ents raised and showed Boston Ter- riers. Lorene established the Wissel- wood line of Pugs in 1964 and added Brussels Griffons almost 30 years ago. She has been dedicated to establish- ing and improving the black color in both breeds. Lorene became an AKC judge in 1980 and now enjoys judg- ing on a limited basis. She is licensed to judge the Toy Group, BIS and part of Non Sporting. She is Judges’ Edu- cation Chairman for the American Brussels Griffon Assoc. and she served on that committee for the Pug Dog Club of America for years. She is con- sidered a comparison specialist of brachycephalic breed head and skull types and has given many seminars on this subject. She Chairs the ABGA Illustrated Standard Committee. She is a past director of the Pug Dog Club of America and also served on their Ethics Committee and Chaired their Illustrated Standard Committee. She is past President of the National Brus- sels Griffon Club for over 10 years. She founded the Mid Michigan Pug Club in 1979. She has judged Brussels Griffon and Pug Specialties in this country, Australia and France. She was elected to judge the Pug Dog Club of America National Specialty in 1988 and again in 1997. She was elected to judge the American Brussels Griffon Associa- tion’s National Specialty three times. Both parent clubs have a 10 yr. void rule. Lorene is past President of Ing- ham County KC and is a member of both her breed clubs in England. When Lorene is not focused on Judges Educa- tion, her time is divided between Pub- lic Education and breed Rescue.
Brussels Griffons are EXTREMELY sensitive and intelligent. A soft hand, kind word and a scratch will help suspi- cion turn to love of the ring. Most intelligent dogs don’t immedi- ately jump into your face with kisses. Quoting our Illustrated Standard “some- what standoffish as they size you up” They size you up—then if you meet their approval—they might jump in your face with kisses. They should not cringe, slink or try to hide, but you must respect their need to check you out. These should not be HARD, little robots that have been conditioned to behave perfectly without thinking for them- selves. Please be especially gentle when examining them. As with any Toy dog that you want to examine closer, do not hang over the dog, ask the handler to either pick them up or place them back on the table. BE GENTLE. Ask the exhibitor to show you the bite. As with ANY brachy- cephalic breed, do not lift up both top lips at once as it will cut off breath- ing. (The ONLY time a QUICK view of this sort could be necessary is if THE EXHIBIT is EXCELLENT, you definitely plan to USE it and you feel the exhibi- tor is possibly concealing a wry or DQ mouth.) I personally do not like to stick thumbs or fingers in the dog’s mouth and pass germs. Width of jaw and muz- zle can be seen from the outside, usual- ly a side lip can be gently lifted to show the degree of the bite. (With skill and practice, more often than not, this can also be ascertained simply by looking at the construction of the skull, front and side and how the lips fall from the nose placement.) Brussels Griffons are very sensi- tive to mouth examination; please use good judgement. One last word, WHEN you get a cor- rect one, it may look very different from the rest of the dogs in your ring. You must study so you KNOW what is right and have the nerve to use it even if it is not “popular” at the time. Judges do have a lot of influence over the direction that the breeders veer; please use it to help our breed stay on the track our forefathers intended. About the Author Lorene has been “in dogs” all her life, attracted to brachycephalic breeds. Her parents and paternal grandpar-
Breed authority judge dawn Vick hansen rewarding ch. wisselwood karefree kate with a BoB from the classes.
a correct jaw. We can also have many of the same problems of the Bulldog and other brachycephalic breeds where lay-back is asked for; like Wry mouth or Shovel mouth (where the jaw lacks this curve and juts straight out). In Griffons, sometimes a dog with a questionable Shovel Mouth as a pup- py—will fold by the time it is an adult. I don’t mean for you to start feeling jaw bones in the ring. But DO visit as many breeders as you can. Familiarize yourself with the feel and look of differ- ent jaws and nose placements, correct and incorrect. Pretty soon you will be able to SEE it, without dissecting the dogs while you are judging them. One fad or trend that does not seem to go away is coloring and stylizing the coats (which can only be “stylized” because of incorrect coat texture). Please study our Illustrated Standard regarding coat and grooming so that you will not penalize a proper hard coated dog, with few furnishings (should you ever be lucky enough to have one in your ring). Profuse furnishings that are stylized and lengthy mean soft texture. Our breed is meant to be shown as natu- ral as possible, hand stripped only. In my days of showing, I learned how valuable this “hard as nails” correct Griffon coat was, when breed authority judge Dawn Vick Hansen rewarded Ch. Wisselwood Karefree Kate with a BOB from the classes. The essence of type also pertains to what is going on inside the head. A large part of learning a new breed is to famil- iarize yourself with the history of that breed and understand how this back- ground affects the temperament AND therefore the ring presence and how they accept YOU while being judged, or tabled.
t5 01 / 05$) 5 0:4 . "3$)
Powered by FlippingBook