Kennel Gazette April 2019

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The intelligent and energetic Portuguese Water Dog is this month’s judges’ choice The official publication of the Kennel Club April_cvr.indd 1

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Luisa Scammell/The Kennel Club ©

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April 2019

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Contents

Contents

April 2019

Opinion

Special features

Judges’ choice

4 Viewpoint

15 A passionate campaigner

24The Portuguese Water Dog

News

artist and sculptor 16 Animalier, extraordinaire

Simon Parsons discusses the significance of the Kennel Club breed registration figures

More on this story plus summer dates for tours of the Kennel Club

The breed standard, all about the ‘fisherman’s dog’ and breed experts pick their three favourite dogs

The work, life and times of Richard Fath

the scenes at the 18 Behind Kennel Club Art Gallery Discovering its many treasures

Political progress

11

Breeding, welfare, a shock collar drop-in, and dangerous dogs — it’s been a busy time in political circles

Personality profile

22 PD Mojo’s well-earned rest

The police dog and his handler PC Phil Healy recognised for their response at the Manchester Arena bombing

Courtesy of Rachael Reddin

6

King of terriers goes to war!

Philippa Robinson, who worked tirelessly to improve dog health

24

Judges’ choice

of the Kennel Club Exchequer’ 8 ‘Chancellor

18

Kevin McGuirk, Chief Financial Officer for the Kennel Club, on his new role and his love of dogs

The Kennel Club Art Gallery

Health matters ‘dog doctors’ of Edwardian 12 The London

The largely forgotten and complex world of Edwardian canine practice

12

Dog doctors

Editorial enquiries: kennel.gazette@thekennelclub.org.uk The Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB Subscriptions: 020 7518 1016 subs@kennelgazette.org.uk

Cover photo: Portuguese Water Dog Ch Cartmel’s Debellador AW(G) Bred by the late Mr Alan & Mrs Viv Stevens, owned by Mr Mark & Mrs Andrea Hobbs.

Sired by Cartmel Sea Chase and Cartmel Sea Biscuit.

Customer services: 01296 318540 Petlog Main Number: 01296 336579 Petlog Lost & Found: 01296 737600 Library/Gallery: 020 7518 1009 Insurance Enquiries: 0800 369 9445

Kennel Gazette is published monthly on behalf of the Kennel Club by Warners Group Publications Plc www.warnersgroup.co.uk To advertise contact Andrea Walters andrea.walters@warnersgroup.co.uk Printed by Warners Midlands Plc

Andrea told us: “Ziggy is loyal to a fault however sometimes he will follow you everywhere including to the toilet. His secret vice is bread and he likes nothing better than the end of a French stick, so I have to be careful not to leave any on the counter top because he will counter surf to steal it.

I wouldn’t have him any other way.”

Editor: Carrie Thomas Editorial Manager: Sara Wilde Editorial Panel: Bill Moores (Chairman), Terrie Cousins-Brown, Ian Gabriel, Philippa Gilbert, Robert Greaves, Revd. Bill King, Gay Robertson

Kennel Gazette is the monthly publication of the Kennel Club. Views and opinions expressed within the Kennel Gazette are the personal opinions of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kennel Club.

Photo by Paul Dodd

The Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB www.thekennelclub.org.uk Chairman: Steve Croxford Vice Chairman: Tony Allcock MBE Chief Executive: Rosemary Smart Secretary: Caroline Kisko

/The KennelClubUK @thekennelclubuk @TheKennelClubUK

The paper used for this publication is a recyclable and renewable product. It has been produced using wood sourced from sustainably managed forests and elemental or total chlorine-free bleached pulp. This magazine can be recycled either through your kerbside collection, or at a local recycling point. Log on to www.Recyclenow.com and enter your postcode to find the nearest sites.

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Viewpoint

By Simon Parsons

I

registration system, which gives continuity, in some breeds, over a century and a half.

On the other hand, popularity in itself is no guarantee that all is well within a breed. In a situation which would have seemed totally impossible even just a decade ago, the number one spot in terms of breed registrations has fallen out of the hands of the traditional favourite, the Labrador Retriever, and been taken over by the French Bulldog.

Until the late 1990s, this charming breed was very much a minority taste, and its interests were guarded by a small group of dedicated enthusiasts. I’ve tried to analyse in previous columns

what exactly was the catalyst for its quite unprecedented population explosion, but still the root cause remains a mystery.

Appearances in advertisements, photos in the media with celebrity owners, or simply word of mouth — all must have played a part.

Demand became such that individuals and dealers began to source animals from overseas, principally the Eastern European countries. A few of these came from and to serious breeders, but the vast majority would appear to be imported for commercial motives, and a huge proportion are of colours outside those in the breed standard. How some of these

Photo: Lisa Croft-Elliott/The Kennel Club©

have just been looking at the Kennel Club registration figures for 2018 which demonstrate the highest overall total since 2010, topping the quarter of a million mark.

Is this something to be pleased about?

In many ways, yes, indicating that there is still enormous enthusiasm in the UK for the breeding of pedigree dogs, and for recording them under the Kennel Club umbrella.

Obviously, there is no way of calculating how many more purebred dogs are produced annually but never registered, but it is pleasing that so many do take advantage of the Club’s

Viewpoint

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Viewpoint

obtain a licence put o hobby breeders who nowadays are the backbone of most breeds? I, for one, very much hope not.

Could there already be signs that this is happening? The figures for the first three-quarters of 2018 were indeed well up on the previous year, but October to December went against the trend and showed a decrease. Anyway, time will tell.

While on this subject, I am pleased that an idea suggested here has been taken up. There is concern that the new licensing rules are likely to be applied

SIMON PARSONS Simon Parsons has owned a variety of breeds but his first loves are the Corgis.

He worked for Dog World newspaper for 39 years and awards Challenge Certificates in 13 breeds. In 2014 he instigated the revival of the Kennel Gazette

Photo: Heidi Hudson/The Kennel Club Picture Library©

colours were introduced to the supposedly pedigree stock one can only speculate. And all this in a breed which needs great care from its breeders in aiming for good health and lack of exaggeration.

So sheer numbers are not in themselves necessarily a good thing for the interests of the breeds, and there are many who wish the Kennel Club could be more selective as to which puppies it registers.

A certain measure of control has been initiated in the case of the French Bulldog, but whether this will make any significant di erence remains to be seen.

That aside, will the all-breed totals continue to increase in years to come, or will 2018 be seen as a peak? Many small-time breeders are concerned at the impact of the latest licensing regulations. Will the threat of having to

very inconsistently depending on which authority area you live in.

To quote the official announcement: “The Kennel Club has been working with ‘Our Dogs’ newspaper on a survey about dog breeding licences. Concerns had been heard from many breeders and local authorities about how the new licensing guidance for dog breeding in England is being applied. The guidance is complex and, from what we understand so far, areas of it are being misunderstood and applied inconsistently.

“We want to survey people to find out their experience of applying for a licence in order that we can feed this information back to Defra. The more people who fill in the survey, the better, so we would urge all dog breeders to participate and tell their dog-breeding friends to do likewise, whether pedigree or crossbreed, so we can get as clear a picture of the situation as possible.” Whatever your experiences so far, please can all breeders participate by taking the survey at https://bit.ly/2SqWHWT ●

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News

King of terriers goes to war!

By Revd. Bill King

M

idway through 2018 a 30 tonne lump of granite, three metres square, quarried near Peterhead in Scotland, was delivered to the studio of Bruce Walker. Bruce had been commissioned by the Airedale Terrier Club of Scotland Breed Rescue to create a monument reflecting the heroic role Airedale Terriers played during the First World War and their unique position as the ‘king of terriers.’

After more than a year of fundraising, the £50,000 target achieved, later this month the finished monument will be unveiled at East Haven beach, where the dogs were trained for wartime duties.

The four-legged troopers; were trained to wear gas masks and navigate the treacherous and often terrifying conditions of the front lines. They located injured or dead soldiers on the battlefields and carried messages, food and medicine between the trenches. Trooper Airedales provided vital support to the troops in the trenches during

the First World War. The story began with dog-lover Lieutenant-Colonel Edwin Richardson, who became interested in training the dogs at nearby Panbride House in the early 1900s after witnessing how dogs were used in other countries. And, it was on the beaches of the Army Training Centre, close to Panbride House that Lt Col Richardson persuaded the Army High Command dogs could play a vital role and the Airedale was the right breed for war work.

Breed rescue secretary, Wendy Turner said: “There is a direct link to this part of Scotland. The concept of training dogs to go to war started here on the beaches of the east coast. It is fitting and overdue that there should be a lasting memorial to the Airedales that took part in that war.”

The Kennel Gazette will feature the unveiling ceremony in an upcoming edition. ●

Book corner

The Kennel Club Library is Europe’s largest collection of canine literature and this book is a recent addition to its shelves

Book off the shelf If you’ve read a dog book that you would like to tell our readers about, please let our editor know

Making Dogs Happy

By Dr Melissa Starling and Prof Paul McGreevy (Murdoch Books)

A

t last, a book about dog behaviour that deals with how dogs feel about each other as well as their owners and the world, and is written from the point of view of people who have multiple dogs. Australian trainer and behaviourist Dr Melissa Starling holds a PhD in dog behaviour, personality, emotions and cognition, while Professor Paul McGreevy is one of only three worldwide RCV-recognised specialists in veterinary behaviour. Their book is not a training guide but offers many insights into why dogs do what they do, starting with rolling in the stinkiest smell they can find.

Understanding your dog is the first step to making him or her happy. What dogs really want, it seems, is to feel safe and to have enough private space. Their days consist of goals which have a positive or negative outcome, often as a result of their owner’s actions. Understanding their goals makes them easier to train and more likely to be happy — surely the goal of every owner.

The information in this book is well backed up by science and photographs and bears several readings.

Whether ‘happiness’ can truly be ascribed to a dog has been explored and telling the difference between a contented dog resting and one that is inactive due to depression is discussed.

