I semi-retired four years ago when I began looking for a show prospect. I was determined to find a nice black or black and tan dog for the ring. I was being very particular and, with the help of Erika Moureau and Charlotte Creed, I was introduced to Annette Rister. I purchased “Freddie” from Annette and his show career began at six months. He has been a delight to watch in the ring. He obtained his grand champion with several Group placements as well as a Best Puppy in Show, Best Bred-By in Show, and several other honors. Annette handled him for most of his show career. (Pre- viously, I’d finished many of my own dogs, but wasn’t confident enough in myself to go back in the ring after my cancer battle six years ago.) Freddie is being bred very selectively to approved bitches and has several very promising puppies on the ground. Good breeders who breed to our stan- dard and breed for the betterment of our breed are to be commended. Breeders are responsible for what is being shown in the ring, not the judges. It is sad to see some of the dogs being presented in the ring today. The qual- ity of the dogs in the ring, again, goes back to the breeders’ ability to honest- ly evaluate their show prospects. CHARLOTTE CREED Following Sharon Masnick, whom I have admired for many years, I agree totally with her. My name is Charlotte Creed. I have been involved with Pomeranians for over 40 years and have bred multiple BIS Poms, the No. l male Pom in the nation and the No. 1 Pom bitch in the nation, and the top-producing male and female in the nation. I have been blessed with many great mentors in my lifetime in this sport. My goals were always for the betterment of the breed. In recent years, I have seen some trends that are concerning to me. Many Poms are being shown that are long in back, low on leg, moving with head down, and with soft coats. This is NOT correct, according to our standard—from its beginning. I firmly
round, buggy eyes, and bad mouths. This last is caused by trying to change the Pom head into a more Peke-type head. This is incorrect. Mrs. Matta of the great Matta Poms (of our great foundationPoms) discussed this prob- lem as far back as the 1930s. When you try and change the head fromwhat our standard says, this can happen. In- correct eyes, incorrect pose, incorrect mouths, and open fontanels are all major defects. Breed to our standard and for the betterment of the breed. There has been some discussion about proper layback of shoulders in our Poms of today. Many people don’t un- derstand it. Included above is a sketch of BISA, BISS Ch. Bev Nors Toasted Fudge by Chris Heartz that I think is a good example of proper shoulder layback. (And, when the dog is moving, the head is held high, like this.) Remember, the Pom should be short- backed with a high tail set (with a pro- fuse tail plume), and a harsh outercoat and dense undercoat. Judges can only judge what’s in the ring. Breeders, present themwith Poms that meet our standard. Don’t go for trends or fads, and I think we will see judges reward- ing you for doing it right. T op N otch T oys , A pril /M ay 2021• 45
believe that we can, by studying our past greats, correct these trends that are detrimental to our breed. You, the breeders, are responsible for what is being shown. Learn your standard and your breed, and honestly evaluate your dogs based on the standard. Not all deserve to be in the ring. Be willing to cull wisely. If your dog looks dif- ferent from what you are competing against, but is correct according to our standard, keep showing it. Good judg- es will eventually reward you. Don’t settle for trends. Breed according to the standard and for the betterment of the breed. Some of you are very successful breed- ers of today, so always try and improve on each breeding based on the stan- dard. For example, I saw several Poms at our National Specialty that were very, very nice and have done some very nice winning. However, if they had only had as little as 1/2 inch lon- ger leg length they would have been great Poms. Honestly, evaluating this and breeding for that minor change would transform a very nice Pom into a Great One. Set goals to do this with each breeding. It’s all about balance! Some of the judges have expressed concerns about open fontanels, large,
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