Crufts

Huge excitement here for the Crufts winner. So unusual for a liver flatcoat to be chosen as best of breed let alone the Championship.
What a beautiful dog who enjoyed himself and showed all the characteristics of their fun temperament. My own liver flatcoat was exhausted by the whole proceedings and fell fast asleep!
 

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CorvusCorax said:
Loved the flattie and the piddling poodle.
Did like the IT but thought handler was perhaps restricting him a bit or he didn't show himself so well.
They have a long time in the holding area/hanging around and the light/heat/crowd must be a bit intimidating.
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Yes - the poodle moved brillliantly but tbh all that hair was a distraction for me; I would love to see poodles shown a bit more naturally but I can't see that happening soon lol. I wondered if the IT was either not very confident or something; he didn't move well at all and they should move forward, covering the ground really well. John Averis is an extremely experienced handler and has won BOS at crufts with a Welsh and a lakeland so I guess he had a good reason for holding the dog up a bit (to me anyway). The flatcoat was superb - having had such a long day, he was still full of joy, moving so fluidly and in superb physical condition. It is wonderful to see a functional type win though of course now everyone will want a liver coloured flattie!!
 
P3LH said:
Think the flat coat was the clear winner. Fabulous example.

As a side note, I wasn’t really impressed with crufts for lots of reasons this year. I did go in the end on Saturday (not a day of breeds of mine or my interest, granted) and didn’t enjoy what I saw. Things seem to have rolled backwards in terms of the high profile/high profile Braccy breeds, spinning wildly away from more moderate types to very exaggerated forms in nearly all of those breeds. I’ve noted toy and utility day isn’t for me, but I did enjoy discover dogs as always.

Wasn’t a fan of either of my breeds BOB either, finding the rough collie the overdone modern type (when BOB bitch was classic aka correct) and the Pembroke corgi too low and far far too long and overdone. There were lots of other breeds I looked at and thought similar too. Disappointing really as I usually do really like crufts.
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A vet friend shared a vitriolic rant about the BOB English Bulldog. I agree with it.
 
It just feels
Like all the progress in a variety of breeds, not just the ones mentioned, have gone backwards judging by a number of BOB’s this year (the no backed Boston really haunts me). And in other breeds there were definitely notable trends towards those with more exaggerated points/characteristics (including both of my own). It all left me feeling generally a bit in dismay at the state of play. 14 years on since PDE aired and whatever your thoughts on it, it did lead to the KC realising changes had to be made - and for some years it seemed like things were moving the right way. All a bit of a shame.
 
Clodagh said:
That’s brilliant, well done. I saw some remarks on fb that the gamekeepers ring dog had probably never been shooting, I can put them right.
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Yes you can. He is a successful show dog and he has worked a full season on a shoot in Retford where is owner is an assistant keeper. I’ll find the name of the shoot for you
 
palo1 said:
That is really sad. It's just so hard to know why people want to see or breed dogs like this.
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They’ll continue doing so as long as judges keep saying they look better.

I’d have thought, given the negative press this year, it would have been an ideal opportunity to choose a more moderate example and send a clear message to breeders, but sadly it seems they’ll just carry on encouraging the deformities of the breed :(
 
[deleted user] said:
It is really sad , I have to say the pekingese made me feel sick the poor thing couldn't even walk
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I didn't see them thankfully but that is sad; I knew a couple of pekes when I was young and they were enormous fun, great characters and perfectly capable of enjoying a good walk.
 
I loved the flatcoat, not so keen on the poodle. Great attitude but too much hair for me. My niece has an apricot toy poodle, she is a cracking little dog , lives a proper dog life, getting muddy etc. P3LH it's decades since I was briefly involved with rough collies, the BoB winners head looked different to what I remember. I thought the bloodhound was a considerable improvement as far as extra skin goes, as was the neo.
 
I don't watch Crufts. I saw the clip of the Peke on Twitter and thought the poor little beggar, like so many brachycephalic dogs, was struggling for breath.
 
Well I was wrong about the greyhound, but the retriever was glorious.

