Shropshire Paramedic gets her Dachshund's ready for Crufts.

We chat to a Shrewsbury Paramedic about her love for her Long Hair Dachshund's and about getting ready for Crufts.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Amy. These are my miniature long-haired Dash-hounds and we're going to Crafts 2025

00:07tomorrow. Is it the first time you've been to Crafts? No. So I've been with my field

00:13spangles before and with Ellie and Mia and Bree before but it's the two puppies first

00:21time at Crafts this year. What is it about Dash-hounds then? Is it Dash-hounds? I say

00:28Dash-hounds. What is it about Dash-hounds then that's kind of captivated you? Well my

00:33family have always had them since kind of the 80s, 90s and they're just, they're such

00:38a big personality and such a little dog and they're just really good companions. They

00:44just want to be with you all the time and they'll either go walking up the woods or

00:49up the hills with you all day or they're quite happy chilling on the sofa with a movie and

00:54they're just, they just want to be with you all the time and they're just really, really

00:57loyal little, little dogs with big personalities. A good, a good cuddle dog for that set, eh

01:02then? Yeah, definitely. So what, how long have you been going to Crafts? I think 2012

01:09was my first year that I've been and then obviously things got a bit hairy during lockdown

01:16and then kind of probably consistency since like 2023 we've been the last few years of

01:22the gang. So what does it, what do you have to do in terms of prepping for the dogs then

01:26to get them ready for Crafts? It's an all, it's a 365 days a year process so that obviously

01:34they've got to have good diet, be kept in good condition, exercise regularly and just

01:39kind of making sure that they're comfortable for showing so going to Ring Craft training

01:46so that's like your show training and making sure that they're happy, well, well-natured dogs.

01:55So the judges will be looking for their, their kind of temperament, their behaviour? Yeah,

01:59temperament and kind of their, their general kind of health and conformation, how they're put

02:04together, how they move in the Ring. So a dog that moves well is generally put well, put together

02:11well and so all that, they'll look at their teeth, their, their general build, their condition,

02:18their coat, the whole picture really. And where do these come from, where's the breeder? So

02:26Ellie and Mia came from a lady in Warphampton, well, Piraten and then Ginny's from down

02:35in Somerset Way and then the other three I bred myself. Oh wow, so is that something you want to

02:40get into more then, the breeding side of things? Yeah, so my grandparents bred them in the 80s

02:46and 90s and have kind of passed the kennel, so Ribbondale is my show name, they've passed that

02:54on to me. Yeah. And now just kind of striving to, I only breed if I'm like looking for my next

03:01dog for the show at Ring. Yeah. So just striving to breed kind of good quality, healthy,

03:08well-tempered. So your uniform gives it away, your day job is a paramedic? Yeah,

03:15yes. There's no bring a dog to work day when you're a paramedic is there? They have visited

03:20sometimes. Have they? Yeah, they, they do love to be made a fuss of. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, no,

03:29I wish they could ride around with us in the ambulance. Be nice. It's nice to come home to

03:32them after a long shift. Yeah, that kind of relaxing, therapeutic element that dogs have.

03:39And they're lovely colours aren't they? Really nice colours. Thank you. So what would, are you

03:44hoping to come back with kind of rosettes or is it just all about just being there and meeting

03:49people and other breeders? It would be lovely to place. Yeah. It's the puppy's first time

03:54there and they've done quite well in the Ring kind of throughout the year,

04:00um, but it's just the experience. It's, it's, it's craftsmess,

04:04it's the highlight of the year. So just, just go in and being part of it's the best part.