Boston Canine Society – 7-9/1/2011

 

Day 1 – Gundogs 07/01/2011

I have said for a long time now that the quality in handling has gone down and you no longer need to do much more than a Triangle followed by and up down to split a class into places. This was still the case today. While I had some competent handlers there were few who really stood out.

YKC Handling

6 – 11 yrs (1,0a)

1st  Daisy Mae Hunt – Young Lady handling a GSP. Stacks her dog beautifully in a gentle, calm and positive manner. Just needs to practise showing the teeth more clearly. Lovely triangle and good lines on her up & down. Moved her dog at the correct speed throughout.  Shaddowed well. Very promising, confident young handler.

 

12 – 16 yrs (6,1a)

This class was there for the winning but none of these handlers managed to give the assured, fault free performance I was hoping for.

1st  Josefine Hadfield – Handling a Welsh Springer. Very nice handler but needs to concentrate all the time. Stacked her dog well, excellent showing of the teeth, clear and positive. Moved her Welsh Springer at the correct pace in a lovely triangle and presented the best lines in the class on her up & downs.

2nd  Sophie Ellis – Handling a GSP.  Has a tendency to ‘over-shadow’ which can be distracting and I feel is unnecessary. That said she did stack and present her dog beautifully. Always in command. Good triangle but her up & down lines could be straighter. That said, still a good performance.

3rd  Katie Stewart –. Stands her Golden Retriever well but on the move he was pulling away from her which detracts from his movement. When she moved him on a looser lead he was happier and moved more ‘freely’ which improved the overall look.

4th  Jennifer Nichols – Handling a Toller. Had a difficult time getting him to do what she wanted. Needs to be able to react to her dog’s mood and today would have been better free standing him as he did not want to be stacked.

5th  Jordan Bigham – Clumber Spaniel. Stood his dog well and moved her at the correct pace but the overall look was ‘untidy’.  The best way I can explain this is the difference between running alongside the dog rather than handling her moving her and giving the appearance that the handler is in control.

 

17 - 24 yrs (5,3a)

1st  Lauren Dorne Carr –. Very nice handler. Stacked her Bracco Italiano well and showed the teeth clearly. Some of the best lines of the day on her patterns.  Her dog did not want to move today and I was pleased with the way she talked to & encouraged her round the ring. Lovely gentle, confident and assured performance.

2nd  Nicola Sturrock – Handling a young Irish Setter puppy. Not quite the presence of the winner. Stacked her dog well, showed the teeth well. Nice triangle but her ‘straight’ lines let her down.

 

Adult Handling

25 - 40 yrs (3,1a)

1st  Rachel Buckwell – Handling a Welsh Springer. Stacked her dog very nicely. Excellent clear showing of the teeth. Lovely triangle and good straight lines. Moved at the correct pace on a loose lead.

2nd  Miss J Donaldson – Handling a Gordon Setter. Stood her dog well but did not notice he had moved his legs. Handler had a ‘moment’ before her patterns but once underway gave a nice flowing triangle. Lines on the up & down could have been straighter.

 

41 yrs & over (5,2a)

An interesting class and the hardest of the day to judge. All three ladies have a nice gentle handling style and all have attributes that I liked however none of them gave the complete performance that would have easily won them the class.

1st  Amanda Brooksmith - Handling a Pointer. Stood her dog well and moved at a good pace. Nice triangle and good lines.  Needed to be more positive when restacking the dog after she moved at the table.

2nd  Liz Young – Stood her dog well at the table but only showed the bite and one side of the mouth.  Triangle was good as were her lines. Needed to pay more attention to the final stack.

3rd  Miss S I Evans – A very gentle handler but had a tendency to stack her dog ‘undertucked’ and hold the tail high.  Also has a tendency to ‘over-shadow’ and loses control of the dog. I did like the free & easy style of moving although a slightly shorter lead would give more control and a better overall picture.

