WELL-BALANCED DOGS

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 73, 23 September 1922, Page 14

WELL-BALANCED DOGS

TIMELY ADVICE TjO. EXHIBITOBB.

Breeders of dog* will ~be interested;/ in the following from the pen of A. Croxton Smith, recently published ■ in, the "Daily; Telegraph." "A most ad-_ mirable exposition of the points'. needed 1 ' in a' first-class Alsation," ;«ays Mr. Smith, "was given by a Swiss judge at a • recent show, &L Otto Bahm, at tie club dinner, and, it! should "be preserved as . a guide. • I take it that he foUowr the sensible plan of trying to find well-bal-anced dogs to which to award the cov<efcr ed 'excellent.' He ii not one of those who cannot see the wood for .tb* trees, or, look for points of secondary importance and ignore -fundamentals. H« lays stress upon a dog having good bone, the proper proportion of., height and' length, with, elastic movement and along stride. The last is not possible to a short-backed, squarely-built animal. Half tihe dogs that were brought before him he considered to be too square, and ■"consequently , haying a short stride. The head must be of sufficient length without .being like that of ? collie.''. An_ elongated, collieshaped head, in liis opinion, leads to los 3 of intelligence, which is one of the worst disasters, that jean happen to such a ■ breed. I lay a good deal of stress upon/ this point, because, in my ppinionj whether he is wanted for work or companionship, a stupid dog is a L most unsatisfactory possession. '■'■■ : "' . ■ "Where we get brains and'good looks in association we have the ..ideal. There is no reason in the world why the two should not R<t together. Many people aeem to imagine that" a prize winner is ipso facto a fool, or, at any rate, sui to be somewhat deficient in sense, and they are, for ever advertising the merits of "the mongrel. I have never yet niet the mongre! that is superior. in' brain power to the,aristocrat, although,l have known somp,so quaint in appearance that they; ought to have been'; wise. On ac; quainiance, however, they have prove:' to be like the man who was upbraided by his father for-being\the wisest-look-ing fool 'thai, he had ever known. The ideal state of thing!. woul<? be to have every show dog entered to his 1 proper work, whatever that might,be,' but it is ■ not always practicable. •On the otber hand, it is possible to impart enough .education to .prevent the brain rusting, and this should always be done. ,A welltrained, tractable dog starts , with a handicap in his :fav6urV when he enters the show ring 1. There are different methods for making an,exhibit appear ito the: utmost advantage, varying ' according to the bjreed. Whatever iSiey/ may , be, the novice should be wdl vdrill»d be-^ fore he is brought out. It, ir to be regretted that more gundoga are not giveu the opportunity of earning the championship title by winning first a certincato of merit in the field. I know that the breaking costs, money and' time, but surely it is worth it. Mrs. Quintin Dick's Labrador, Ch. Banchory 8010, has abhiev ed the unusual distinction of becoming a double-barrelled chariipion, having won the title'both-in the field and the ring. In that respecfe he stands alone to-day, and I know of no other that has been similarly honoured, except the flat-coated retriever Grouse of .Riverside, owned by ; Mr. H. Reginald Cooks "'.,;' Mr. Smith expressed himself'iss m sym : path> with, those who j&omplain of tha growing multiplicity of-special prize* at kennel shows. have plenty to do as a rule," he says, "without having to ayard additional prizes for all worts of things. So long as the specials are determined more ct less 'j> th-e class jud^ , ing there is not'much to be said against them, but when it means that practically every dog in the breed hastto be con- ; 6idered, whether a prize-winner or not, the judges may reasonably ( pr6test. Ini the old days executives were content with a few classes; Now, considerable ingenuity is expended in framing classes that will give the more modest animals a chance: I daresay it may fairly be, argued fjiat many good dogs, but little inferior toithe best, would otherwise have few opportunities of scoring; ? ' victory, and would, therefore, be kept at home, • but the practice certainly adds considerably to the anxieties of the judges."