The ad breaks really spoiled the coverage. I thought I might be able to watch on catch up and fast forward but it wasnt being shown on catch up with Virgin. The flyball was great

Every time I watch Crufts I wonder how the best of group etc are judged as each dog has a different breed standard, surely the judge cant be up to speed with every one ? Obviously the dog is the best of their breed but judging a poodle against a husky ?
 
Pennyless, I record virtually every programme I wish to watch on the commercial channels. Then you start watching a bit late and fast forward through the adverts. I timed it perfectly last night to see the very last bit of judging live!
As far as the Championship judge is concerned, yes, they are hugely experienced, that’s why most of them are old! They do know the breed standards but obviously just like top knowledgeable dressage judges, a element of preference comes in. The top judge only ever gets to judge the group winners for the championship once in their life making it more fair if they favour a certain type. Many judges are expert in more than one breed.
 
I had a 1st place and a lovely critique from Stuart Plane last year so as far as I am concerned he can do no wrong ?

I’ve seen the toy poodle in group rings previously and he really is a spunky little chap. The crafty piddle had me laughing. Too much hair for me too but it’s inconsequential really compared to the issues of some of the other dogs put through (I note that the peke footage was cut from the televised coverage.)
 
CorvusCorax said:
I dunno, it's just hair, I liked his attitude and he was happy to be there. I think the Yorkie was as well furnished and no one is passing comment.
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Was he happy? Was it him that the handler handled the teeth, not the judge? There was no wag. I think the hair just detracts from a nice little dog. (although I thought he looked stroppy). The yorkie I did say to oh I couldn’t see it doing much ratting, but at least it’s hair wasn’t cut in such a way to make it look as though the head grew out of the kidneys.
 
MurphysMinder said:
I loved the flatcoat, not so keen on the poodle. Great attitude but too much hair for me. My niece has an apricot toy poodle, she is a cracking little dog , lives a proper dog life, getting muddy etc. P3LH it's decades since I was briefly involved with rough collies, the BoB winners head looked different to what I remember. I thought the bloodhound was a considerable improvement as far as extra skin goes, as was the neo.
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I thought the bloodhounds eyes looked awful.
 
blackcob said:
I had a 1st place and a lovely critique from Stuart Plane last year so as far as I am concerned he can do no wrong ?

I’ve seen the toy poodle in group rings previously and he really is a spunky little chap. The crafty piddle had me laughing. Too much hair for me too but it’s inconsequential really compared to the issues of some of the other dogs put through (I note that the peke footage was cut from the televised coverage.)
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You’re being a bit coy about your placing this year blackcob !
 
Might be controversial but I think the showing of any Braccy dogs should be immediately banned at any level, including local shows. Boxers, bulldogs, boston terriers, pugs, shih tzus, frenchies, pekingnese, KC spaniels etc etc. It's the only way to tackle it. Perhaps bring in that the dogs must have approved soft palettes from a select few centrally licensed vets?
 
SAujla said:
I watched the flyball for a minute then had to turn it off, it looks so bad for the dogs bones and joints.
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We spend a lot of time trying to train a decent "swimming" type turn on the box which is all spring-loaded to reduce impact on the joints. You'll have noticed some of the dogs wearing bandages as well to help support the legs and offer more protection. Can't speak for all the teams, but I know Aces and I think Lightning's dogs as well, (we often meet at the same comps/attend ones that they host) have regular physio/hydro/fitness sessions to monitor any aches and pains that may pop up.
 
If you go here you can watch e.g. just a particular group judging or just the final etc. I love watching the hound group for all those gorgeous sighthounds!

https://www.youtube.com/c/crufts/videos

The greyhound looked wonderful in the hound judging, but didn't show herself off quite so well in the final, same with the IT. Flat coat was a real beauty and his handler obviously loved him to bits too.
 
SAujla said:
I watched the flyball for a minute then had to turn it off, it looks so bad for the dogs bones and joints.
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There is a massive peice of work being done with both UK associations to explore injury and safety within the sport. I can only speak for my team (who are ALOT slower than the Crufts team) but training is broken down and foundations are really embedded to keep the dogs as safe as possible. I've not personally known any more injurys or wear and tear than any other sports.
 
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