Crufts 2008 - Judge's Critique

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the Crufts committee for the invitation to judge Norwich at this the most famous dog show in the world. To step out onto that green carpet, as a judge, has a magic all of its own. The breed this year was scheduled for third in the ring & I must admit to being very concerned as to what time would actually get into the ring. To get into the ring at 4pm & judge a super entry was very challenging. I am sure all know much more about Dandies now than we ever did before.

Thank you to the exhibitors for the fantastic entry. I was told it was the best for many years. The quality was mixed as it has been for a while. I was able to find dogs that I really liked & both my CC winners & RCCs were quality dogs. Mouths I found to be pretty good , no bad bites but several with pinched bottom jaws.

Coats varied from pin wire to being very nearly blown. Considering the time the dogs had waited they all showed very well. Movement was also pretty good & although I wanted soundness coming & going, I was also: looking for good profile movement as well. Although time was tight, I did my best to give everyone the time they deserved. They had all paid the same fees & as such deserved to be considered, even though I was pushed to get my BOB into the group, which I did with minutes to spare.

Because time was tight, I hope I will be forgiven for not writing as detailed a report as would have liked to have done.

A special thanks to my stewards who helped me no end in making sure we wasted not a minute of time.

Spec.PD (3,0) 1. Kirkpatrick's Tynallt Trouble Shooter, b/t really good moving dog, super head & expression, good in topline & tailset, good reach of neck, excellent topline & tailset, showed really well & deserved BP; 2. Brown & Bell's Good. Laddy, red dog in slightly better coat than 1. Not as good coming & going but really good side action. Nice for size.

Spec JD (3,0) 1. Jones' Rhythm And Blues at Zippor , b/t, very nice moving dog, in great form, handled so well by his young owner. Wouldn't want him any bigger. Super head, in good coat, well presented; 2 Good Laddy. 3 Stevenson's Ragus Hey Good Lookin for Brickin, red of nice size & type. Not really enjoying himself & could have used his tail more but we did have long wait. Would like him with more body weight & needs to mature in rib yet.

PGD (3,0) 1. RCC, Crawley & Jones' Ragus Ovation , b/t, really nice dog both standing & moving, good in neck &. shoulder, excellent coat, really looked the part on the day; 2 Rhythm And Blues at Z; 3 Kell's Ragus :Revelation, b/t, nice size & type. Not as good in neck & shoulder as two above. In good coat moved out well. This was not an easy class to judge.

LD (3,0) 1. Chambers' Rouletta Havin A Good Thyme, b/t, did all he could not to win this class. Lovely to go over on the table. In full coat & could have been tidied a bit more . All male,typical in head & expression, good strong muzzle, good mouth; 2. Neatham's Crivnor
Cream Cracker at Graysbrooke, red of different balance, not as short as 1. Moved OK both ways. Pigment could be better. Sound coming & going, good topline„ in good coat, well handled; 3 Bell 's Dorinor Red Alert, red , slightly higher on leg than two above. Bit plain in head but lacks furnishings which may account for this, Showed well.

OD (5,2) 1. CC & BOB, Crawley 's Ch Ragus Rings True, the star of the day, everything I was looking for was here, type, balance, movement & showmanship, he just :stood out; 2 Dudareva's Shugar Kjub Snooker, b/t, also of nice type, excels in side movement, I see from Eastern Europe , & nice to see him here. Smaller type, good head properties & well handled to get t he best out of him; 3 Lanyi's H/HS/R Ch Gustav Von Den Zwei Eichen, not an easy dog to show &. gave his handler a hard time. Would just liked a bit more off for a male. Nice to go over, in good coat, good front & bone.

VB (3,0) Three lovely veterans. 1 was the best of the three. Great to see the oldies again & enjoying their day out. 1. Brown's Ch Queslade She Devil; 2 Wilson's Elve Forest Witch: 3 Martin's Acquest Polka Dot.

Spec.PB (4,0) 1. Thompson-Morgan's, Belleville Coconut Cream, well bodied bitch., nice moving, good to go over on the table, good bone, nice head & eye, neat ears, good reach of neck, straight front, very outgoing; 2 Martin's Baktwins Follow That Dream, red of good balance, presents a nice outline standing. Not quite the strength in head of 1. Nice outline, good front, good coat texture, well handled; 3 Barrell's Barwest Beech Nut, b/t, my apologies as I have no notes on this bitch.

Spec.JB (4,0) 1 Crawley's Ragus, Forever Yours , red, very typically Norwich, short, compact with enough neck, good front sound both ways, she is of a nice size & full of quality, lovely head & expression, straight front, liked her even more in the challenge awarded, her the CC. 2 Corkhill's Redash Time Goes By, red & slightly higher on leg to 1 & not the rib either as yet but still young & sure will develop here. A lot to like about her, she is typy, good mover both coming, going & in profile; 3 Willard's Crivnor Troubles Brewing, rather rangy at present, good neck & shoulders„ good to line. Just needs time.

PGB (7,1) 1 Bell's Dorinor Dizzy Lizzy , b/t, nice moving bitch, very feminine, nice shape which she held on the move, sound both ways. 2 Bardell's Acquest Peppermint Patty, b/t nice bitch, bit longer than 1 but moves better in profile than coming & going. Correct size, in good coat & presentation; 3 Willard's Lets Be Avin You at Crivnor ,red, young as yet & lacks maturity but liked her & will no doubt do much better with a bit more time.

LB (6,2)1 Whitworth's Acquest Vanilla Vixen, little higher on the leg than I prefer but she showed so much better than anything else & was also the soundest.. Nice shape, well bodied, good hindquarters, in very good coat & presentation; 2 Crawley 's Ragus Truly Truly Fair ,little stockier but never got her tail up. Typical Norwich expression, well balanced head & expression, neat well placed ears, nice coat texture & good presentation. On another day who knows; 3 Willard & Crawley's Ragus Inspiration , red, sound little bitch, nice outline, short coupled, good neck & shoulder, correct ruff, very nicely handled & presented.

OB (8,3) Was really being rushed for time here so my notes are very brief. 1 RCC, Crawley's Sw Ch Cobby's Dressed To Kill, red bitch who scored for type & size, felt she was the best balanced. 2 Phillips & Baldwin's Jaeva. Forbidden Fruit , red, would like her a shade smaller & more feminine, other than that I thought she really looked the part both standing &. moving. 3 Birchall's AmCh Birchbay Dreamcatcher, rich red & out of a smaller mould to 1 & 2. Very showy, in super coat condition. Would like a bit more strength in head for me.

Geoff Corish (Judge)

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