Written in a light-hearted tone, rather than as an instruction manual, this would d be a useful and interesting addition to any dog owner’s bookshelf. k h lf

Photo by Cath Muscat

Reviewed by Gay Robertson

COMPETITION Following our theme of children reading to dogs in schools and libraries (Bark & Read article, January edition), the author of ‘Hey Dog! Let’s Talk!’, Wendy Keefer, and the kind people at the Book Guild have provided a few copies as a competition giveaway. If you would like to receive a free copy for a young person interested in dog training, please send a postcard to Sara Wilde, London W1J 8AB or email: sara.wilde@thekennelclub.org.uk The deadline for the competition is Tuesday, 30th April.

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News

Join a guided tour of the Kennel Club this summer Summer dates for tours of the Kennel Club have now been confirmed as follows: Wednesday 19th June and Wednesday 17th July

V

Photos: Heidi Hudson/The Kennel Club©

isitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the history of the Kennel Club, and the organisation’s efforts to improve the health and welfare of dogs in the UK. During the tour staff will explain how the Kennel Club is an unparalleled source of information on dog welfare, training and breeding.

Visitors will also be able to view the Art Gallery’s current exhibition entitled ‘Hidden Treasures of the Kennel Club’. This exhibition focuses on some of the lesser known artefacts in the collection and will give visitors a chance to see a wide variety of items including paintings, drawings, sculptures and trophies.

As well as this fascinating exhibition, other highlights of the tour include the unique opportunity to see the world famous Crufts Best in Show trophy, the Keddell Memorial Trophy, up close; a visit to the world’s biggest canine library; and a rare chance to view Sir Edwin Landseer’s ‘A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society’, currently on loan from the Tate.

Anyone wishing to take part in a guided tour of the Kennel Club are welcome to attend. The tour will begin at 11am and places must be booked in advance. There is a small fee of £5 per person to attend.

Refreshments will be served upon arrival and for a small charge, guests can prolong their visit with a lunch prepared by the catering team.

The Kennel Club is also able to offer private tours for small groups (minimum of six people) on a date to suit your group subject to availability. ● For more information on our tours or to book a place please contact the Kennel Club Art Gallery on 020 7518 1064 or email artgallery@thekennelclub.org.uk Details can also be found on our website: www.thekennelclub.org.uk/our-resources/the-art-gallery/tours-of-the-kennel-club/

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Personality profile

‘Chancellor of the Kennel Club Exchequer’ Kevin McGuirk on his role as Chief Financial Officer and member of the executive team Photo: Heidi Hudson/The Kennel Club©

By Gay Robertson

F

Kevin and office dog Milo — “the only one guaranteed to be pleased to see you every day!” says Kevin

Ireland, they moved first to England, then New Zealand, “four years in Hong Kong, five and a half in Amsterdam, we moved around a lot,” he said. The time came when moving from one profit-focused position to another was no longer enough. “I wanted to work for something worthwhile. This job was advertised as ‘for a prestigious charity’ and I wanted to work for something that had a charitable objective. When they told me: ‘It’s not a charity, it’s dogs’, it was really funny because I love dogs and can’t walk past one without wanting to play with it.

My mother-in-law burst out laughing when she heard and said: ‘How on earth did you manage to get a job with dogs?’ My wife’s

godparents are Kennel Club members, they were Labrador breeders, so it feels as though it was meant.”

Does he see the Kennel Club as a private members’ club with a charitable objective or as a business? “It’s both. Its heritage is steeped in the Club, but it is a limited liability company and as an executive, I have a responsibility to make sure that it will be around for a long time. Part of what we do is business-like: registrations and microchipping provide us with an income but we are a not for profit business. There’s no one in this business who gets a big bonus if we do very well, no shareholders getting a dividend. Our objective is to do what we do

Photo: Sarah Caldecott/The Kennel Club©

or many members, their first introduction to Kevin McGuirk, the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), appointed at the beginning of 2018, will have been at the SGM in November.

While there have always been members querying expenditure, the Club’s sudden boost to its finances in recent years had shown that a finance professional with wide commercial experience was required on the executive, to offer expertise and guidance to the Finance Committee. At the SGM he was fielding questions about expenditure and accounts before his arrival: one got the impression that there would not be many of those in the future.

So who is Kevin McGuirk and how did he come to the Kennel Club? Growing up in a working class family in Northern Ireland during the Troubles in Newry, near the border, he describes his childhood as “very happy and loving”. He attended Belfast University but, once married, he and his wife, Mandy, also in a professional career, made the decision to travel. Starting in

The Kennel Club’s ‘centre of excellence’ Emblehope was the topic of debate at the recent AGM

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Photo: Paul Rawlings©

as efficiently as we can, create a surplus to spend on good things for dogs. We are not a charity either; we have two charities and our objective is to maximise what surplus we can provide for health, welfare and education. That was the reason I joined.”

The Kennel Club has been going through some significant reorganisation in the last couple of years, not least in the way financial decisions are made. The primary role of the CFO is to reassure the Finance Committee and the Board that the Club’s finance is being managed correctly and if the executive are proposing initiatives, that they are financially sensible. This is a year-round process but whereas previously, reports were produced every 60 working days, now Kevin’s team provide a report produced in approximately 10 working days after each month end so everyone, the Finance Committee, the Board and the executive team knows the current state of the performance against budget.

So who sets the budget? “We go through a process. I say to all the executives: ‘tell me what you need, what you want’ but I do tell them to be sensible. We have a conversation, I challenge.” Does this make him ‘Chancellor of the Kennel Club Exchequer’? He is not comfortable with this, preferring to see himself as a member of the executive team, one of whose jobs is finance but admits: “To an extent. We have a debate, but in fairness, they came to me (in 2018) knowing they were going to be challenged and they were sensible. I would say there was not anyone who went away with not what they wanted. You look at your budget as the year progresses and at the end of the year, at the surplus — income less expenditure and whatever we need to put by for capital expenditure like maintaining the building and then whatever is left is available to put to good use. The Finance Committee will say: ‘this is what we think is doable’ and take it to the Board to approve.”

Requests for money come into the Kennel Club throughout the year and all are passed on to the Finance Committee, with or without the recommendation of the CFO. Like the Kennel Club Chairman and Vice Chairman, he is a non-voting member of the Finance Committee. “I don’t get to dictate; I will put forward my view but if I can’t convince them my view is right, why would they listen to me?”

One event in 2018 drew unstinting praise and enthusiasm. “I went to Crufts for the first time and afterwards, I sent everyone an email saying: ‘It’s the only work-related thing in a long time that I can say, I felt proud to be associated with’. Vanessa and her team do a fantastic job. They know what

The Kennel Club Building falls under Kevin’s management

they need to do and it is very successful.

At the start of the year, I’ll say to Vanessa: ‘I’d like you to achieve this, could you generate a surplus in it?’ and we’ll have a conversation, then it is up to her.

“Although I am the CFO, I am also responsible for Human Resources, IT & Property and I like to get involved in most areas. I am responsible for finance but I like to think I have more to contribute — I’ve been working in general management for most of my career so I don’t see myself as being ‘the money man’ — the executive that will have the final decision on financial matters — but I like to think I can get involved in more than that, not always with the financial hat on. One of my strengths is that I know what I don’t know. As one of the executive, I get a say in everything but in areas where I don’t have the expertise, I will ask questions.”

One area where he has been asking questions is the potential future of Emblehope whose financial viability was the subject of vigorous debate at the AGM to approve its acquisition. “I got a list of all the gundog clubs, focusing on those within a 20-mile radius of the estate, called 20 or so of them myself and had conversations about what they need, were they considering using the estate, if not, then why not, and other factors, like was pricing competitive?

They told me that although the trialists, the competitors, would travel great distances to compete, the clubs had difficulty going that far because they had to take four to six volunteers with them and put them up and that was expensive. This informed a slight refocus on emphasis for the year ahead, towards training days rather than trials because that is less work for the clubs. The objective is to get many people through the estate so that by word of mouth, more people will see the fantastic facility it is.”

Notwithstanding the cost, he is

committed to the idea of a ‘centre of excellence’. “But that doesn’t mean a large building, with offices, it means that it’s a large rural area and we have to make it

Photo: Flick.digital/The Kennel Club©

Photo: Sarah Caldecott/The Kennel Club©

Personality profile

After his first visit to Crufts in 2018 Kevin said: “It’s the only work related thing in a long time that I can say, I felt proud to be associated with”

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Photo: The Kennel Club©

Personality profile

Photo courtesy of Kevin McGuirk

Kevin was invited to the KCAI stand at Crufts in 2018 to meet some of the newly awarded KCAI Accredited Instructors during their presentations. From left to right, Lorraine Carney, Rona Tyson, Paul Rawlings and Kevin McGuirk

Photo courtesy of Kevin McGuirk

Kevin at Crufts 2018 with his wife’s godparents, Chris and Tony Jury

Photo: Flick.digital/The Kennel Club©

When Kevin is not being the Kennel Club CFO he loves to travel. Pictured here with his wife, Mandy, on a recent hiking holiday in Spain

so that dog trialling and events can be held there that are challenging and for the benefit of that particular segment of the dog world. It’s cutting your cloth so you still have a nice suit of clothes.” He is right in realising that dog people do not expect their sporting venues to have extensive, luxurious facilities, which is just as well, given the difficulty of getting contractors to work on a site with such difficult access.

While the business side is reliant on grant aid, he hopes the sporting side will soon ‘wash its face’: in the meantime, the CFO is scrutinising closely any expenditure requested by the local agent who has been hired but he accepts that as a Club with a healthy financial balance, not everything the Kennel Cub undertakes has to have a commercial return.

