Hynerbrook Cassiterite

Thank you to the exhibitors for an extremely nice entry and for the sporting manner in which my decisions were accepted. A warm sunny day with a welcome breeze made conditions ideal. A bonus was the neatly mown grass in the ring which was ideal to assess movement. I was fortunate to have two extremely efficient Stewards who ensured the smooth running of the ring, enabling me to finish my task in good time, despite a delay in the start of judging. On the whole I was pleased with the exhibits presented to me which were clean, although many lacked the correct double jacket that the standard asks for. Front movement is still a concern as indeed was the variation in the size of some of the exhibits. Heads generally were good although some exhibits were rather heavy in ear. Temperament’s were excellent, just one or two not too keen on being handled on the table. Two exhibits had teeth missing and I found a couple with incorrect dentition. Feet can tell you a lot about a dog and its lifestyle. The standard asks for feet to be small with firm pads. Flat feet not helped by long nails are most undesirable and indeed would be a drawback if the dog was carrying out the task for which he was originally bred. Scissor marks unfortunately were very much in evidence on some exhibits which spoilt their overall appearance.

I would first like to thank the club for inviting me to judge their open show and thank the exhibitors for a lovely entry. I was very pleased with my major winners and several placings were close decisions. There were a number of exhibits that would benefit from shedding a pound or two and in some classes this could have altered the line-up somewhat. Our breed standard is all about moderation and I hope the exaggerated hind angulation noticed on a couple of occasions today does not become the norm, it makes the back end look weak and foreign in our breed. There were several promising youngsters that I will watch with interest as they mature further in their show careers