Saber Tails
s
June 2012
www.pbgv.org
45
From Joy Brewster, 2012 PBGVCA Regional judge:
I
would like to extend my thanks to the club for their
excellent hospitality during my visit. Appreciation and
thanks also to my willing and able stewards, Susannah
Cooper and Helen Ingher.
For structure and balance, I was looking for a nicely
developed and compact body with a rib cage carried well
back; a short loin; proper tail set and carriage with a level
backline. With few exceptions, most dogs had proper
length of leg proportion. I did find a majority with a lack
of sufficient sternum, an undeveloped short ribcage and,
consequently, more of a tuck up in the underline than I like
to see. On the topside, the upright shoulders and “stuffy”
short necks were of concern.
Movement coming and going was not a particular issue
on this day for me. I did fault restricted side gait due to the
upright shoulders with a short upper arm. Overall, bone
substance was good. I must congratulate the exhibitors as
for the most part their dogs behaved well and their
handling ability was superb compared to what is found
at other breed specialties.
Personally, I feel your standard can be clearer
regarding heads, especially relative to the skull and a
“well-developed occipital protuberance.” I found most
PBGVs on this day with equal length of muzzle to
skull. This did not bother me, but a longer muzzle
certainly did. Why the majority trimmed out the
“fan” on the nose in front of the eyes is beyond my
understanding. This is a unique feature for the proper
expression in this breed and also helps with the
impression of a shorter muzzle.
No, I did not forget coat and trimming as my own
breed has a somewhat similar problem in breeding
and describing a proper coat. I have chosen to utilize
the terms a “natural” versus a “manufactured” coat.
This was definitely an appreciated learning experience
as all types of coats were present today. Of course, the
youngsters were not completely “dressed” yet, but
you can still feel the different textures in the outer
coats and you do need to consider this relative to their age.
When it got to the mature dogs, this is where it was most
evident. Truly naturally coated dogs with the proper
undercoat and textured outer coat are few and far between.
I was honored to have some of these dogs in my ring and
rewarded them when I could. Trimming which was
excessively sculptured did not go unnoticed. I did not find
the trimming and coat products overall to be too offensive
other than the sculptured Schnauzer heads really left me
cold. Also, I must mention that some of the tails appeared
more “needle-like” than a sabre on many of the adult dogs.
I am not certain whether this is caused by breeding or
grooming, but it does affect the outline.
I was most pleased with my Best of Breed bitch, Ch.
Mirepoix’s Naughty Girl, who possesses qualities in balance,
movement, head and coat. I found her as an outstanding
example of a PBGV in today’s
lineup. Best of Opposite Sex, Ch.
Always Blue Caboose, and Select
Dog, GCH Sonora Maximus,
were also dogs with overall
quality and proper coats that
I would welcome to see in my
ring on any given day. I also
would like to point out that, in
my opinion, my Best of Winners
bitch, Mirepoix’s Figgy Pudding,
will have an outstanding future
ahead of her. And an honorable
mention, shall we say, to my
Bred By Exhibitor Dog, Cackle’s
Take a Chance on Me, who once
he is showing well and matures
will also be a dog with which
to contend. I regretted that he
was unable to pull it together
enough to go further than just
winning his class.
s