Many members have expressed concern at the fairly recent higher than usual staff turnover, described in the 2018 Annual Report as a ‘business risk’. As an incoming member of the executive, does Kevin McGuirk have a view on this? “Firstly, the staff turnover levels have been consistent for many years, so 2018 didn’t see any particular upturn in staff turnover. One of the strengths of the Kennel Club is that there are people who have been here a long time and know it really well. Balancing this depth of knowledge and experience with an awareness of how other organisations do things is also important. Me coming in is an example of bringing in different skill sets and experiences: I have been told that I have a more commercial background than my predecessor. For example, I was able to point out how we could improve the speed of our reporting because I had seen it done in five or six other organisations; I had also learned from making mistakes and seeing others making mistakes also and brought that learning with me. We have brought in a marketing executive with extensive external experience particularly in the area of customer relationship management

A model that works; Crufts is very successful due to the many people involved that make it so

and brand positioning. It is human nature to want to stay as you are, especially if it seems to be working, and one of our greatest challenges is making changes that are for the good of the Club, to make us as efficient as we can be while still retaining that balance of culture. There are three, four, maybe five people with specialisms who, if we lost them tomorrow, would have an impact, but I think we could ride it. In a small organisation like we have here, it is always important to make sure you minimise what I would call single points of failure — only one person who is responsible for something — because that is a recipe for disaster. You struggle for succession because it is only one person. We try to make sure that there is a spreading of responsibility.”

The challenge, as Kevin sees it, is to future proof the Kennel Club so that in an ever-changing world of social media and ageing populations, it will continue to appeal to younger generations: how to make it interesting to them so that they will still want it to be there in 20 or 40 years time.

“I’ve come here to work for what I think is a good cause and not simply to generate money. I can say for sure that the desire of the executive is to make a difference to the life of the dog. That can be through spending on health or whatever. To do that, we need to generate funding so we try to be as sensible as we can but it’s not about making profit for the sake of it, it is about what that allows us to do. At the end of the year, the one thing I like to avoid is giving too much money to the tax man. If I make profit, I have to give 20 per cent of that to the tax man. I’d rather give it to something that will impact.

The one word I would use for my reason for being is impact. It is how do we make the most impact on what we are trying to achieve? So everything I look at, I look at for impact and sometimes, you’ve got to spend money to make an impact. Sometimes you have to do things that if you were a private company being measured for its profitability alone, you couldn’t do.”

Sadly, Kevin does not see the particular value of a printed Kennel Gazette given its substantial cost and what he sees as the broad acceptability of online publishing in today’s world. He feels that its content could very well be just online. Remembering the discussion at the 2015 AGM, it is possible that ‘broad acceptability’ has not yet reached quite a few members of the Kennel Club. Fortunately, he readily acknowledges that the Board is entitled to spend money which will not necessarily bring a financial return but more intangible benefits. But the message is clear: the Kennel Club needs to up its game. ●

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Political progress

Political progress An update on how the Kennel Club is helping to shape political policy

By Ed Hayes Scottish Parliament breeding meeting

Defra Animal Welfare Minister meeting

With the Scottish Government currently developing new breeding regulations, the Kennel Club has launched a new report on how the Assured Breeder Scheme can be incorporated into the local authority licensing framework. We held a launch event in the Scottish Parliament, which was kindly hosted by Richard Lyle MSP. The event was attended by a wide range of stakeholders including animal welfare organisations, local authorities, MSPs and a representative of the Scottish Government.

The Kennel Club is very grateful to Assured Breeders Margaret Brown, John Caswell, Fiona Clarkson and Margaret Kay who attended the event and were excellent advocates and representatives for the dog breeding community. With special thanks to Margaret Kay who gave a presentation at the event. We’d also like to thank Malcolm Hynd from UKAS for his presentation.

Before the main roundtable we had arranged for the four Assured Breeders to meet with the Minister Mairi Gougeon, to provide the Minister with the opportunity to hear the views from breeders who might be personally impacted by changes to the regulations.

Separately we had arranged for Sharon Edwards from the City of London Animal Health team to meet with the lead civil servant who is developing the new regulations. Ms Edwards has first- hand experience from a local authority of practically implementing the new breeding regulations that came into force in England last October. We wanted the Scottish Government to be aware of some of the issues that have arisen for local authorities in relation to the new regulations.

The Kennel Club recently held its first meeting with the new Defra Animal Welfare Minister David Rutley. At the meeting we discussed some of the concerns we have regarding the new dog breeding regulations in England and the inconsistencies of how they’re implemented by local authorities. We will be following up with Defra officials with specific examples of bad practice and have launched a survey of breeders in order to provide data to Defra.

We also discussed the progress of the shock collar ban that was announced in August 2018. The Minister reaffirmed to us that legislation to introduce a ban would be forthcoming. We will again be keeping the pressure up on Defra on this matter.

Scottish shock collar drop-in Last year the Scottish Government published strong guidance making it clear that they don’t condone the use of electronic shock collars and ‘these techniques compromise dog welfare’. Since the publication of this guidance, it has sadly become clear that it has not stopped the use of shock collars in Scotland.

Given this, the Kennel Club and other animal welfare organisations have come together again to push for clear regulations to ban the use of electronic shock collars in Scotland. We co-organised a drop-in for MSPs in the Scottish parliament with fellow animal welfare organisations, and we presented our position to the Parliamentary Cross Party Group for Animal Welfare. The Scottish Government’s current position is that it will review the effectiveness of the guidance in October 2019.

New welfare group Wales The Kennel Club attended the inaugural meeting of the new Companion Animal Welfare Group Wales. The group has been set up to build consensus views on companion animal welfare matters and feed into the Welsh Government and Assembly decision-making processes. We are now members of this group alongside Dogs Trust, Cats Protection, Blue Cross and others.

Dangerous dogs In October last year, the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee published a report on dangerous dogs. We were generally supportive of the findings and recommendations of the report, which called for a review of the law on dangerous dogs and the current application of ‘breed-specific legislation’.

The Government has now formally responded to the committee’s report and recommendations. While we welcome the Government commissioning new research into dog incidents, it seems clear that they have no current intention to make any meaningful improvement to the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Dog meat Historically the Kennel Club has long campaigned for the human consumption of dog meat to be banned in countries where such a practice is grounded in cultural roots. We met with the World Dog Alliance which is calling for a loophole in England that allows for people to humanely kill and consume their own pet dogs, to be closed. ●

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Health matters

The ‘dog doctors’ of Edwardian London

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t the start of the twentieth century, dog breeding and showing was highly fashionable — and big business. Wealthy fanciers, many of them aristocratic, owned huge kennels, hundreds of dogs were sent by train to shows around the country every week, and top winners changed hands for immense sums of money. All this activity, of course, revolved around the dogs: but, like dogs today, Edwardian show dogs suffered from a variety of diseases and ailments. They could be injured or develop cancer; some had problems linked to their conformation, or potentially inherited conditions like cataracts or deafness; bitches might have difficulty whelping. Even these issues were overshadowed by the infectious disease distemper, which then caused massive canine illness and mortality, as there was no vaccine against it. Breeders obviously wanted to tackle these problems. Many breeders treated dogs themselves (or got their staff to do so), using patent medicines, in which there was a thriving market.

Valuable dogs were sometimes attended by medical doctors, which was then quite legal. And some fanciers, of course, sought veterinary advice.

At this time, most vets dealt with horses; their training hardly mentioned dogs at all. However, a few specialist canine veterinarians, mostly based in London’s

Courtesy of RCVS Knowledge

By Alison Skipper MRCVS

Henry Gray’s practice in Kensington

Mr Musgrave, who described himself as ‘not a Vet, but a Practical Man’, ran a thriving business serving the dog fancy. Pictured is one of his advertisements in the Ladies’ Kennel Journal (1894 – 95)

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Frederick Hobday

West End, provided highly sophisticated treatment for the dogs of affluent society.

Most of these canine vets were closely involved with the dog fancy and the Kennel Club. The best known was Alfred Sewell, who was official veterinary surgeon to the Kennel Club, and kept Bulldogs himself. Sewell ran a practice in Elizabeth Street, Belgravia (still a veterinary practice today, currently owned

by Bruce Fogle, father of Ben, the television

Courtesy of Illustrated Kennel News (1902)

presenter). He was deeply embedded in the show world, serving as an expert witness in Kennel Club disciplinary hearings, writing for the Kennel Gazette and leading the fight against distemper. He was also arguably the first ‘celebrity vet’ — he had a Royal Warrant as veterinarian to Edward VII and was frequently whisked off to mainland Europe to attend the pets of expatriate or continental nobility. Sewell often appeared in the dog press, breaking a strict ban on professional advertising imposed by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). This made him very unpopular with other vets, who complained that he got away with conduct forbidden to those with less influential connections.

Other canine veterinarians included Frederick Hobday, who was also interested in Bulldogs. Hobday pioneered small animal anaesthesia and the use of artificial limbs (and eyes) in dogs, but is mostly remembered today for his innovations in equine surgery and veterinary education.

Henry Gray, who practised near Hobday in Kensington, was also well known as an expert in cage birds and ‘small furries’, and was probably the first British veterinary ophthalmologist, describing conditions such as ectropion and corneal ulcers. While each canine veterinarian thus had their own area of particular expertise, they often worked together, despite a few arguments.

These vets really broke new ground in canine

Alfred Sewell, who was official veterinary surgeon to the Kennel Club Courtesy of the ‘Edgar Farman Bulldog’ from the Kennel Club library

Courtesy of Fifty Years a Veterinary Surgeon (1938)

Health matters

Courtesy of the Ladies’ Kennel Journal

One of Alfred Sewell’s Bulldogs

Veterinary advertisements in the Ladies’ Kennel Journal (1894 – 95)

medicine, well before the First World War. They were skilled surgeons, performing caesarean sections, removing bladder stones, dealing with tumours and even operating on cataracts. They drove efforts to find a vaccine for distemper. They provided a referral service for other vets. They obtained the latest equipment, such as X-rays and heat treatment, had lavish facilities for hospitalising patients, trained the first canine nurses and offered free treatment to the dogs of the poor.

Despite their skill, the canine vets had a difficult relationship with their profession.

