Polska wersja / English vr.
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BEARDED COLLIE SPECIALITY, SOPOT, 10/8/08
 

          I was honoured to be invited to judge this prestigious show and my thanks go to all who helped to make my Polish week-end so very enjoyable. The hospitality and kindness I received were second to none.

          There was an entry of 41 Beardies for this Speciality Show,  reflecting a strong upsurge in the breed in Poland, which was pleasing to witness.

          The dogs were well presented and extremely well handled overall, and temperaments were unfailingly excellent, as |I would expect.  Just one or two dogs had dirty teeth and small tangles in their coats, and several showed evidence of trimming around the feet.  Trimming and scissoring is something to be rigorously frowned upon; these are herding dogs, not hairdressers' models!

          I was impressed with the handling which was sympathetic and gentle, dogs being shown on a loose lead and in great harmony with their handlers. Overall, I got the impression that Beardies in Poland have a pretty good life, with lots of human contact and kindness.  Most were well muscled and gave evidence of being well exercised. It was good to see the dogs running free at the end of the Show.

          Among the 41 dogs entered, I found many excellent examples of the breed, and my principal winners could hold their own in places where Beardies have graced the showring for much longer than in Poland.  Movement was sound and purposeful, with plenty of reach and drive evident. Many of my winners showed animation and enjoyment on the move, and there were very few flying tails in spite of this.

          On the downside, there are some areas where breeders need to pay particular attention.  Some of the dogs were very "narrow" throughout and lacked sufficient substance, and several were very underweight.   I am more used to criticising Beardies for being overweight, so this was a change for me! Another thing to watch is the light eye, which creeps into the breed almost unnoticed, and then is hard to eradicate. There were some dogs, however, with wonderful coat/eye colour matches, and the pigmentation on the dogs was in general very good. Heads too were good, with correct proportions in most cases.

          Construction varied, of course, and there were some short ribcages, upright shoulders and cow hocks.It is important to keep the 8:10 body proportions firmly in mind  when choosing dogs to enhance the breed. However, my overall feeling was one of satisfaction in the way the breed is developing in Poland.  You have some clever and dedicated breeders who are selecting their breeding stock sensibly and thoughtfully, with good results.  The young stock which I saw (puppies, juniors, intermediates) in both males and females make me feel confident for the future of the breed in Poland.

RUTH SCOTT