a forum on TOY BREEDS with Carmen Blankenship, Dorothy eDge & Betty peplin CARMEN BLANKENSHIP
4. Is it your preference to have the handler show you the bite? I don’t have a strong preference. 5. What is your pet peeve when judging? Baiting your exhibit is fine while I am viewing it from the side; I wish handlers would stop baiting their exhibit when I walk to the front of the dog. I cannot assess your exhibit’s headpiece, natural expression or front when your hand or entire body is in front of your exhibit. DOROTHY EDGE
I acquired my first Chow in the late 60s and started my show career in obedience, but quickly moved to conformation. I finished more than 30 Chow champions. That does not sound like many in today’s show climate, but at the time Chow were at the height of their popularity and it took far more exhibits to get a major than today, so finishing a dog was not easy. I produced several BIS Chows and many regional and
As a child, my love of dogs and horses led me to the dog show world in 1969 in Great Britain. I have many fond memories while there. Once in the US show world, I got the great opportunity to pur- chase S & S Pet Supplies. This gave me the opportunity to meet so many wonderful friends and dogs. After selling the business, I applied to AKC to begin my slow process of obtaining the Toy group with, of course, my breed the Shih Tzu—
national specialty winners. When I started judging in about 1995, I ceased showing the Chows. I now have Pekingese and English Toy Spaniels. I have also owned and finished a few Pomeranians and an English Pointer. I presently am approved to judge the Non-Sporting Group and about two-thirds of the Toy Group.
1. What is your original breed? Chow Chow.
and over twenty-five years of experience. Since then I have added several more Toy breeds and hope to gain group status sometime in the future. I currently have my last breeding, Ch. Live Oaks YakityYak I Talk Back, who is twelve and Ch Alvin Farms Rivergate Red Rover, who is semi-retired at age six.
2. What three conformation characteristic do you consider critical in judging decisions? I cannot limit my response to three characteristics. I try to apply the entire standard and judge each exhibit as a com- plete package. In the Toys, different breeds put more empha- sis on some characteristics over others, so I don’t feel that each breed can be judged generically. Having said this, I make my final decisions when the exhibits are on the move as this reveals so much more about the exhibit than the static stack in place. When the dog is moving, I can see how its parts work together to form a harmonious whole; its true topline, body length and tail set; its neck length and how it carries it head; a bit about its personality and temperament and in some cases how the coat moves with the dog. 3. What ring pattern do you prefer for toy dogs? Table first or ground first? I send them around first, whether in a class of one or more, so that I can get an overall impression of the dog as a whole.
1. What is your original breed? My first show dog was an Afghan Hound in 1969.
2. What three conformation characteristics do you consider critical in judging decisions? The three confirmation I consider critical: 1) Overall bal- ance for the breed. 2) Correct movement for the breed. 3) Correct temperament. 3. What ring pattern do you prefer for Toy dogs? Table first or go around first? For Toy breeds I prefer the go around first, table exam and down and back.
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