Besides not knowing much about it, many mainstream vets regarded dog work as beneath their notice or even as unmanly and effeminate, because it involved dealing with pet owners’ emotions. These veterinarians were particularly annoyed when reports described the canine vets as ‘dog doctors’, not only because they despised such sentimentality, but because many unqualified practitioners also treated dogs and cats, advertising themselves as dog doctors, or canine specialists; the law then allowed anyone to treat animals, provided they did not falsely claim to be

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a qualified veterinary surgeon. One such practitioner, Mr Musgrave, who described himself as ‘not a Vet, but a Practical Man’, ran a thriving business serving the dog fancy, which included a canine sanatorium, a postal pharmacy, medical treatment, an export service and a large kennel of Borzoi. Even though few vets specialised in dogs themselves, they resented the encroachment of unqualified practitioners, so the RCVS brought a lawsuit against Musgrave for veterinary fraud. However, he was protected by influential contacts in the fancy, and remained in business. To other veterinarians, the elite canine vets were too much like Musgrave — but the canine vets didn’t like Musgrave much either!

When I began my research, I was surprised to discover the complex world of Edwardian canine practice, because their work has almost entirely been forgotten.

Even at the time, their work was more valued by the show world than by other vets, few of whom thought much of the dog fancy. The canine vets worked very differently from their colleagues, presenting themselves as well-groomed gentlemen who attended their patients in elite drawing-rooms, whereas equine vets obviously had to visit stables and deal with grooms. There weren’t many of them, and, as I’ve discussed, they were often unpopular. Perhaps for these reasons, the next generation of vets seldom mentioned these first canine experts, and so they largely slipped out of veterinary history. Yet their work was surprisingly modern in many ways, and, given that vets and breeders don’t always see eye to eye, it’s helpful to remember that the first canine specialists largely developed their expertise through their close relationship with the dog fancy. ●

Courtesy of Illustrated Kennel News (1896)

Health matters

Edward VII and Alexandra at a dog show in 1896

Alison is a vet with many years’ experience of canine practice and a lifelong involvement with dogs. She has been involved in various breed and Kennel Club health initiatives, has previously written for Our Dogs, and is one of the veterinary team at Crufts. Alison is currently studying for a PhD in history, funded by the Wellcome Trust, at King’s College London. Her research looks at how breeders and vets from 1890 onwards have approached pedigree dog health, with the aim of using history to understand the challenges around canine health today

Courtesy of the British Library

ALISON SKIPPER MRCVS

Japanese Spaniels at the LKA summer show, 1898

Coming up: The role of the Edwardian dog vets in the dog fancy — how they were involved with shows

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Eulogy

A passionate campaigner Remembering Philippa Robinson, who launched the Karlton Index and worked tirelessly to improve dog health

By Nick Sutton

O

n Wednesday, 10th October 2018, Philippa Robinson, campaigner for dog health and welfare, passed away following a battle with cancer. Philippa was passionate about all dogs and owned both pedigrees and crossbreeds. In 2002, after years of detailed research to find her perfect breed and ideal breeder, Philippa picked up Alfie, a gorgeous German Wirehaired Pointer puppy. Alfie was much loved, but while he was still young he suffered from ill health and familial disease and sadly died at the age of four. Philippa’s heartbreak at losing Alfie at such an early age was the motivation that ignited and sustained her impassioned animal welfare campaigning.

Philippa used the knowledge gained from 30 years’ experience of management and training consultancy to approach the problems faced in pedigree dog health from a different perspective. She was a strong advocate of systems thinking and her holistic approach led her to consider the roles, relationships and responsibilities of all those whose actions impact dog welfare. For Philippa, collaboration was key and she always strove to bring something constructive and valuable to any debate, encouraging others to work together to be part of the solution.

In 2011, Philippa launched the Karlton Index, an independent measure of how the breed community were improving dog health.

The project was named in memory of Alfie, whose Kennel Club registered name was Karlton. Philippa used this platform to fully engage and collaborate with many of the breed clubs, breeders and breed health co-ordinators, to find ways to improve things for the benefit of dogs. Philippa witnessed the passion and dedication of many of the breed community and was keen for all those involved in canine welfare to utilise their individual strengths and work together towards a common goal.

In 2013, Philippa met with the Kennel Club health team for the first time to discuss the Karlton Index and thus began a close collaborative five-year partnership and friendship. Philippa sat on the Assured Breeder Scheme sub-group, she hosted dog health events for the Kennel Club and Royal Canin breeder symposia, she spoke about dog welfare at several of the breed health co-ordinator symposia, she lectured to vets at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress and she launched the Breed Health Awards with the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. Philippa sat on the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW) and was also an active campaigner against puppy farmers.

Philippa’s open-minded approach when engaging with all those whose actions influenced dog welfare was upbeat, well-balanced and always thought-provoking. She was a vibrant and dynamic

Photographer unknown

“Philippa believed in people. She believed that we all have the power to make a difference”

Philippa Robinson, the face behind the Karlton Index

campaigner and she will be sorely missed. Her compassioned rationale and the earnest way in which she could influence ensured that her vision and philosophy will always be in the minds of those whose lives were lucky enough to be touched by her quests for solutions. Philippa believed in people. She believed that we all have the power to make a difference. So whether you were lucky enough to have known Philippa or not, please honour her memory by asking yourself one simple question. How can I contribute? ●

NICK SUTTON Nick Sutton is the Kennel Club’s Science Communication Advisor. He writes health content for the Kennel Club’s website, social media and printed material and has a diverse scientific background, including zoology, psychology and toxicology

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Special feature

Animalier, artist and sculptor extraordinaire A chance visit led to the discovery of the work, life and times of sculptor Richard Fath

ŠThe Kennel Club Art Gallery

By Bill Moores

Schipperke in terracotta by Richard Fath, donated to the Kennel Club by William Secord

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Special feature

I

It was not just stylised models that interested Fath, as he was drawn towards realism and to this extent he came to know many prominent dog breeders in the first half of the twentieth century.

From this association followed many commissions in Europe and in America where his talents were appreciated.

Commissions also followed from the Société Centrale Canine, from breed clubs for him to design medals and badges, and also from the French Ministry of Agriculture and other public bodies.

It was this remarkable chance visit, 20 years ago, that led me to exchange lengthy correspondence with his son, Richard-Camille Fath. Although in poor health at the time, his wish was to trace as many of his father’s works as possible. To this end, a book by him was published in the late 1990s and the Afterword contained an appeal for anyone who owned or knew of the whereabouts of any of his works. It was his wish to then publish a second book as a complete compendium of his father’s works of art.

It seems unlikely this dream was ever fulfilled but one thing that still remains is an appreciation of the works of an underrated artist who lived and worked in turbulent times in France. ●

©The Kennel Club Art Gallery

t was one of those ‘did you see that?’ moments as we drove through a town in northern France. A huge poster hanging outside a public building portrayed an image of a Brittany.

After an illegal U-turn at the next junction, we struggled to find a car parking spot and made our way to what turned out to be the musée de A G Poulain in Vernon.

Inside we learned of the fascinating life and times of sculptor Richard Fath, in an exhibition which had been curated largely to rediscover the many and varied works with which he had been associated during his relatively short life.

Photo by Paul Keevil

Photo by williammoores.com

©The Kennel Club Art Gallery

Pointer head in terracotta by Richard Fath

Brittany in terracotta by Richard Fath

In a small ceremony at the Kennel Club in 2004 two pieces by Fath were presented to the Club: one, a full body sculpture of a Schipperke donated

by Mr William Secord and the other the head of a Pointer donated by the Fath family, which was represented on the day by the artist’s great granddaughter, Anne-Sophie Heisaat

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Photo: Heidi Hudson/©The Kennel Club

Special feature

A view of the Kennel Club Art Gallery. Two important paintings can be seen in this view: The 7th Duchess of Newcastle’s Borzoi by John Emms 1896, and ‘An Early Canine Meeting’ by R Marshall 1855. These are currently on loan to Chatsworth for the exhibition ‘The Dog’, which began on 23rd March and runs through to the 6th October, 2019

Behind the scenes at the Kennel Club Art Gallery Discovering the Kennel Club’s art treasures

O

ne of the wonderful things about this job is that we are always learning about the collection, dogs and art. Our changing exhibitions in the main gallery, in addition to the capsule exhibitions in the gallery foyer, are an exciting opportunity to develop and share a great love of art and history through the world of dogs.

Our exhibitions normally take between one to two years in the planning. It may sound like a long time, but we are dependent on loans for the changing exhibitions and

there is a great deal of work that goes into researching, sourcing, negotiating and agreeing the loans we have on site. There are a lot of legalities involved and we have to assure lenders that their valuable historical works of art are in safe hands with us.

The Gallery is very fortunate to have a great deal of grass roots support from members and breed enthusiasts without which we would not be able to mount our important exhibitions. Ahead of any exhibition being agreed by the Library and Gallery Panel, the proposer is asked to carry

©The Kennel Club

By Luisa Foster and Marianne Walker

Spratts Bowl: an oak bowl awarded at Birmingham National Dog Show in 1898.

Awarded by Spratts to Tom Steadman for the best team of Setters, any variety. This bowl only came to light because it was found in someone’s shed and they contacted the Kennel Club to enquire about its history. It goes to show that you don’t know what you might be eating out of

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Special feature

Did you know?

©The Kennel Club

out research into the number and scope of works of art that underpin their exhibition.

These works are normally drawn from members and breed or subject enthusiasts, who are also, often, experts in their own fields. This generous support for the Kennel Club exhibitions is absolutely necessary for us to be able to mount our shows and ensures we have access to personal collections of great significance to the world of dogs and we are very grateful for it.

Happily, through our exhibitions, we have built good working relationships with a number of national collections such as the Royal Collection Trust, the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate to name but a few. It is very important that we grow and maintain these relationships as they all add grist to our mill and by doing so we raise the cultural awareness of the Kennel Club’s art collection and its sphere of influence in addition to being able to access expertise and learning from other institutions.

