BUBA CH SHOW 13 - Dalmatians Thank you for bringing your lovely dogs for me to judge. It was a brilliant entry of 125 Dalmatians but I hadn’t judged for almost 5 years.

I can’t thank BUBA for their hospitality because I got no lunch or catalogue. I said I preferred a sit-down lunch & ordered that but when I’d completed judging the secretary said my lunch had been given away & no packed lunches were available now so I ate the few remaining biscuits off the plates in the judge’s reception.

Thank you Bill for lending me your marked catalogue - the judge’s printout doesn’t give all the info I needed.

Now on to the dogs - dally rash, short tails, difficulty seeing teeth, level mouths – a few, tick marks, a few steep pasterns & one growler-not heard that for many years. Quite a few faults on many dogs. Coats were clean in the main. A dog showing well with a wagging tail says ‘look at me’!

If your Dalmatian doesn’t wag his tail continually why should he if you’ re just standing still in the ring – you have become a bit boring? Try this – prepare him well beforehand with a small toy he likes, a toy kept for this purpose only – play with him – you show him the toy – he mouths the toy – you take the toy from him & repeat many times but you retain ultimate possession of the toy. Then practice this game in spare rings/outside the ring at shows & then transfer the game into your class with the toy in your pocket – pat your pocket & your dog says Great – game on & (hopefully) wags their tail on the hoped for start of the game. You may have a dog whose showmanship goes up a notch or two!

MPD (7,1a) Not an easy class.
1 Alexander’s Offordale Minnasota, very much a baby, 7 months b/w lightly marked built on the right lines, well laid back shoulders, good hindquarters & feet, moved well for his age;
2 Fellow’s Buffrey King Of The Castle, another proposition, altogether far more grown for his nearly 7 months, b/w with heavier markings, attractive spotted head, good bone down to well arched feet;
3 Addy’s Creaganbrec Jacob Marley.

PD (3)
1 BP, Quayle’s Cubalibre Shine One, b/w of 7 months old, same mould as his dam, the essentials are in place but a long way to go;
2 Croft & Cobb MacGill’s Koroza Agent Provacateur, a much heavier marked & taller boy of 9 months old, b/w, I hope he’s stopped growing, really strides out;
3 Croft’s Koroza Secret Weapon.

JD (6,1)
1 Kembrey’s Dalmark Pinot Grigiot, just under 18 months old smart active liver/w dog, attractive head with amber eye giving a lovely expression, well laid back shoulders onto a good spring of rib, completed with a good turn of stifle, shows himself off well;
2 Graham Weall’s Theakston Touch Of Class at Phidgity, a teenager at 13 months old, giving away a lot in age to 1, nor as easy to assess as 1 but another b/w with an attractive head, dark brown eye giving a soft expression, nicely arched neck leading to well spotted body & good tail carriage;
3 William’s Dalesbred Wish Granted.

YD (9,3)
1 Scott, Allen & Davis’ Tollutim Yaffle, very evenly marked b/w, round & well distributed spots, well laid back shoulders, deep brisket with good ribs, plenty of bone with well arched feet, moved very well across the ring;
2 D The Pinot Grigiot;
3 Hobbs & Whiting’s Boutonneux Baby Buco avec Rapanooey.

ND (7,1)
1 T Yaffle;
2 Tingey’s Dallyador Aramis, handsome rich liver/w boy, well spotted ears, level topline held on the move, good turn of stifle;
3 Addy’s Creaganbrec Jacob Marley.

PGD (8,4)
1 Pratt’s Gwynmor Finch Hatton at Solostar, at just over 2 years old this b/w dog is coming into his prime, kind face, good spotting on a well constructed body, excellent topline, well carried tail completed with good driving hindquarters;
2 Cousin’s Kalokairielord Ladies Man at Dallywest, this dog is an attractive liver/w showman put down in very good condition, well spotted, level topline& plenty turn of stifle;
3 Blissett’s Shydally King Arthur of Kystuno.

LD (14,2)
1 RCC, Wright’s Millbelle Lithium, upstanding, impressive & well developed b/ w dog, just out of junior, dark brown eyes, well broken ears, good length of neck leading to well placed shoulders, level topline, excellent hindquarters, good spotting completed by a wagging tail, covered the ground well;
2 Dunnachie’s Dvojica Vendetta, lovely head, well nicely arched neck, well developed b/w spotted body with excellent spring of ribs, bold spotting, strides out well, a little more muzzle would help;
3 Whiting’s Cibrith Captain Kirk.

