Achnagairn Quick Step

Judge elect, Jane Parker, was cruelly taken down with food poisoning just before the show and sadly was unable to undertake this prestigious appointment. I was honoured to be asked to stand in for Jane who had attracted a super entry of 271 from 237 exhibits. Having been "out the scene" for some years, I was pleased with the overall quality of the entry. Mouths and temperaments were commendable, as one would expect with a working terrier. I noted more alien expressions than I would expect, even with the size of the entry and many exhibitors must pay more attention to presentation. Erratic front movement, like the poor, is always with us. Nevertheless, there was sufficient depth of quality to provide worthy winners in dogs and bitches throughout the card.

It was a great privilege to be invited to judge the Scottish Border Terrier Club open show at Gretna. My thanks go to the committee, the wonderful ladies who did the catering, my very efficient steward Eddie Houston and all the exhibitors for giving me the pleasure of judging their dogs. The atmosphere was wonderful, win or lose you all clapped for 1st to 4th. I found most of the dogs easily spanned, set down in good coats, clean scissor bites and neat feet. One or two dogs could lose a 1lb or 2 but all had good temperament and great muscle tone.

Thank you to the Members for inviting me to judge what has been for me and many others, one of the favourite shows on the calendar every year. Having won the Bitch CC and Best in Show here at the very first ScBTC Ch show in 1985 with Otterkin Blue Bouquet JW, perhaps I am slightly biased by good memories, but I think most people who attend consider it one of the most popular shows of the year, as there is always a warm welcome guaranteed from the Officers and Committee of the Scottish Border Terrier Club to exhibitors and spectators alike and a good atmosphere at all of their shows. Many thanks to Marjorie Wanless who officiated as an uncomplaining and efficient steward all on her lonesome all day; what a star! Thanks too for the lovely gift from the Club. It is good when decisions are accepted with grace, be it win or lose and I thank the exhibitors for that. It is not easy being a judge, knowing you disappoint some but please others, but one has to just judge the dogs and go with your instincts, please yourself, select those you like the best and hope others appreciate that you did your best, to your ability, without fear or favour. Overall, the quality was high, with a lot to like. There were only a couple who felt too thin, so I will not dwell on this too much this time, except to say that a working dog needs some substance, some strength and endurance and this is NOT achieved when you starve a big dog to try to make it look smaller, as any judge fooled by that is not to be applauded. Going over a dog on the table, I hate to feel all the backbone and see the ribs sticking out. It is cruel and unkind to keep your dog too thin. Borders like their food. Not as many thin ones here as were at Crufts in 2007, just a couple. This is just something for people to watch please. Teeth were not a big problem – only one slightly undershot and a couple with one tooth out of line. I will not penalise a dog/bitch for one tooth out of line and refuse to put that in the individual dog/bitches critique – that is for me to know (I am sure the exhibitors already know) and for other judges to find (or not) and do as they will. For me, there is so much more that is important than one tooth out of alignment. If such a dog/bitch with one tooth out of line still had a scissor bite and all other good attributes, then it was placed accordingly. I have seen critiques which say “Only one if” – I will not lumber any dog/bitch with that and have everyone wanting to know what it was. I was surprised to find a couple with kinks in their tails, as exhibitors can feel this easily themselves. This has been touched upon in the 2007 BTC Year Book and judges (including me) have their own views on this, although there is nothing in the UK breed standard about it. A couple had peculiar coats, with what seemed like some substance in them, which did not make them feel harsh, more sticky and stuck together and although that meant I could not see the skin, it was not because they had good coats and it gave me grubby hands after going over them. Substance in a terrier’s coat fools no-one – please do not do it! On the down side, there were a few more which left my hands dirty after examination. Although they are a working dog, please present them to the judge in clean condition. I didn’t turn up grubby and neither should they! Overall though, I thought the breed to be in a good place and I was very pleased with all my top winners (well, I would say that, wouldn’t I)?