Over the last few years we have held a number of research led exhibitions such as Canine Trailblazers: Dogs in Exploration (2016), and Significant Women Who Have Made a Difference to Dogs (2018) curated

by Mrs Valerie Foss. These have been fantastically enjoyable to work on as they offered a new perspective on our archives and collections as well as involving new audiences. In addition to our in-house exhibitions our collection has been receiving A photograph of a dog in the Antarctic landscape from the British Graham Land Exploration that took place between 1934 and 1937. The photograph was exhibited in Canine Trailblazers: Dogs in Exploration, a 2016 Kennel Club Art Gallery Exhibition. Ciara Farrell has the actual album of photos in the Library Collection

©The Kennel Club

Photo: ©The Kennel Club

One of the reasons why the Gallery receives donations is because it has the correct lighting, temperature and humidity for keeping items in optimal condition.

For example, the painting of Old English Sheepdog Ch Fair Weather, by Margaret Collyer, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1906, was donated for these exact reasons so that the Gallery can keep it for posterity and longevity. See the March 2018 edition for more details about this prolific winner

Japanese Chin embroidery: a 19th century Japanese embroidery on silk using single silk threads by an unknown artist

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©The Kennel Club

Special feature

Carved wooden Whippets, English School 20th century. These carved models show the Whippets owned by Lady FM Danckwerts: Ch Brekin Ballet Shoes, Ch Brekin Spode and Ch White Statue of Conevan

We don’t get involved in valuations, but we do help verify breeds in paintings.

Once, we received an enquiry via the National Gallery from someone who was attempting to verify the breed in a painting from 1665. After carrying out some research and speaking to the relevant Kennel Club experts, we were able to confirm that it was a Pug type

a great deal of interest. In the past two years alone, works from the Kennel Club collections have been important inclusions in Royal Fabergé, 18th October, 2017 – 11th February, 2018, at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts; Pets Friends Forever, Pets and their People 28th October, 2017 – 1st July, 2018, at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden, and The Dog: A Celebration at Chatsworth, which began on 23rd March and runs through to 6th October, 2019.

The Kennel Club Art Gallery has an enviable level of autonomy when compared to collections owned by the nation, but it also means we have to protect what we have. This is one of the reasons behind the rule that our works of art should not be photographed. We are not a publicly owned collection and we have the opportunity to raise a revenue for the Kennel Club from the works that we hold the copyright for.

In addition to this, we have the responsibility for the ongoing care of the art collections. This has been thrust into the spotlight during the last year when some

deal of interest in our collection and a large upsurge in the number of tours we are holding. We hold these tours quarterly for interested members of the public, and the link to these on our website is: www.thekennelclub.org.uk/our-resources/ the-art-gallery/tours-of-the-kennel-club/

©The Kennel Club

Do you get involved in valuations?

works were accidentally damaged. New, and more robust procedures were put in place to maintain the current level of access to the works of art at the same time as protecting and monitoring them.

Since moving to the new building on Clarges Street in 2015, we’ve had a great

Embroidered silk cloth. This cloth is decorated with some 200 embroidered signatures of well-known people in the dog world and is dated 1910. It was the idea of the Misses Preston of Rusholme, Manchester who completed the cloth to raise money for the Manchester Dogs’ Home.

Among the signatures are those of Charles Cruft, Francis Redmond, EW Jacquet and Maud Earl

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©The Kennel Club Arts Foundation

Special feature

A portrait of the Sussex Spaniel Flora. Oil on canvas, initialled FLB and dated 1889. A very early example of the breed in art

©The Kennel Club

During 2018 we held as many as 50 tours, and this does not include the impromptu collection visits by members and their guests. The spectrum has broadened to include tours with Secret London Walks, the London Ashridge Circle and the London Appreciation Society, in addition to the super popular breed tours that we are regularly giving as well as tours for young students from Seevic College. If you would like to organise a tour of the collections, please contact us on the following email address: artgallery@thekennelclub.org.uk Please note that the tours have a nominal charge of £5 per person.

Our next exhibition in the Gallery is Hidden Treasures of the Kennel Club which will open in May 2019 and will showcase some of the rarely seen gems from our own collections. This will be featured in an upcoming edition of the Kennel Gazette, and we have included a few ‘teasers’ in this article.

It is a very enjoyable privilege to work in the Kennel Club Art Gallery and we look forward to welcoming you when you are next at Clarges Street, please do come and say hello. ●

©The Kennel Club

Sir Lindsay Lindsay-Hogg’s Crufts President’s badge. Presented on the occasion of HM Queen Alexandra’s visit 13th February, 1914, engraved.

This badge is accompanied by a letter from Charles Cruft dated 6th April, 1914. Both will be included in the Hidden Treasures of the Kennel Club

Ch Prophetic of Ross, bronze, by Louis Paul Jonas 1938. One of the jewels of the Kennel Club collection that will be on show in Hidden Treasures of the Kennel Club, which will open in May 2019

LUISA FOSTER (LEFT) AND MARIANNE WALKER

Luisa is one of the art collection curators at the Kennel Club Art Gallery. Luisa originally joined the Kennel Club as a library assistant after leaving university and has now worked at the Kennel Club for almost 19 years Marianne joined the Kennel Club in 2014 originally to cover Luisa’s maternity leave, but since Luisa’s return has been job-sharing with her as art collection curator. Marianne has 15 years’ experience as an arts professional and worked in the contemporary art field prior to joining the Kennel Club. She is also a practising artist and has exhibited nationally and internationally The Kennel Club Art Gallery is open by appointment Monday – Friday 9.30am – 4.30pm. To book an appointment or for further information on our work, please contact us on 020 7518 1064 or email artgallery@thekennelclub.org.uk Or, if you have a question for Luisa or Marianne about a donation, legacy, or artwork, please also get in touch on the email above as they will be happy to advise

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Special feature

PD Mojo’s well-earned rest The award-winning police dog and his handler were recognised for their response at the Manchester Arena bombing

By Bill Moores British Transport Police dog handler Phil Healy and PD Mojo played an important role in the aftermath of the bomb explosion at the Manchester Arena. Now enjoying a well-earned retirement police dog Mojo lives with his former handler who was honoured at Crufts last year for his sterling work on that tragic night.

Thanks, Phil, for talking to the Kennel Gazette; can you please run us through the events of May 2017 Manchester?

failed to detonate, to make sure that the responders were working in a safe area, and to hopefully allow a safe exit for the casualties.”

In which way did PD Mojo contribute to this?

“We train long and hard for such an incident but hope that the day will never come.

However, the day did come and auto pilot kicked in to some extent and this meant that PD Mojo and myself had to go into the blast zone and work among the casualties.

As it was an evolving situation, it wasn’t known if there were more terrorists or devices. This meant the searching in the blast area of packages, casualties, and the deceased, in case there were bombers

What was your dedicated role that evening?

“My role was to deploy PD Mojo and work as a team to detect any device that had

Photo: Alan V Walker©

Photo: Yulia Titovets/The Kennel Club©

“As an explosive search dog handler (ESD), working for the British Transport Police (BTP), one of our roles is to ensure that certain MPs, along with other principals, have safe passage on the railway that we police.

“On the morning before the attack I was tasked with checking the stations that the prime minister was to alight at, as Mrs May was visiting the north east in the build-up to the elections. Having covered these duties, I returned home and stood down after a 12-hour duty.

“As I sat watching the news the ‘Breaking

News’ banner stated that an explosion was being reported at the Manchester Arena and I then received texts from colleagues who were involved in the incident. After turning on the police radio, I knew that this was now a major incident and that fatalities and casualties were being reported. There was a possibility that there could be devices that had failed to detonate or further devices waiting to detonate. I knew that I had the specialist resource to assist in this and immediately booked back on duty and deployed to the Arena with PD Mojo.”

Presentation of the Operational and Humanitarian Action of the Year Award to PC Phil Healy and police dog Mojo at Crufts in 2018. They were among the first responders at the Manchester Arena on the night of the bombing, which killed 22 people on 22nd May, 2017. PC Healy said: “The award at Crufts was a touching way to end Mojo’s incredible career.” The Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary, Rod Hansen, presented the award

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Special feature

His actions were also acknowledged by the rail industry and the PDSA, so it is only fitting that he is looked after in his retirement, and now lives happily at home with me and my family. Not only does he have a new comfy bed but he also seems to get away with being on the sofa, too!”

Photo courtesy of Phil Healy

Is your ‘new’ dog the same breed?

PD Harry the Labrador is Mojo’s replacement

caught up in the initial blast.

“As a team we then moved further out and started to check bags and items that had been dropped around the blast area in case these were devices that had been dropped by the bomber but failed to detonate.

“It was around this time I was joined by fellow ESD handlers from Greater Manchester Police and carried out further detailed searches in the Arena. As a team PD Mojo and I worked on until 7 am the following day before standing down.

“Given everything we had been through that night, the first hoax call came in that morning and on the way home we still assisted with that, clearing the hoax device so the railway could carry on operating.”

“No, PD Harry is Mojo’s replacement and he is a black Labrador. In order to try to keep ahead of the terrorists, he is now trained to not only search buildings, vehicles and routes but also people, hopefully detecting explosives before they get to their intended location.”

What are your day-to-day duties within the force?

“My day-to-day role is to protect the passengers using the railway and deter criminal activities in the railway environment. As I have two dogs, I can deploy either at any time.

“PD Benii, my GPD, a five-year-old German Shepherd Dog/Malinois cross,

is not only trained for public order incidents but he also has the capability to track from incidents, search for property that may have been lost, or dropped, and search for people who may be hiding or lost, which happens in property and on the railway land.

“PD Harry, my ESD, is trained to search areas and also scan people for explosives so we patrol stations alone or with teams and now this includes our firearms officers. This isn’t something to be worried about and it is hopefully a reassurance to passengers, deterring another incident like that at the Manchester Arena. We are always happy to talk to people who approach us and if you check with me first, yes, you can stroke the dog as PD Harry loves a cuddle!”

Thank you Phil for talking to the Kennel Gazette and belated but sincere congratulations from everyone in the world of dogs on your commendation.