OD (9,3) 1 CC & BOB, Webb & Chrystal’s Ch Dalleaf Dvil In Disguise at Jemblewood, this b/w dog caught my eye when younger, fulfilling his early promise & demonstrating excellent conformation within really good breed type, showing the old adage that breeding will out, I have seen many Dalmatians completing 25 miles in the annual Carriage Dog Trials to Gold Standard & can say this dog would represent "Fit for Function” if Trialled there is no exaggeration here;
2 Alexander’s Ch Offordale Chevalier, a spectacular b/w dog, his handler shows him with panache covering the ground;
3 Croft’s Doubtwell Show Stopper.

MPB (9)
The first four will change places on many occasions, not a lot to choose between 1 & 2 at this stage – both babies& very promising.
1 Quayle’s Cubalibre Follow On, a lovely type 8 months b/w, attractive spotty face with dark brown eye, well boned for size, good spotting with arched feet, correct tail carriage, gleaming white coat;
2 Neath Duggan’s Buffrey Hey Diddle Diddle, b/w, this sweet faced 6 month old with dark brown eyes has an appealing conformation with well sprung ribs, good spotting, her movement was difficult to assess;
3 Jenning’s Cubalibre Dream On.

PB (5)
1 Gardner’s Dvojica Black Again at Wrendragge, starting to mature into a beautiful young b/w lady, charming head & expression with well spotted ears, a little more animation would help to show her off;
2 C Follow On;
3 Ward’s Frankis Chamomile.

JB (11,4)
1 Chance & Dodds’ Kayjule Olympic Hope for Dotlun, very promising 13 month old liver/w, everything in place now, just needs time to mature, another lovely face with pretty ears, amber eyes, well boned with good hindquarters & feet, strode out well across the ring;
2 Goodman’s Theakston Twinkling Star, another b/w who is ready to mature, full of personality which helped her in this good class, well put together & covered the ring with ease;
3 Dinsdales’ Dalesbred Going For Gold.

YB (6,2)
1 RCC, Haywood Ridgway’s Luccombe Strawberry Dream, nearly 2 years old, this b/w bitch has matured delightfully, the size is right, a charming face framed by attractive ears, well constructed body finished by a lovely wagging tail, only lost out to the CC winner with the energy of her hind action;
2 Pickup’s Roadcoch Reine Des Roses, kind face with dark eye, good make& shape, taller than 1, well spotted b/w;
3 Hernanadez’s Dalminshi Mystic Star.

NB (6,3)
1 Fillingham’s Tamilanda Blue Water Lilly, this elegant b/w bitch wouldn’t be handled easily to start with but handled fine later in the line handler – relax to help her enjoy her time in the ring, good conformation, dark brown eye with spotty ears, moved well;
2 Jenkin’s Jewelruby Queen, this b/ was well balanced & well handled, another pretty face, strong hindquarters;
3 Rose & Cattermole’s Shulune Ice Fantasy.

PGB (12,4)
1 Thorner’s Tollutim Evensong, a classy b/w who has matured well, balanced body with good hindquarters, well arched feet, handled to advantage;
2 Ely’s Wintermine Flamenco, this b/w bitch meets the standard well but still maturing, could carry more body to advantage, strode out well, happy wagging tail;
3 Croft’s Doubtwell Ebony Night.

LB (14,5) At other shows the bitches in this very good class will change place regularly.
1 Page’s Winflash Born To Be Wild, this 2 years 9 months b/w bitch has an excellent make & shape, nicely arched neck, good layback of shoulders, level topline, well carried tail, moved well across the ring, she is handled very quietly to good effect;
2 Stock’s Kalokairie Lady Bollinger at Nospar, an eyecatching 2 years 6 months b/w bitch, is eager to please her handler, lighter spotting emphasises a gleaming white coat, good spring of rib & deep brisket cat feet, presented in hard condition;
3 Martland’s Kalokairie lady Eleanor at Deefadal.

OB (14,5) Both winners combine type & substance with elegance – so necessary for top quality – neither is exaggerated- both are the correct size & so well put together.
1 CC, Quayle’s Ch Cubalibre Spot On, I refereed at the JDC Ch Show in Feb 2011, when this b/w bitch was perfect but unfinished, I awarded her BIS, she meets the Standard precisely & has the finish given by maturity, also today flowed across the ring;
2 Gibb’s Ch Phadante Dixie Lily, this lovely b/w bitch was unfortunate to come up against Spot On in such good form, on another occasion I would have been happy to award her top honours, she meets the standard very well, strode well across the ring;
3 Whincup’s Tamilanda Hot Pink.

FIONA C T HARTLEY