Looking Back With Lee – Natural Beauties

Click here to read the complete article
248 – May, 2021

By Lee Canalizo

I recently watched a TV production on dogs dedicated to molding, dying, cutting, and in some cases changing the species altogether. It was not to my liking, but this program started me thinking about the dying, cutting, and molding we have gotten used to seeing in our dog show world!

My three personal breeds are the Afghan Hound, the Saluki, and the German Shepherd Dog, so I’ll start with them! The Salukis are the “cleanest” of the three, with not nearly as much grooming magic being performed, as a general rule. They may be scissored far too much; their wonderful hairy feet scissored away (which drives me crazy, as the hair is there to protect the dog in the hot desert sand). Bottom lines are trimmed too often, removing any natural look; this includes trimming the hair around the boy’s private parts! Natural? I think not!

Exhibitors of GSDs are not necessarily noted for over-trimming, etc. But you can find traces of color being enhanced and long coats being shaved or trimmed, which is not so necessary nowadays as the standard addresses this issue. The biggest “No-No,” in my estimation, is the whacking [fixing] of tails. This is more than a cosmetic flaw and only allows for bad tails to be perpetrated in breeding programs. Personally, I’d rather work with a faulty tail than a fixed one; at least you know what you can breed to and why. To an astute judge, a fixed tail is SO obvious…seeing a tail hang limp when in contact with a hind leg or at an animated moment; it sticks out like a sore thumb! I will reward a dog with an element of exuberance from a happy moment and then settles down more than one that never shows any reaction of the tail when it might be in order.

Click here to read the complete article
248 – May, 2021

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=201186

Posted by AnthonyA on May 7 2021. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.