This has been an interesting and enlightening exchange. Thank you for keeping us all safe. ●

How many years have you been involved with the dog section?

“I joined the section 20 years ago, firstly, as a general purpose dog (GPD) handler and after five years, I took on a second dog and became an ESD handler as well. For the last 15 years I have been a dual handler, having a GPD and an ESD, and over the years having several dogs.”

“To be acknowledged by the world of dogs while centre stage at Crufts was the highest point of my dog handling career. I was so proud to be awarded this and as PD Mojo was coming to the end of his working career, it meant that he was now retiring at the top of his game.”

Photo courtesy of Phil Healy

Photo: Alan V Walker©

What did the award mean to you and your colleagues in the GMP?

We understand that PD Mojo is now enjoying a well-earned retirement — is this correct?

“Yes, PD Mojo has put his paws up and is now enjoying the slower pace of retirement.

PD Benii is Phil’s general purpose dog

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Portuguese Water Dog breed standard

Photo courtesy of the late Mr & Mrs Stevens, provided by Andrea Hobbs

Portuguese Water Dog breed standard

Breed standard

T

he water dogs of the Mediterranean countries probably provided the foundation of the breed as the Moors of North Africa, trading with Portugal, may well have brought dogs of this type to the Algarve region. Here is another versatile dog, perhaps the only one to be described

as a herder of fish! Amongst his roles, he was used for driving shoals of fish into the nets. He was also used as a messenger dog between boats at sea, as a retriever of lost nets. He is said to have acted also as a foghorn when his resonant bark would alert other boats to the whereabouts of his boat in thick fog and thus help avoid collisions.

Modern technology in fishing vessels threatened the breed's

existence and in the 1950s and 1960s the population fell drastically.

However, as one of the national breeds of Portugal, the PWD was regenerated as a family companion, a role that he fulfils happily.

The traditional clip of the Portuguese Water Dog, the lion trim, with a mane of hair over the forequarters and clipped hindquarters, is said to aid his propulsion through water.

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Photo by Lizzie Greenslade

Photo: ©Dewerstone Photography

Portuguese Water Dog breed standard

● GENERAL APPEARANCE Robust, well balanced, rectangular in outline, very strongly muscled on shoulders. Hard, penetrating and attentive expression.

● CHARACTERISTICS Very intelligent and tremendously energetic ‘fisherman’s dog’ with great swimming and diving traits.

teeth and set square to the jaws, strongly developed canines.

● NECK Short, straight, strongly muscled. Carried high, no mane or dewlap.

● FOREQUARTERS Straight, strong boned and well muscled.

Shoulders muscular and well laid. Pasterns long and upright.

● TEMPERAMENT Pleasant disposition, self-willed but very obedient to owner. Brave and tireless.

● HEAD AND SKULL Large, well-proportioned skull slightly longer than muzzle, well-defined occiput.

Stop well defined. Muzzle tapers slightly.

Median furrow extends for two-thirds the length of skull. Frontal bones prominent.

Nose wide, nostrils wide open. Black nose in black, black and white, and white dogs.

Nose liver in brown, brown and white and brown tones.

● EYES Medium, round, set well apart. Black or dark brown with dark eye rims.

● EARS Heart shaped, dropped, thin, set well above eye level, held close to head, except at back.

Tips not below neck line.

● MOUTH Scissor bite, jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower

● BODY Length from point of shoulder to point of buttock slightly greater than height at withers. Withers are wide and not prominent. Chest wide and deep, reaching to elbow. Ribs well sprung and carried well back. Short, strong loin. Moderate tuck-up.

Croup only slightly inclined.

● HINDQUARTERS Straight and very strongly muscled, well angulated, buttocks long and well curved, strong hock, metatarsals long.

● FEET Round, rather flat, toes not too long or too knuckled up. Membrane reaching to tip of toes, covered with hair. Central pads very thick.

● TAIL The tail is a distinctive feature of the breed and should be medium set, thick at base and tapering, not reaching below the hock. When the dog is moving, the tail should be carried gaily, curved above the level of the topline, but not necessarily in a full curve.

● GAIT/MOVEMENT Walking, lively short steps. A light trot and energetic gallop.

● COAT Profuse, covering whole body except under forelegs and thigh. Two distinct types, both without undercoats. (a) Hair fairly long, loosely waved with slight sheen, hair on head erect, ears well feathered. (b) Hair shorter, fairly harsh and dense, compact curls, lacking lustre, head hair similar to body, hair on ears somewhat wavy.

Muzzle and entire hindquarters from the last rib clipped. Two-thirds of tail clipped from set on.

● COLOUR Black, white, various shades of brown, black and white, brown and white. Skin bluish under black, white, and black and white dogs.

● SIZE Height: dogs: 50 – 57cm (191/2 – 221/2 in); bitches: 43 – 52cm (17 – 201/2 in).

Weight: dogs: 19 – 25kg (42 – 55lb); bitches: 16 – 22kg (35 – 48lb).

● FAULTS Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on the dog’s ability to perform its traditional work.

Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

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Breed news

Photo: ©Alan V Walker

Portuguese Water Dog exhibitors at National Working & Pastoral Breeds, 1989, the breed’s first championship show and before they had CCs

The ‘fisherman’s dog’ By members of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain committee in organising and supporting the Club throughout those early years the PWD would not have come to what it is today.

The first open show was held in September 1992, and with classes at general championship shows steadily increasing, with entries averaging 18, the PWD was starting to make itself known. In 1987 Cartmel the Fisherman, went Best in Show at an all-breeds open show at Cartmel, Cumbria.

In 2007, the breed was awarded championship status by the Kennel Club.

The first two UK champions were made up in 2007, taking the dog and bitch CCs at the Club’s first championship show that September, fittingly judged by the Club’s president Mrs Ferelith Somerfield who

Photo: ©Alan V Walker

T

he Portuguese Water Dog (PWD) was re-introduced to the UK in 1979 and in 1989 moves commenced to form a Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain, (PWDCGB). The main forces behind this were the late Pat Jones (Cartmel), and fellow enthusiast Trish Gilpin (Glenwhin).

The aim in 1989 was ‘to protect, as far as possible, the unique qualities of the breed by way of training and educating interested parties, exhibitors and judges because the PWD is one of the rarest breeds of pedigree dog in the world and every effort must be made to preserve and promote the few remaining worldwide.’

Three years later in 1991, the Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain was registered by the Kennel Club, giving the breed an official voice that could speak on behalf of the breed.

Mrs Carla Molinari became patron with Mrs Ferelith Somerfield the president, positions they still hold today. The founding committee were chairman Miss Pat Jones, secretary Mr Mike Roberts, and treasurer Mr Alan Stevens. The committee were Ian Irving, Ray Young, Jean Young, Jayne Hampson (now Johns), Sue Tweedie and Linda Roberts as cup steward and newsletter editor.

The Club owes them all a vote of thanks for all their hard work. The running of a breed club is a hard and tiring job that can only be done properly by people devoted to protecting the breed they represent.

Without the help of these devoted people

Portuguese Water Dog Club of GB’s first championship show Best in Show winner Ch Cartmel Sea Goblet with the late Pat Jones and Reserve Best in Show winner Ch Cartmel Fantasy, right, pictured with judge Ferelith Somerfield, the president of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of GB and secretary Gerry Walmsley, the first year the breed had CCs

has supported the breed from its humble beginnings.

Today, there are 15 sets of CCs and an average entry of 31, with a top entry of 78 at Crufts 2017. There have been several group winners, with Ch/Multi Ch Hi Seas Dr Romeo Macduff winning three.

In the early years, there were only two or three litters bred a year, and between 1980 and 1993, 156 puppies and nine imports were registered. Over the last few years the breed has been growing in popularity. In 2017, there were 262 registrations with 2018 Jan — Oct showing 172 registrations. There have been several imports from Europe and the USA, and the gene pool is relatively diverse for a breed which was close to extinction in the 1970s.

The Club continues to run seminars to promote the breed and educate judges with regard to the breed’s origins, holding two shows a year. The original aims of the Club are as important as ever in keeping the breed true to the ideal ‘fisherman’s dog’, as worldwide differences are becoming apparent regarding the interpretation of the breed standard, which regardless of country was based on the original Portuguese standard.

The PWDCGB encourages breeders to carry out health checks on their dogs before breeding, the screening is for PRA, GM1 and JDCM and to see if their dogs are clear, carriers or affected. It is also important that X-rays for hips and elbows are sent to the Kennel Club for scoring. The results of these tests can be added to the Kennel Club’s free online resource Mate Select.

26 April 2019 - Kennel Gazette

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Breed news

A breed built to swim

Isabella and Ollie with Anna. Both are very determined working dogs with a lot of stamina and courage, and would have been prized by Portuguese fisherman of times gone by!

Isabella working off the boat retrieving a fishing net as well as diving to retrieve a weighted object.

She also had to take a dumbbell from one boat to the shoreline, give it to Anna’s husband and then take it back to Anna in the boat Photos courtesy of Anna Samuelson

T

he breed was originally bred to assist the Portuguese fishermen and the work it did was unique.

The dogs were taken out on the fishing boats, and worked as retrievers of fishing nets and tackle that fell or was washed over-board, life savers, and as couriers from boat to boat or shore as the need arose. As well as being a strong swimmer, the breed has the ability to dive underwater if needed.

The breed has very keenly developed senses with a good sense of smell, acute hearing and keen eyesight. Its intense loyalty and sensitivity to the atmosphere around it, not forgetting a loud and fairly deep bark, made it useful as a guard on the fisherman's boat. It was highly valued and was treated as part of the crew, and traditionally paid a wage in fish on Fridays!

As mechanisation in fishing developed, the PWD’s role diminished and, in the 1970s, it was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the rarest breed of pedigree dog.

