N.W.A. AGM....Sat. 10th Jan 2004

[Lydia]

I'm sure all N.W.A. members, will now have received their copies of the proposed changes to our standard.

I am not sure that I am going to be able to attend this AGM, but would like to put forward, some veiws that concern me with the proposed changes.If I am unable to attend, would someone who is attending, be prepared to read out a letter, written by me, at this meeting on my behalf.

I have spoken to Maureen, discussing this, she said that this would be perfectly o.k.

Obviously, I would prefer to be present in person, but if not, I would appreciate just one person, being prepared to read my letter out loud at this meeting.

Maybe, we could discuss some of these proposals, on here. As long as we can behave ourselves!!!!

Lyd

 

[dessie]

What's the problem with it?? I think it is very good now, I see the Breed Council have incorporated some updates that I put forward

 

[dessie]

And I don't think anyone will be going to NWA on Saturday 10 January because it is Saturday 7 February!!!! LOL :b

 

[Debra]

And I don't think anyone will be going to NWA on Saturday 10 January because it is Saturday 7 February!!!!  LOL    :b  

Hi Lydia,

Are you having a blonde moment or too much christmas cheer( i wish :b ).

Debra.

 

[Stu]

Hi Dessie and Debra, I was reading the entry closing date not the date of the show :b , call it a blonde moment if you like, but my desk is so cluttered-it could happen to anyone sat here honest .

As for what I've got a problem with, well it's the height. I do not have a problem with the bitches having the same height allowance as a dog, i.e 1 1/2 inches, 1 inch-whatever, but I do have a problem with the changes as they are. The bitches that are 19 ins. being bigger than the 18 1/2 ins dogs. Assuming we do have 18 1/2 in dogs left at our shows ??? . As 'we' (I'm using this term loosely), don't wish to make the dogs heights 19 - 20 1/2 ins, I would prefer it to read ;

Dogs 19 - 20 ins.

Bitches 18 -19 ins. (As you've guessed it's to early for me to work out the cm's- as I am blonde )

I also have a problem with the wording in gait/movement. "giving great propelling power", this actually brings to mind aeroplane propellers, :w which turn round. I looked propelling up in a dictionary, granted it does not suggest circular movement. But a quick glance at our standard, by someone with out a dictionary to hand, could mis-read it.

We actually do get some juges that appear to not know our standard at all :0 !!

But enough of that, I'm not posting this to slag our judges.

I've had a think, and think someone could think up better wording than this, eg. 'giving great driving power'. That was what sprung to mind initially, but I'm sure there are peeps with better suggestions. .

The other thing I have a problem with is the Hindquarters. This has come to my attention strongly this year.

There is not much being changed in our standard about the hindquarters, just the word "moderately"-nothing else.

This year, the whippets being exhibited tend to be very over angulated. The bones from the stifle to the hock are far too long.

I've been to watch whippets being judged this year, with out exhibiting my own . The shows I've attended have had the vast majority of dogs, in fact, I can't at this moment, remember one who has correct rear angulation at a show .

I don't think the wording for our hindquarters, is quite enough to encourage correction for this fault.

I have mislaid my illustrated breed standard, maybe when I find it, the paragraph may be perfect, but at the moment, judges are unable to find the correct angulation on the dogs beimg exhibited under them, therefore placing dogs with in-correct angulation and it just carries on. What I would like to see, is the actual angulation desired, to be put in here. A lot of german breeds have it in their standard, and instantly you can visulise, in your minds eye, what to look for. If you can't, it is no hardship, to use a protactor/set square or whatever the thingy is, for working out an angle.

Whippets in the show ring today, vary a hell of a lot, we no longer appear to have 'type' left in our breed. The height is way too much, as you are aware Dessie, Guy is 21", it would make a very pleasant change, when he's at a show with me, for the majority of dogs, to not be bigger than Guy. Sorry, I'm pushed to find whippet dogs smaller than him now, a lot are his height, and far too many bigger than Guy, only 6 yrs ago, there were only a few, a mere handfull bigger than him.

I thought we were caretakers of this breed, so why are we changing it to a completely different dog?

For everyones information, as a lot of you when you see my Nipalong Gypsey's Link at Darkstars, ask me if "she's a puppy", "isn't she small", "shame she never made the height" etc.She is WITHIN our height for bitches, as the standard currently stands.

I do realise, that I have not been showing or breeding whippets for as long as a lot of peeps currently in the breed, maybe you will ALL ignore me because you still veiw me as a newbie. I do not intend to offend peeps by my words, I'm asking questions like this/whinging, however you want to veiw my observations, because I need your valuable experience, to learn more about our breed, especially breeding, to try and keep our breed a whippet, not something else.

If you can all say, quite honestly, that these problems don't exist, I'm just being sour, fine, I'll shut up.

I am now retiring to bed, after being up now with no sleep for another 25 1/2 hrs. :8

LYDIA-not STU.

 

[Karen]

I've been to watch whippets being judged this year, with out exhibiting my own . The shows I've attended have had the vast majority of dogs, in fact, I can't at this moment, remember one who has correct rear angulation at a show  .

The problem is Lyd, this is your opinion. IMO In order to get enough drive from the rear quarters the rear angulation has to be fairly good. You cant drive round the ring with no bend of stifle because you cannot bring your hind legs well under your body, BUT you dont need to be long from stifle to hock to have this. It is a different problem, its a bone length problem (too long from hip too hock) and a muscle over bone problem. Lack of 2nd thigh makes the problem look worse.

But all the time you are asking lots of people for thier input it is very hard to come to the perfect solution. I mean, you cant handle cms but you think we could all cope with a set square in the ring :8

I agree with you about the height issue but I have already seen bitches this year take tickets and been bigger than the dogs.

What I try to do is look at the whole dog and try never to get bogged down with bits of it, I find this way I dont keep dismissing dogs for little things I dont like. ie, If I left unplaced all the dogs with, straight pasterns, steep upper arms, high tails, roach backs, narrow fronts, wide fronts, greyhound underlines and all the black ones Id have not one left.

Finally, a hell of a lot of us are still working on the, I think, 1935 standard so stick with the one you know, it wont change that much

 

[JAX]

Glad I`m not showing a black one!!