Fancy grooming has attracted controversy from the moment a dog show met a hairbrush. To the uninformed observer, much of it looks weird and decadent, suggesting something vaguely illicit going on behind the scenes.
The next breed we tackle in my ongoing series of interviews with breed experts is the Cairn Terrier. Anyone who has interacted with a Cairn Terrier knows they are wonderful companions with fun-loving personalities. Cairns are tenacious and trainable. These traits have made them contenders in the toughest terrier groups. I reached out to longtime breeders of Cairn Terriers to discuss the breed and get their perspective about changes they have seen over the past half-century.
I’ve ranted about this before, but needless to say, around here it’s just preaching to the choir. And let’s face it, who listens to me. Therefore, I was rather pleased when I opened my New York Times editorial section on August 6 and there amidst all those dreary political jags was a nice, big front and center alarmist diatribe alerting readers to the (belated) fact that America is rapidly running out of detection dogs.
Last month, we looked at the structure of the hindquarters in four basic designs, where very small changes in lever lengths and the resulting angles of stifle and hock provided a specific structure when viewed from the side that went on to provide predictable stride lengths. This month, we leave the hindquarters and move on to the front assembly.
As a breeder-judge, I feel it is very important to clear up some misconceptions about my breed. Over the past thirty years I have observed many judges, as well as handlers and exhibitors, simply not understand some of the important features of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Most highly successful breeders, large and small,choose a particular bloodline or two that they become knowledgeable about, become comfortable with, and prefer to breed within.
When we take a dog down and back we are looking for the perfect trot for that dog. Ideally, the dog moves at a speed which allows each leg to be seen, the flight path noted, and the structure appreciated. The trot is the gait which best shows balance and scope or reveals aspects which are less desirable. Taking a dog around the ring, so the side gait can be examined, we generally look for rhythm with appropriate reach and drive.
It’s sad to say but the purebred brand image is sinking pretty low these days. Long gone are the days when “purebred” was unquestionably the best.
For millenia, man has watched the dog and marveled at his ability to identify and fol- low a scent. Before we even had a spoken language, Neolithic hunters followed wild dogs in search of game, and today the dog’s nose is proving to be even more accurate than MRI and CT scans.
We found eleven breeder-judges and several mentors to invite to take a survey on their breed’s priorities in conformation. Nineteen agreed to participate, and we received twelve completed surveys by the deadline. Those who contributed have been in the breed for nearly twenty-eight years on average.
