for their CHIC certification in the Pom Review . So, alongside type and soundness, health issues become the third part of the breeding puzzle. As well as understanding the breed characteristics, a breeder must also study movement to determine what a good front is, what a good rear is, and how these work together to create bal- ance with effortless movement. It is the responsibility of breeders to learn to achieve type with soundness in their breeding program, so judges will have quality exhibits to evaluate. No judge can be expected to be a breed expert in every breed, but they are tasked with evaluating what is before them in the ring. Those who know and, perhaps, have even bred Pomeranians will usually choose the exhibits with the most type and then place the soundest of these. However, judges not as familiar with a breed may choose the soundest of the exhib- its—modified by what they perceive as correct type. This is where breed education will be able to assist. It is important to remember that any dog can be sound, but without breed type it is just a dog. Also, before criticizing a judge’s performance, remember that theymust make their determination in about three minutes per exhibit. It is also important that breeders be able to honestly evaluate their own exhibit(s) against those of the other exhibitors in the ring. Then, if they place where expected, they will realize that that
judge’s opinion is aligned with their own. In any case, as a breeder, you should always have a general idea of where you should place in a class and why you’ve won or lost. It is the breeders and the breed clubs that are responsible for educating judges about the breed. It is not the judge’s job to educate the breeders as to what they should be breeding and showing. As said previously, type, soundness, and the health of our breed must begin with the breeders. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Christine and John Heartz, Chriscen- do Pomeranians, Brookfield, Nova Scotia, Canada. Chris and John began their involve- ment in the breed in 1970 and bred their first litter of Poms in 1977. John was an All-Breed Professional Handler, re- tired in 2000. He brings to the table the breeding of PembrokeWelsh Corgis and the handling of breeds in all seven Groups to multiple BIS, and an excel- lent knowledge of structure and func- tion. Together, they have bred, owned, and campaigned Poms that have won almost 200 BIS and Top Dogs in many countries around the world—Canada, USA, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, Denmark, and Australia, to name a few. Their dogs are behind many of the top dogs in the breed to- day. The Chriscendo dogs have also been top-producers for other breeders around the world. TheHeartz’ continue to breed top-winning dogs today.
CHRIS & JOHN HEARTZ Breeding a better Pom is a constant struggle toward achieving a balance of type, soundness, and health. You can- not succeed at breeding one without the others. Our Breed Standard gives us a clearer picture of what a Pom should look like, the breed character- istics (type), and it also explains how they should be built to function prop- erly (soundness). However, Breed Standards are open to interpretation and they also vary from country to country, so some characteristics will vary slightly. Breed Education is so important as it will imprint what cor- rect breed type is to both breeders and judges alike. Health in our breed has come much more to the forefront in the last 10 years, and this is important as well. Poms have not been the soundest breed, and it is nice to see an increas- ing number of Poms being recognized
T op N otch T oys , A pril /M ay 2021• 41
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