Anna Samuelson, whose Portuguese

Ollie retrieving a dumbbell, thrown from the shore into the sea

Isabella retrieving a fishing net

Water Dogs, Isabella Da Ria Formosa and Olhao Carlos Castro Marim (Ollie), PWD reserve dog at Crufts in 2015, work not just in water but in the sea. Since the Kennel Gazette last spoke to her in February 2016, Anna continues to travel to Portugal from her home in the Cotswolds to take part in water trials. In September 2018 she and her husband took part in the 11th Water Trials, IV Meeting of Portuguese Water Dogs at Vila do Bispo, Baleeira Beach, Sagres and Cais da Solária, Lagos, with 11-year-old Isabella and six-year old Ollie, (Isabella is mother to Ollie).

In September 2016, Isabella finally earned her title ‘Portuguese Water

Champion’ by winning level two, three times, competing against other PWDS, in Costa da Caparica, Portugal, and now works at level three. Ollie moved up from level one to level two during the four water trials in September 2018 as he gained sufficient points to do this.

Anna has trained other Portuguese Water Dogs in a canine hydrotherapy pool in the UK, and these have gone on to compete in water trials in Portugal. There is a growing interest in water trials from UK PWD owners, largely due to owners seeing photos on social media, which enthuses them to work in the Atlantic waters of the Algarve!

From the show ring to agility gold

I

t’s not just Border Collies who enjoy agility, Portuguese Water Dogs can also have a real knack for it and there are a few now competing quite successfully.

Agility can just be done as additional training exercise and many owners do no more than attend classes each week and enjoy and strengthen the bond between owner and dog.

Anything is possible with this breed the PWD is not a Border Collie and cannot be trained as one. But they are extremely intelligent and need an outlet for both their brain and their energy. This is the reason I started agility with Ziggy, Ch Cartmel’s Debellador AW(G), featured on the cover. While the PWD might not have the speed of a Border Collie, they can be much more accurate and therefore can be just as fast as any other breed around a course.

I started doing agility for fun when Ziggy was a puppy, but then

I got the bug and started competing. At the same time, I continued to show him successfully in the ring, with judges complimenting his muscle tone and observing that there was no question this dog was fit for function. I was lucky enough to make him into a champion in the ring at Bournemouth in 2018, and only a few weeks later he gained the last few points for his Agility Warrant Gold. It makes me smile at agility training when a lot of new starters ask me what breed Ziggy is, and their surprise at how good he is.

This year I intend to try and qualify Ziggy for the Olympia ABC (Anything But Collie) final, as it will be a great achievement for the breed and demonstrates that a PWD can step out of a show ring and onto an agility course, and be successful.

Andrea Hobbs, Secretary of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain

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Portuguese Water Dog judges’ choice The Kennel Gazette asked a number of breed specialist and all-rounder judges to pick their three favourite Portuguese Water Dogs that they have judged in the ring. The dogs could be from the past or the present and from anywhere in the world Rachael Reddin

I judged this bitch at Crufts in 2010. She was BCC and BOB from a very strong entry. A truly beautiful bitch with the most attractive head and expression and d so balanced throughout; strong but not overdone in any way. Good d front and lay of shoulder with the required short, strong neck; beautiful ribbing and plenty of width; th; best of toplines and correct incline of croup with good tail set. She was in beautiful muscled condition giving the sound and strong movement required for a working dog. Not only has this bitch been a great ambassador for the breed worldwide but she has been very influential in breeding terms.

Photo by Terje Kristiansen

atch at ch 1Int Ch/WW Isostar’s Misss MMatch

I judged this dog at the Norwegian PWD specialty in 2017 and from a very strong line-up of dogs this boy was my choice for his beautiful type and faultless movement. This kennel has consistently produced outstanding quality dogs that are correct and moderate and true to type and not just generic show dogs.

3Ch Barqueiro Lobo-do-Mar

My BOB at Crufts in 2018. Bred in Portugal, this girl is quite outstandingg and winning through from the veteran n class shows the longevity of the breed. d.

She reminded me of the old working PWD and I could imagine she would easily handle a day’s work. She was powerful and her movement foot perfect. Fit for function describes thiss girl completely.

My BOB at Leeds in 2013. This brown bitch came to the UK from Sweden and made an immediate impact in the ring by winning the RCC at her first show, Crufts! She was the consummate show girl, always giving her all. Again strong in body with foot perfect movement, she hass gone on to produce a Crufts BOB winner and champion children and grandchildren.

She is a significant addition to the UK breed.

3Ch Ankors Freya Photo by Jefford

A UK dog, I judged him as a junior and awarded him his first CC and then again at Crufts in 2010 when he won the CC. A substantial black, wavy coated male with the best of heads and a strong shoulder and short neck, he had the best of toplines and a lovely angular front and rear. He was faultless on the move, both coming and going and in profile. This dog is the product of an AI breeding using a much admired dog from America called Am Ch Watermark Toby’s Black Jack, who himself goes back to Cartmel breeding.

Pedra draa da A Anixa nixa ni xa 1Int Ch Sunshine of My Life ddaa PePedr

2Ch Digadog’s O’Cornelia Photo by Bryan McNabb

2Am/Nor Ch Aquafortis Galileo Galilei

Thirty-five years ago, my mother Ruth Bussell, purchased our first PWD. The breed soon became our passion and our participation in its history is cemented. Since my mother’s death my son, Byron Williams and I have striven further to breed and present the PWD at its very best, concentrating on structure and movement and type. Strength to perform its job and a correct coat is what creates that unique silhouette. There have been a few dogs that have become world famous: Matisse, Ladybug, Alex and in recent years Romeo. This last dog Ch/Multi Ch Hi Seas Dr Romeo Macduff has a personal connection with me so cannot be in my top three, but he became a champion in every country he competed in and he is the only non UK resident to gain his title. From my own breeding there have been so many history makers I just cannot name them all, but if I had to choose one it must surely be Ch/Bel Ch Rarjo For Your Eyes Only, taking the breed CC record from his sister. He made history when he won the breed’s first general championship show Working Group, to date these two dogs are the only PWDs to achieve such wins.

Photo: Yulia Titovets/The Kennel Club©

Coming from a background of German Shepherd Dogs in my youth and showing/ breeding Dobermanns in the 1970s and 1980s, I have owned, bred and shown PWDs for 33 years under the Gemson kennel name. I have had the honour and the privilege of judging this breed at most of the UK championship shows, twice at Crufts, in the USA and Scandinavia. I would like to mention a few dogs that I have had the pleasure of having my hands on but not in the show ring so I cannot include them in my top three; firstly a bitch from the 1980s in America called Kalinka Do Condihno who I had the pleasure of seeing at several PWD specialties, where she oozed true type and such sound construction. Another dog who I feel has been a big influence on the breed in the UK is Cartmel the Fisherman from the early 1980s.

Bregantia & Rarjo

Photo by Rachael Reddin

Gemson

My third was my RCC winner at the WKC show in 2015. A brown PWD and by far the most spectacular bitch I’ve seen in recent years. She was overshadowed by her brother as a puppy and an injury took her out of the ring for almost a year with the addition of a litter in 2017. What she has achieved in her time in the ring is quite astonishing. She is the joint CC record-holder, joining her uncle in 2018. She has a beautiful light and happy movement and is strong and powerfully built.

Photo: Alan V Walker©

Jayne Johns

28 April 2019 - Kennel Gazette

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Portuguese Water Dog judges’ choice

Nicky Bradley

Holtend

I have been acquainted with PWDs since the days of Pat Jones’ early De Avalade imports.

I have seen the breed evolve and witnessed all their stages of maturity. When Pat died I had one of her dogs. I started judging PWDs in 2004 and have awarded CCs since 2014. I have awarded CCs, including at Crufts in Bearded Collies, my main breed, since 1991 and I compete with a Beardie in working trials. PWDs were bred to swim and dive in the Atlantic and to ride the fishermen’s boats.

They were retrievers from the water. In order to do this they need to be robust, powerful and particularly well-made in the front with a deep wide chest. The hindquarters should be very strongly muscled. Any features, standing or moving, of a Poodle or a hound are totally untypical. My three dogs all have broad heads with well-defined stops and occiputs, the correct proportions of muzzle to skull, median furrow and prominent frontal bones.

They all have webbed feet and an ability to move soundly without exaggeration. Their shoulders are well laid and muscular with matching length of upper arm. They all have strong jaws with scissor bite and correct dentition. They all have a forechest which is essential but starting to disappear from the breed.

I first encountered the PWD at Windsor Championship Show in 1986 when I met Trish Gilpin (Glenwhin) who was showing two males in the AVNSC classes. I got my first puppy, Glenwhin Cabrocha, in early 1989 from a quarantine born litter, followed 15 months later by a half-sister, Glenwhin Evolina who went on to win BOB at Crufts in 1995. Having followed the breed’s progress in many countries, I believe one of the most influential dogs of the last 20 years was Am Ch Watermark Toby’s Black Jack. Having won the US national breed specialty in 2002, he went on to produce many champion offspring in the USA and is behind many successful dogs in Europe. In the UK he was top sire in the breed in 2009 and produced Ch Barqueiro Lobo-doMar (AI), (BOS Crufts 2010) who in turn sired Ch/Ir Ch Auldhelm Absolutely (BOS Crufts 2015), who is sire of Yelsek the One and Only (top puppy 2018). In Scandinavia he was sire of Multi Ch Robelalexanderthegreataquatass (BOB & G2 Crufts 2014), who in turn sired Ch Ankors Freya ( joint UK breed record-holder) and Ch/Multi Ch Hi Seas Dr Romeo Macduff (top PWD 2015/2016).

Photo by Slim Spencer

1

2Ch Traclem Talk of the Town Photo by Slim Spencer

2

I judged this dog at the National Dog Show in 2014 awarding him the CC. In 2012 I gave him BIS at the PWD Club of GB Open Show. A real character that oozed type, he was very powerful and robust with broad chest; well sprung ribs carried well back with short loin. His tail was well set and carried gaily as he moved confidently l round d the h ring.

y 3Swe Ch Aguatelin Duque of Rysalka

Photo by Slim Spencer

3Ch Traclem Kind of Magic

I really liked this bitch when I gave her thee CC and BOB at LKA in 2012, making her top PWD for the year. She went on to win BOB att Crufts in 2013. She had that elusive blend of strong breed type, strength with femininity and a great show attitude. Her litter sister, Ch Traclem Touch of Class, was very similar in every way but lacked Talk of the Town’s vitality and ring presence.

