puppies from the most recent litter, met up for a walk at Salcey Forest on 30th December. Despite the rain, all those present had a lovely time meeting old and new friends and blowing away the cobwebs.

New arrivals from Czechia

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Yesterday saw the arrival of Bibi, Bart, Billy and Ben, all from the same litter born in Czechia, The four bring the UK Entlebucher number up to 136 and have all gone to different homes with families who have been waiting a long time for their puppies. It is hoped that in time two of the four may go on to join the breeding programme.

Membership Secretary retires

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On Sunday we marked the retirement of our Membership Secretary, Mark Leighton, with a presentation by the Club Chairman, Rosemary Kind. Mark has been Membership Secretary for seven years, and the Club would like to thank him for all his hard work during that time. We are pleased that Mark has agreed to continue to act as an assessor for the character test at our twice yearly Ankorung and we look forward to seeing him there. Lynn Gibbins has taken on the role of Membership Secretary going forward.

Heidi (Amaryllis Tytoalba)

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It is with great sadness that we have to let you know that yesterday Heidi crossed the rainbow bridge. As many of you will know, Heidi was born with Ectopic Ureter, a condition which is life limiting and most puppies born with that condition die at birth or before the age of three. Heidi amazed us all and reached the grand age of six. Despite her health issues, Heidi was an incredibly happy dog with a beautiful character and all those who had the pleasure of knowing her, loved her very much.

Heidi spent most of her six years with her adopted humans, Sarah and Amber, and step-sisters Bella and Babeli. She also spent many happy holidays with Chris and Jeff, and their Entlebucher, Ruby.

I leave the final words of this tribute to Sarah.

“We made her a flower collar and she crossed the rainbow bridge looking like a queen with dog roses, lavender, red roses, buttercup, daisy and willow around her neck, she looked beautiful. Everyone who sees her body will know that she was very very loved.  

She had a great day of ‘favourites’ … she went to the river, got a brand new tennis ball which is with her and she had sausage rolls for tea!”

Our thoughts are with Sarah, Jeff and Chris at this difficult time.

Rest in peace Heidi Roo.