First Place in Limit - Dog, Judge: Miss Michelle Barnett (Brockfox)
My sincere thanks go to the society for the superb welcome and hospitality at this premium show, my proficient stewards and last but most importantly the exhibits and their exhibitors for their entries and sporting attitude. It was so nice to hear the ringside applause bestowed upon fellow exhibitors and as a judge it really does make for a pleasurable days judging
After my considerable absence ringside, my findings today were overall as always seems to be the case was the varieties in type, And some of the entry sadly on the day was far too big and by this i mean not necessarily in length of leg ( which the correct term is tall ) but in depth of chest and heavy shoulders , Fundamentally not the supple lithe bodies which is vital in an earth dog ,and an essential breed characteristic that we must strive to breed for.
Please assess your dogs objectively and ask yourself of your own dogs “is this really the build of an earth dog” ?
Mouths were on the whole correct but some very tight bites were apparent and teeth out of aliment I also found heavy almost houndy ears are also creeping in .
Always wanting to finish on a high note, once again temperaments as to be expected were excellent and all males were entire. As always when judging I was looking for a correct sized spannable tweedy border who comes to hand well, with the requisite ottery head shown in correct double jacket and thick pliable pelt, thus providing them the protection required of a working dog coupled with a lithe body with hard muscle tone and fitness to enable them to endure a day in the field
And in completing my appointment I was thrilled with my final line ups and ultimately such exemplary representatives of the breed to award the final top honours too.
Dog Strong class
I just loved this quality male who is full of breed type . He has a super ottery head with large strong scissor bite, powerful under jaw and dark eye giving him a keen expression. Correct for size and weight he comes to hand so well he simply folds into your hand, He has a clean outline lovely flow of neck into well laid back shoulders, straight front, correct rib and bone, correct top line, tail and tail set, Harsh tight jacket and thick pelt .Shown in super fit condition so well muscled with correct catlike well padded feet good free moving dog having super reach and drive and on his toes at all times, he could not be overlooked on the day. Thrilled to have awarded him his 2nd CC. I’m sure his crown is not far off i wish him well for the future