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DID YOU KNOW?
compiled by Samantha adkinS samantha@dmcg.com
DID YOU KNOW...
many breeds, puppies and young stock of different bloodlines—and some- times of the same breeding—develop at different rates. Some will shoot up to their full height, then stop growing and take quite a long time to fully develop. Others develop more steadily, even in height and body weight during their growing period. The bigger the breed, the longer it takes for full maturity to be attained. Owners of these breeds understand that they have to wait a few years before their paragons are ready to take on all corners. On the other hand, maturity often comes much sooner for some smaller breeds. Past history for many breeds seems to indicate that dogs that take their time to mature will quite often, in the end, outlast the flashy and glamorous youngsters. There appears to be great- er understanding why some judges
consider it important to know the age of a dog to be able to really evaluate its true merit. In this sport, it depends entirely on opinion. I have learned that even though we accept the fact that every- one is entitled to express an opinion as being correct and beyond dispute. It is for this very reason that it is important to grant some degree of respect to those who take the judging of dogs seriously enough to want to know the age of a dog. The idiosyncrasies that are present in the growth and maturity of all live- stock are sufficient reason to ask, “Is age important when judging?” As with most opinions, there is a cop out to answer that question. “Judge them on the day,” which I interpret to mean as knowing sufficient information about a breed to know just what it should look like on that particular day.
IS AGE IMPORTANT WHEN JUDGING? It is by no means unusual to find pup-
Did you know?
pies of many breeds entered in the Open class. Invariably, these are pup- pies that are either over grown, over developed or too mature for their age to compete with puppies—or so their handlers or owners assume. Whether this practice is done with the inten- tion of fooling the judge does not mat- ter; for the very simple reason that, just like any other means of changing the appearance of a dog artificially, it is the breeder and exhibitor who are fooling themselves. In general, I feel that age is a mat- ter that weighs very heavily with the knowledgeable and experienced judge. With them it is an accepted fact that, in
“PaSt hiStory for many breedS SeemS to indicate that dogS that take their time to mature will quite often, in the end, OUTLAST THE FLASHY AND GLAMOROUS YOUNGSTERS.”
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