 

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Day 2 – Working, Pastoral & Hound 8/1/2011

I was very pleased that today the quality of the handlers was much better particularly in the 12 to16 yrs class where I had 11 very competent handlers and unfortunately there were some very good handlers who were not placed. Due to the high standard, a slight lapse in concentration from some handlers meant the difference between being placed or not.

YKC Handling

6 – 11 yrs (9,3a)

1st  Jordan Leonard – Handling a Newfoundland.  A lovely young handler to watch. Stacks her large dog beautifully and when required it was always stood correctly. Teeth were shown clearly. Her lines and speed were excellent and she always appeared in control of her charge.

2nd  Michaella Dunhill-Hall – Handling a Rottweiler. Very close to 1. Handling a puppy for the first time and did a very good job. Again, always had the dog stacked correctly when required, showd me the teeth well. Good lines. Just lost out on movement, she had the lead a little tight which caused the dog to run at a angle, ‘pulling away’ from her.

3rd  Nikki Reeves – Handling an Australian Shepherd. Another solid performance but not always standing her dog to its best advantage which is what put her behind 1 & 2.

12 – 16 yrs (18,7a)

 

1st  Hollie Kavanagh – Handling a Doberman. Didn’t put a foot wrong which was the only way anyone was going to win such a tough class. Stood the dog to best advantage, showed the teeth clearly and confidently, super true lines on all her pattern work. A lovely performance. Thank you.

2nd  Laura Camilletti – Handling a Rhodesian Ridgeback. I just loved the way this young lady handled her dog. He appeared a little nervous at times and not the easiest of dogs to handle but her calm confident manner gave her dog the confidence and encouragement he needed.  Signs of a very good handler. Showed teeth cleanly and produced good patterns with correct lines and at a good speed.

3rd  Charlotte Norridge – Handling a Beagle

4th  Miss D Smith – Handling a Bullmastiff.

5th  Antonia Leech – Handling a Bearded Collie.

 

17 - 24 yrs (5,2a)

1st  Fiona Mycroft – Handling a Whippet.  Headed up a class of 3 very good handlers.  Table work excellent, lovely clear teeth. Stood her dog very well at all times. Moved with precision one would expect of a whippet and at correct pace.

2nd  Laura Macdonald – Handling a Standard Long Haired Dachshund. Nothing really to choose between 1 & 2 as handlers but as a judge you have to place them. I had to be very ‘picky’ and her lines ‘to the corner and back were not quite as precise as 1.

3rd  Sarah Gibbons – Handling an Australian Shepherd.  Again, another lovely handler, only losing out because in my opinion I felt that her dog looked better after I asked her to move him a little slower.

 

Adult Handling

25 - 40 yrs (5,2a)

1st  Sarah Smith – Handling a German Shepherd.

2nd  Amanda Carter – Handling an Ibizan.

Another closely fought contest between 1 &2. Both handlers were equally good at the table with both dogs stood correctly for their breed and both showed the teeth well. Both moved their dogs at the correct speed and the only deciding factor again was the lines from the winner on the up & downs were slightly straighter.

3rd  Jenny Shorer-Wheeler. Handling an Alaskan Malamute. A competent handler except she needs to pay more attention to her dog’s front when stacking it.

 

41 yrs & over (7,3a)

1st  Sally Gibbins – Handling a Whippet. Excellent table work. Slight curve to the first leg of the triangle but after that lines were straight. A very accomplished performance.

2nd  Ceri McEwan – Handling a PBGV. Stood her dog well. Good showing of the teeth. Nice triangle and lines but not quite the ‘finish’ of the winner.

3rd  Mrs J Pepper – Handling a Border Collie.  Moved her dog nicely but lines could be a bit better.  When showing the teeth the lead was over the dogs face and eyes which does not look tidy and could be distracting for the dog.

4th   Mrs Gilbert – Handling Bearded Collie. Moved her dog nicely but started her triangle from a few feet to my right rather than in front of me. Also, on the stand there was little attempt to get her free-stood dog to stand correctly.

 

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Day 3 – Toy, Utility & Terrier 9/1/2011

 

YKC Handling

6 – 11 yrs (9,3a)

1st  Brydee-Mae Mills – Handling a Bulldog.

