Second Place in Open - Dog, Judge: Mrs Trak Fryer (Irton)
My thanks to the exhibitors for their entry, always an honour to be allowed to go over their dogs, I did thoroughly enjoy my day. My thanks also to my stewards who helped to keep things on the move throughout.
It was in many ways an interesting entry, the standard asks for a dog that is essentially a working terrier and I wonder how many breeders keep this in mind when planning their litters? This implies a dog of correct size, capable of going all day and with strength but not coarseness. Whilst there were many good dogs present that could answer these requirements, there were many that could not.
The quality was very much in the upper classes of both sexes with a few notable exceptions. The major problem is movement, particularly in front, and the puppies were disappointing in this respect. Many otherwise excellent dogs simply could not cover their ground with any ease; it was an excellent ring with good mats so no excuses there.
In general coats and pelts were good, some could have been tidied to effect, feet and nails were poorly presented and fitness varied, which I always find very disappointing in a breed that does so love to run! I was surprised to find a number of mouths that at best could be described as “iffy”, whilst these would not necessarily effect the dogs ability to work it is a worrying trend. I did, however, have some lovely dogs to go over and I was very pleased with my winners, not enough cards to go round in many classes.
Another very good class with a mixture of types, making for some very difficult decisions.
There is a lot to like about this dog, lovely head but I preferred the eye of 1, good neck and shoulder, good bone, good feet, good tail, nice balance. In good coat today, he shows himself off very well and was moving out well just not the ground-covering stride of 1 and sometimes a little choppy on the move.