Bertie Boy Of The Bay

My thanks to the Officers & Committee for inviting me to judge their show , & for the excellent ring stewards Mr Brewster & Mrs Armstrong who made the day run smoothly & kept me going with refreshments ! I enjoyed being with fellow BT fanciers & their dogs , as I always do . I had a very good entry come forward & after such a long time away from the ring , a few were ring rusty & some youngsters were a little overawed , which I considered quite acceptable given so many had missed out on their early education & socialisation & tried to give them opportunity to shine , though a few very nice dogs could have been higher placed but the occasion was too much for them . I found very good examples , but also had some whose construction fell a little short of the standard …….deep unspannable bodies or brisket below elbow standing or on the move on much shorter than their depth legs , forward placed & too little angulation in their fronts due to upright shoulders & short steep upper arms which shorten their strides or make them goosestep , & flat croups with extra high set tails carried like hound sterns ,or conversely short steep croups with low tailsets , often thin & long tails too & some poor downhill or lumpy/hinged toplines became apparent in profile movement , however the most common thing that struck me was how many have too little bone in pasterns & east-west feet when our standard calls for straight legs & good tight feet . As I lift every dog to see how their fronts ‘’drop’’ into place I found lack of bone through pasterns into feet was a common fault today & so some had feet not facing forward naturally . Most came in good condition , but a few were too thin & their pelvic bones were sticking up & they felt shelly with no depth of loin so their rears lacked muscle accordingly , conversely a handful had indulged during lockdown a little too much ! Coats were as ever , mixed , but the top winners all came in very good order with double coats .

DOGS: A most enjoyable day judging dogs at this show and I would like to thank the Club for inviting me to do so. Thanks also to my two stewards, John and John, who kept things moving along in a professional and efficient manner. Thanks also to the exhibitors for their support and allowing me the privilege of going over their dogs. Mouths, on the whole, were good and I found only one suspect mouth. There were plenty of typical otter heads but evidence also of stops that were too deep and muzzles that were too short, which is not typical of an otter head. Movement in some dogs was less than desirable with a few crossing in front, toeing in or flicking wrists. Rear movement was somewhat better but side movement showed some dogs short stepping. I also found some flat, slack feet and loose pasterns, which could well have been improved with proper exercise, and some feet could have been tidied up to better effect. Generally coats and pelts were harsh and thick but, in some classes, lack of coat was the deciding factor in final placements. My main concern today was size and weight. Some dogs were very difficult to span, were too heavy and did not come to hand well. This must be addressed to ensure Borders remain fit for the purpose they were intended. I was pleased with my final line-up and my co judge and I whole heartedly agreed when it came to the final awards. BITCHES: My thanks to the Midland Border Terrier Club for offering this my first judging appointment at championship level. I had a really enjoyable day and must thank exhibitors for their wonderful entry and allowing me the opportunity to go over their dogs. Huge thanks also to my two stewards, John & John, who kept everything running smoothly. I was really pleased with the quality of exhibits, unfortunately this meant some good dogs went unplaced. Coats were at various stages, all acceptable, but I personally prefer more than less. Some of the exhibits would have benefitted from a tidy up, especially feet. Front movement could have been better, a few upright shoulders and over-angulated rear ends. Overall size was OK, but a few were over weight which made them unspannable. Really pleased with my final line up and final awards.

It was a pleasure to spend a day with the Borders. Thank you to the committee for inviting me, and to the exhibitors for bringing their dogs. By way of general comment I found fronts and front movement to be an issue; and size variable with some too big or heavy – making it difficult to span. There was quality too and some promising youngsters.

Firstly, I would like to thanks the officers and committee of the East Anglia Border Terrier Club for inviting me to judge my first breed club show. My steward & partner Robert Brewster for doing a sterling job as always. I would also like to thank all that entered under me with some traveling great distances. Although on the day we were a few missing due to Scottish BTC being on the same day and the report of covid cases from a show the previous week, for this I fully understand having recently recovered from Covid myself. I was happy with my winners and found no bad mouths or kinked tails on the day. Temperaments on some need to be addressed though, with a few dogs kicking off through the day. A little reminder that these dogs can be excluded from the show on instruction of the show management as in the KC Rules & Regulations. I also found a couple of dogs that were severely underweight and this was affecting their overall condition.