Bright young talents! Teen and puppy score place at world's top dog show

Monday 18 October 2021

A Jersey teenager and a cheeky puppy with a love of meat, cheese and cocktail sausages have scored a place in the world's most prestigious dog show.

JCG student Katya Lynnyk-Ali and River, her eight-month-old Black Russian Terrier, scored three awards at the Jersey Kennel Club Summer Champion Show last month, earning the pair a place at Crufts 2022.

The pair won Best of Breed, Best Dog in Group, Best Junior in Group and Best Puppy in Group, earning a CC Certificate and a qualification for the international dog show Crufts in 2022.

Pictured: Katya and River, who was seven months old at the competition. (Luke Diamal)

The teenager has been training River, whose pedigree name is Holodnaya Zhara Vivat! Poltava, since the puppy joined her family.   

“She got her first rosette not long after we got her, just a month after, I think it was,” Katya said.  

The Champion Show was only River’s second, but the young dog has already scored two medals from the Kennel Club, two trophies and 12 rosettes. 

“She did quite well, she is only a puppy,” Katya said. “She wants to say hello to all the dogs! She is a lovely dog. She was very good for a seven-month old puppy, she is quite focused although she is just mad sometimes.”

Pictured: Katya and River have scored two medals from the Kennel Club, two trophies and 12 rosettes so far. (Luke Diamal)

Katya said she had “no clue” how well she and River had done until she was handed a trophy and told, "You are going to Crufts."

River is the first dog Katya has trained as a puppy, although she previously did training with her family's 13-year-old giant schnauzer.

“I have always really loved dogs - maybe even more than people. They are just so amazing to be around,” she said. “If I had to go swimming 100 miles to be with River, I would because I love spending time with her.” 

Katya spends a couple of hours doing show training, obedience and domestic training with River.

“I do not want to do too much with her, so as not to overwhelm her brain, a couple of hours a week is enough with her,” she explained. 

Pictured: Katya and River's recent successes have qualified them for Crufts next year.

“She has ups and downs, but overall, she is very good if you have the right treat in your hand. She likes meat, cheese and cocktail sausages.”

Ahead of Crufts, Katya said she will keep a similar training routine, with a small focus on socialisation as there will be lots of dogs at the competition. 

“She has to be more focused on me and learn how to not be distracted by other dogs or learn that she can say hello to them at a later point,” Katya said.

Explaining how the dog shows work, she added: “The judges are looking for the presentation in the breed, so it’s about how the dog is presented, how they look… You have to stand the dog in a way that makes them look the best. Then they ask you to run up and down, or in a circle or triangle.  

“It’s all done in groups, but the judges are not judging against the other dogs but rather against the breed standards.”

Pictured: “I have always really loved dogs, maybe even more than people," Katya said. (Luke Diamal)

Passionate about dogs, Katya says she has always wanted her career to be linked to them.

In future, she hopes to either work as a steward for dog shows or even become a judge. In the meantime, she will keep training with River.

“I would like us to go to any show we can and just see how she does,” the teenager said. “It’s always good to see the critiques from the judges, they will tell you what you can do better and what the dog is good at.”