2nd  Chloe Johnson – Handling a Border Terrier

Two very good young handlers. Both stood their dogs well, both produced good table work and patterns with good lines and correct speed for their respective breeds. Difficult to split and even when asking them to take their dogs to the corner and back both again produced excellent lines.  I just felt that the winner had to work a little harder with a difficult breed.

3rd  Afear Logan – Handling a Shiba Inu. A proficient performance. Needs to work a little more when standing his dog but did well on the move.  Needs to develop the polish of the winners.

4th  Mistylea Logan – Handling a Shiba Inu.  

5th  Mia Hurrion – Handling a Norfolk Terrier

 

12 – 16 yrs (10,2a)

1st  Sophie Ellis – Handling a Shiba Inu. Another very good handler. Didn’t put a foot wrong today. Excellent table work, clear teeth and attentive to her dog.  Lovely lines in her triangle and up & Down. Always presents the dog nicely, moved at the right pace with good use of her voice. A confident and proficient performance.

2nd  Charlotte Page – Handling a Dalmatian. Another lovely handler. Very good teeth presentation, Lovely pattern work and moved at the correct gait. Works very hard to get free stood dog into the correct stance which I like to see and is one of the signs of a good handler. Just has a tendency to ‘over-shadow’ which can result in a loss of control of the dog which was my personal decider between 1st & 2nd  place.

3rd  Laura Grant – Handling an Irish Terrier.  A very nice handler. Presents her dog well, just needs to ensure the dog is not overstretched on the table. Lovely clear teeth, good patterns with nice straight lines. Moved the dog on a looser lead when taking it round to the end and the dog moved better for it.

 

17 - 24 yrs (6,1a)

1st  Shannon Roberts – Handling a Chinese Crested. Had a nervous 6month puppy to work with and did so in a calm, gentle and confident manner which gave her dog more confidence. Stood well on the table, lovely clear teeth. Lovely triangle and lines with excellent use of the voice with just the right amount of encouragement. Beautifully handled.

2nd  Lucy Hill – Handling a Pug. Lovely on the table and successfully showed the teeth which with a Pug isn’t easy. Beautiful pattern work at correct speed and good use of the voice. Worked her well on the stand.

3rd  Sarah Gibbins – Handling a SCWT. Another handle given a difficult time by her ‘bouncy’ young puppy. She used her voice well to steady her on the move.

4th  Naomi Minney – Handling a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.  Personally I would have like to have seen the dog stood ‘face-on’ as is usual for the breed but she did stand her well, just make sure the front is straight when stacked. Moved her well, with good line and the correct speed.

5th  Heather Rutherford – Handling a Pug. Stood and worked her dog well on the table.  I would have liked to have seen her move the dog from in front of the judge and then to bring the dog back towards the judge on her pattern work. On the ‘up to the corner and back’ she proved that she can do this.

 

Adult Handling

25 - 40 yrs (5,3a)

1st  Kate Smith – Handling a Parson Russell Terrier.  A very smart pairing. Excellent tablework, always aware of what her dog is doing. Excellent use of the voice and absolute precision on the move with near perfect straight lines and correct gaiting. Beautiful to watch.

2nd  Leila Tarabad – Handling a King Charles Spaniel. Another lovely handler. Lovely use of her voice with a dog who did not want to play the game today. Very attentive to her dog and good paternwork.

41 yrs & over (7,2a)

1st  Alison Walker – Handling a Cavalier. Stood the dog beautifully on the table. Lovely clean teeth, very good  pattern work with excellent lines, moved lovely with good use of the voice. Showed the dog well.

2nd  Angela Draper – Handling an Akita. Very good table work, lovely clean teeth. Excellent lines on the triangle but just wandered off on the up & down. Moved at the correct speed with good use of the voice.

3rd  S Rose – Handling a Border Terrier.

4th  Vanessa Bryant – Handling a French Bulldog

5th  Vanessa Logan – Handling a Shiba Inu

 

Ray McDonald (Judge)