Love a detailed critique

I was so pleased to get the critiques back from the judge at the Hyde and District Canine Association’s Open show in November. It’s lovely when the judge spends time to write a detailed critique, and especially when it’s from a breed specialist judge.


Puppy (5,1)
1st Mrs C Wallington – Ailsadot Astral Lyra – Super confident black 6-month-old bitch with a very pretty spotted face and dark brown eyes, lively expression and well carried broken ears. Strength to
her muzzle but retains her femininity easily. Round bone, slightly sloping pasterns lead down to tight feet with well-maintained nails. Scored well in front assembly with elbows carried close to body,
clean neck and shoulders well laid back. Good length to her ribcage, strong loin and tail set straight off her back and carried well when moving. She has good turn of stifle and already showing good definition of second thigh, strong straight hocks with excellent bone. Coat in fabulous condition being glossy and tight, with evenly distributed spotting. On the move showing fantastic reach and drive, and once she grows up she will be able to showcase how well she can move with ease. An exciting future for this puppy surely. Reserve Best of Breed and Best Puppy.

Post Graduate (7,6)
1st Mrs C Wallington – Kaytoni Isn’t She Lovely At Ailsadot – 3 year old well-schooled black spotted bitch, coped with the slippery floor well! Flat skull, nice width between her ears, ghost face with
lovely dark eyes and again well broken spotty ears which were used well. Good length to her neck but not as clean over the withers, ribs well sprung and carried well back. Enough bone and she
stands on round feet. Well set tail that did not stop wagging, her hind quarters are well muscled but rear angulation not balanced with her front. Strong hocks, driving off nicely when moving and she has a beautiful clean evenly decorated coat, in great overall condition.

North of England Dalmatian Club Champ and Open Shows

Seren’s second show and first Champ show, her first time out in a big ring. Lottie came along to show her the ropes, and give her some support. It was a very long day, with it being back to back Champ and Open shows, with lots of dogs entered.

We started with the Champ show. Seren did really well, stayed focused, coped well with being in big classes, and they were big! 12 in Minor Puppy, 13 in Puppy and 10 in Novice! Seren got a 3rd in Minor Puppy and a 3rd in Puppy, so she qualified for Crufts, which was amazing! Lottie did well in her classes, again big ones. She got a reserve in Graduate but missed out in Post Graduate.

The Open show didn’t start until after 4pm, by which time we were all a little tired! Seren got a Reserve in Minor Puppy, and a 3rd in Puppy. Lottie got a 3rd in Graduate and a 2nd in post Graduate.

So it was a good day for both girls, very long, but both behaved well and Seren took it all in her stride.

Hyde and District Canine Association Open Show

Seren’s first ever show and Lottie’s first open show in 2 years! A nice local one to us, literally 15 minutes drive away.

Seren was up first in Puppy, where she came first out of 4, coping well with running on mats and having puppies β€˜chasing’ her.

Lottie won her Post graduate class too, which meant the girls were up against each other in the Best in breed challenge! Seren was very excited to chase mum round the ring, so she was asked to run on her own – opps!

Seren got Best Puppy in Breed and Reserve Best in Breed, so went onto the puppy group, where she missed out, she was a bit flat and tired. But I’m super proud of her performance, a fantastic start to her show career.

Seren and Ellie showing off the rosettes.

Scottish Kennel Club Champ shows

We went up to Edinburgh for the May and October Scottish Kennel Club champ shows.

In the May show Mac got a Reserve, Lottie wasn’t placed.

In the October show Lottie got a reserve, Mac won his Limit class and went on to get the Reserve Dog Challenge Certificate, meaning he gets a Kennel Club Stud Book number and has qualified for Crufts for life!

Mac in the Dog Challenge
Mac getting RDCC
Lottie

Seren came along for the experience, she coped incredibly well with the noise as we were in the marquee with the Terriers, and they were very noisy!!

Seren graduates puppy class

I take all my puppies to puppy class, it’s an important part of their socialisation, learning to focus on me and work with distractions.

Ellie took on the role of puppy training with Seren, and both of them have been amazing.

Seren will now move on to puppy progression before working towards her Kennel Club Good Citizen bronze award.