First Place in Graduate - Dog, Judge: Gentle Lowe (Rockslade)
Firstly I would like to thank everyone who entered under me and gave me the pleasure of going over their dogs. I would also like to thank the committee for its hospitality and the lovely gift. I would also like to thank my excellent stewards Sharon and Peter who kept everything in order and the ring running smoothly.
Sadly there were many absentees but the show clashed with a number of other open shows with breed specialists judging around the country. I thoroughly enjoyed my day however being my first club show.
All males were entire and mouths were generally scissor bites with only one or two close bites and untidy teeth, a lot of dirty teeth but this is cosmetic and was not penalised. No kinked tails found and I was pleasantly surprised at the number of short tails, some however lacking thickness at the base. Coats as usual ranged from dogs in their undercoats to fully blown, some dogs would benefit from a good tidy up to enhance the presentation such as tails, ears, feet and underlines.
Some dogs movement was hard to assess due to them not settling in classes. Please don’t string dogs up on excessively tight leads one dog was not enjoying his experience for it both on the table and on the move.
Movement was generally ok but some lacked reach and drive with a couple moving wide or really close.
RBD Grizzle dog who I really liked for size and construction. Underneath his full jacket is a well-constructed dog which you needed to get your hands on to appreciate today. He has an good head with a dark eye and small neat ears with shallow stop. He is well angulated in the shoulder, easily spanned and narrow throughout. I liked him for length of rib and his well angulated rear. He moved out well both ways. Sadly he really didn’t show himself to his advantage today and this cost him the top spot. I really hope his owners can find a way to bring out that show dog sparkle which I am sure would come with a very bright future.