Hot Rocks

I won my first Crufts qualifier at this show 25 years ago and it has always been one of my favourites. It was an honour to be invited to judge and my thanks go to the Scottish Club for their hospitality. Thanks also to my very capable stewards Bill Shorthose and Judy Carr.My sincere thanks to all those who entered and allowed me the privilege of going over their dogs. Today I found there to be a much greater depth of quality among the bitches with there being many promising puppies and some very nice animals in the upper classes,particularly limit and open. This depth of quality was not apparent in a number of the dog classes although I was pleased with my main winners. As would be expected there was some diversity in size and type.A number of exhibits of both sexes were up to size- I have big hands so if I find them difficult to span they are probably too big. I found all males to be entire, no serious mouth faults and one kinked tail.Of most concern was the number of dogs with very poor front movement and the number with atypical heads; some too long in muzzle and a few where the muzzle was too short, the latter giving a rather cat like look. Coats and pelts were generally good and a few dogs would benefit from more exercise to improve their muscletone.A fairly minor fault, but one which detracts from the overall outline, were the dogs which carried their tails curled over their backs i.e “gay tailed” as opposed to carrying their tails gaily. Some of these faults are aesthetic but others such as size and soundness are not and we should be mindful that our breed is “essentially a working terrier.”

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for a lovely entry and also to the Scottish BTC for this opportunity. Special thanks go to my two stewards for the day who kept everything running smoothly and for their good company. Although the lighting in the hall isn’t the best, it was adequate and the large square ring was perfect for watching movement, something I feel is very important in a border terrier. On that note I found my main winners to excel in this department. I was pleased to judge some strong puppy classes and also some strong adult classes