Crufts

[JudyN]

I dare say there was a cracking dog underneath the poodle's coat, he certainly had a lot of presence. I also saw the Yorkie give the judge such a confident, assessing look, I was rather taken by him.

I've just seen photos of the English Bulldog group winner: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNrmjCkXoAQlrof.jpg Why does anyone think this is a good idea? How does the Kennel Club justify promoting this as an example of what the breed should look like? Are all their comments about improving breeds purely lip service?

 

[excuseme]

The kennel club have made such a mess of so many breeds. They may look very pretty but some of those that are bred for a working purpose are totally ridiculous. All because the Kc says they must look "Just so" for the bench. Poor things
And the fact that so many of the show dogs are overweight! (no waistlines) Well that's another issue.

 

[Hemlock]

Possibly the KC catches too much of the flack, when much of what it does is register pure-bred dogs and their pedigrees. Also they do a lot of work for research and development, dog laws, dog PR in the media, dog behaviour/training and so on, that most of us don't realise. But yes, IMO the whole show scene is a herd of elephants in the room. The weak link is that breeders judge and judges breed, and while most are well-intentioned, few actually know about soundness. They get very fixated on some visual aspects of a breed even if those aspects (like the tragically deformed GSDs) are bad for the dogs. Most breed standards are okay, but many breeders and judges read the standard and then exaggerate aspects, so (for instance) a long back becomes ridiculously long, as in the dachshund, and in that breed the legs get shorter and shorter because short legs are a characteristic of the breed - but not legs so short that the hindleg - well, just look at their hindlegs, not to mention the resulting angle of stifle. Yet the proper working dachs, now only represented by the Teckel, had decent lenth of leg. I don't understand why the breeders and judges can't see what is so wrong in almost every show version of a pure breed.

 

[JudyN]

I'd love to think there could be a solution. Breed standards should place an emphasis on soundness, and judges should be made to stick to that. And we should be ambitious - pugs and Frenchies shouldn't just be able to breathe better, they should be able to breathe well. You should be able to take a Peke out for a decent walk, not 100 yards. And the coat should never impede the dog in any way, nor take hours to maintain in day-to-day life. Also, any dog that can't breed naturally because of their conformation shouldn't be bred from - being able to reproduce is a pretty basic function.

Hemlock, have there ever been cases of lurcher characteristics being exaggerated because of judges' preferences? I get the impression that must people who show their lurchers also work and/or race them, lurcher breeders also worked or raced their dogs, and lurcher judges will also come from this clan, so have the dogs' abilities at the forefront of their mind. Plus there's a lot more variation in lurchers than in pedigree breeds, so not a 'one size fits all' standard. But I wondered if there are any trends, such as deeper chest, longer legs, tighter tuck-up, etc. that are more 'fashion' than anything else?

 

[Hemlock]

I judged lurchers for many years, and they are always judged as functional working dogs. Everything has to be the right amount in the right place, and they must not be over or underweight. They should look as if they could step out of the ring and run. Teeth and feet must be perfect, and too-long nails or dirty teeth are heavily penalised. Scars are not penalised as that's part of a working dog's life. Movement is strongly judged - no lameness, even unlevelness.

 

[JudyN]

I wonder how much 'star quality', 'personality' or 'a certain something' can and should count in the show ring? Some dogs really do seem to 'own the ring' and catch the eye, and [brag alert] Jasper is still a head turner, despite his age, and regardless of any correct conformation - he still gets admired by complete strangers who don't even know what 'breed' he is, let alone have any knowledge about correct conformation.

 

[Hemlock]

That's a really good question!

I'd go for conformation and movement over anything, but that may be because many lurchers are shy and don't really enjoy ring work - whereas for many show dogs, it's probably the highlight of their lives. No doubt they'd love to get wet, dirty and tired the way working dogs do!