Photo: ©Alan V Walker

Ch Cartmel’s Brunilda

I judged this bitch at the National al Dog Show in 2014 awarding her third CC and BOB. She is feminine but strongly made. She is always in tune with her handler and fills the eye as she moves round the ring.

She is correct for her breed in everyy way and exemplifies the standard.

I judged this bitch at the Norwegian breed club speciality in 2018 and she was my BIS winner having taken the same award the day before at the Swedish breed club speciality. This bitch is very close to my ideal PWD. She is beautifully constructed and moves with real panache. Although not a large bitch, she has good width and depth of chest, short back with level topline, good tail set and a strong head with the most beautiful feminine expression. She is also passing on her good genes, as her daughter was my Best Puppy in Show on the same day.

Photo by Kynoweb

1Multi Ch Aquafortis Kamikaze

Ch Cartmel’s Debellador AW(G) ( )

I judged this dog at Bournemouth in 2018. He excels in type, conformation and fitness and I awarded him his third CC. He is also the most successful PWD to have competed in agility and he loves it. Watching him working with his commitment to his job, and his handler, is sheer pleasure.

May he continue to win in both disciplines.

Barqueiro

Born in 2000, he did most of his showing in the years before the breed had CCs. Well constructed and strongly made all through, he had an exceptional head with great width across the back skull, good stop, well defined central furrow and excellent strength of muzzle. Shortly after arriving in the UK, he attended the World Dog Show in Portugal where he won the junior dog class and in 2007, when the breed gained championship status, Pat Jones awarded him the dog CC and BOB on the only occasion she awarded CCs before her death.

Photo by Sue Tweedie

Dr Margaret Buckley

April 2019 - Kennel Gazette 29

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Portuguese Water Dog judges’ choice

Sue Tweedie

I was first introduced to the PWD by the late Jenny and Alistair Sword when they introduced the breed to the ringcraft training class that I ran with my late father in law, Brian Goodyear. We were both taken with them and went to an informal gathering at the home of the late Pat Jones. The Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain was very supportive of new judges and I completed my first judging appointment in 2004.

Attendance and passing of the Club’s comprehensive seminar and assessment in 2009, led to my first set of CCs at the National in 2011. I have awarded CCs four times including the honour of judging the breed at Crufts in 2017 attracting the record entry for a UK show.

Gemson Orpheus 3Ch at Proform I have judged this dog three times.

First was at an open show in 2007 before I awarded CCs. I remember this 15-month-old dog I fell in love with and ended up awarding him BOB. I was struck by such a beautifully balanced dog, proportioned head, strong through the neck and so well-constructed with a lovely broad rear. At my first CC appointment, he won the open dog class and I thought he would be my CC winner, but it was not to be as he did not show well in the challenge that day and had to settle for the reserve. When I judged Leeds in 2012, he was back to his old self, six years old, fully mature, and by now a champion, he won a strong open class, then the CC and BOB. So nice to find a youngster, then have the privilege of awarding him a CC later in life.

1Ch Cartmel Sea Goblet

The first PWD champion, he is arguably the top winning PWD in the UK, with 29 best dogs and 27 BOBs between 2001 and 2006 while a rare breed, then seven CCs with six BOBs, becoming the first PWD champion. I judged him at Richmond 2002 as a three-year-old, and found a very strong typical male. Like a good wine he got better as he matured, winning his title at eight years old. As a sire, his legacy lives on in his five champion and several CC and RCC-winning offspring.

His daughter Ch Cartmel Fantasy was the first female champion.

2Cartmel Celebration Photo by Roanjora Photography

What a super bitch this is, my BOS at Crufts, over from Norway and half-sister to my RCC winner that day, Aquafortis showing they produce some lovely PWDs. She combined strength and femininity, was beautifully put together and another where, as soon as you put your hands on her, you knew she was special.

Breed type, a lovely shape, not overdone anywhere, and just screams PWD. She was balanced, so well-constructed, and a super mover that it was easy to see why she has done so well.

Photo by Anna Szabó

2Int Ch Aquafortis Cha-Ching by Robel

I have been actively involved in the PWD since 1989, breeding my first litter in 1991.

In my opinion, although the breed is now numerically sound, this has caused a wide diversity in type, sometimes making it difficult to get a final line-up of similar type. One issue is the size range allowed, a 7cm range in males and 9cm in females, with a total range of 14cm between the genders (43 to 57cm). Often, those closer to the lower limits are overlooked as they rarely have the ring presence of the larger ones.

My all-time favourite must be Multi Ch Smooth da Pedra da Anixa, owned and bred by Isabel Vieira Santos in Portugal. Although I never judged him in the ring, I met him at Crufts in 2006 where he went BOB. A combination of Puerto Rican and Portuguese breeding, he has been a major influence throughout the world, both in the show ring and as a sire who in many ways revolutionised the PWD. Although not in my top three, two of Pat Jones’ Cartmels, Cartmel the Fisherman (1982) and Harlequin (1987), the first black and white shown by Pat deserve a mention. Both went a long way in promoting the breed in the early days. Unusually for a bitch, Harlequin was top PWD in 1990/1991, and at a time when rare breed competition was very strong, top rare breed in 1991.

I do not wish to nominate any dog currently being shown.

This black and white was the top winning female, winning 23 best bitch and eight BOBs between 1998 and 2006 and is the dam of Fantasy. I judged her at Blackpool in 2005 as an eight-year-old, a very feminine unexaggerated girl with a gorgeous head. She was a true ambassador for the breed before coming off the ‘rare breed register’.’

Photo by Sue Tweedie

I had the honour of judging him m at Crufts. He was top PWD from 2016 at the time and I was keen to o see why he had won under so many ny judges. The answer was simple: type, ype, conformation, movement, condition tion and that added extra, showmanship. hip.

On that day, he headed up a strong ng open class with dogs from a number ber of countries. You really get an understanding when you lay yourr hands on a dog and everything fits together and I awarded him the he CC and BOB then watched him win Group 4. Always beautifully presented and expertly handled with presence both on the stand and on the move.

Photo by Rachael Reddin

om meo M Macduff acd ac dufff duff 1Ch/Multi Ch Hi Seas Dr RRomeo

Rysalka

Photo by Sue Tweedie

Roanjora

3Gemson Justin at Grandway I judged this brown boy at South Wales Kennel Association in 2007.

A lovely, strong boy who was often overlooked in the ring.

Photo by Sue Tweedie

Ray McDonald

30 April 2019 - Kennel Gazette

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Portuguese Water Dog judges’ choice

Colin D Ashmore

Buttermere

I have been fortunate in being associated with the breed since the early days, being a founder member of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of GB, having judged two breed club open shows before the Club gained CC status in 2007, and then judging the second Club championship show in 2008. I have judged the PWD extensively in this country and twice in Finland. It is lovely to see the way in which the breed has developed well over this time and up to the present day and there are some lovely quality dogs that are being bred and shown in the ring. I had the pleasure of judging Crufts in 2012 and having previously taken part in the judges’ choice in 2009, and after great thought I am going to choose three dogs that on the day I really enjoyed y jjudging. g g

2Ch Ankors Freya

The breed’s current bitch CC record-holder, I gave her her second CC on the day in 2016. A stylish bitch of excellent quality, she impressed for her type and lovely balanced shape and outline; she has certainly come on since I last judged her and I gave her the RCC on that occasion. In sparkling condition today and really well-presented. She has a lovely feminine head, large and well proportioned, well defined stop, correct bite, nose wide and

Photo by Joanna Araujo

nostrils well open, medium, nicely shaped eyes set well apart, excellent neck with lovely ely shoulder placement, straight front with strong bone, correctt feet, tail, firm topline, stronglyy muscled rear quarters with good angulation, buttocks longg and well curved, good top and underline. Everything is so well ll proportioned and very capablee of doing the work that the breed ed was bred for; the muscle tone of her body was apparent in her w movement which was light, sound and free, with a proud carriage.

3Ch Belleville Anjo Negro

I judged this dog at WELKS and he is a smart dog who I gave best puppy in breed and then, in 2018, he received his third CC and BOB on the day. A dog of excellent type, yp , lovelyy size,, shape p and outline not exaggerated in any way,, large well-proportioned head, correct planes, well-defined stop and nd well-filled cheeks, wide nostrils strils well open, strong jaw correct ct bite, lovely breed-typical expression, short strong neck eck into well angulated shoulders, ers, chest wide and deep, ribs well sprung and carried well ll back, loin short and strong..

His movement was true and d effortless a pleasure to watch ch in profile.

Photo by Janet Lazenby

I judged this dog att Crufts in 2012 having judged him previously giving him a strong junior class and passing ing comment on his quality. lity.

Credit must go to his breeders/owner’s Reddin ddin & the late Bussell for the way in which they had d brought this dog on. He has matured well and d really took my eye on n entering the ring, for his excellent quality of breed type, overall well-balanced shape and outline, with no exaggerations at all. He had a massive well-proportioned defined ti d skull, k ll d fi d stop, t well-placed ll l d dark eyes and correct balance between muzzle and skull, wide nose and nostrils well open, correctly carried short, well-muscled neck and topline with a medium-set tail carried in a curve. Strong well-laid front quarters, deep wide chest, well-sprung ribs carried well back, short loin, strong well muscled and angulated rear quarters, light, sound, true parallel movement with drive.

Photo: Lisa Croft-Elliott/The Kennel Club©

tingg fo for or Gi G Girls rlss 1Ch Rarjo Scouting

Please note that judges are asked to make sure that all information supplied is factually correct. This information is again checked when submitted, but please note that unfortunately errors may still occur.

EDNA

MISS SARAH McGILL Winterkloud2000@yahoo.co.uk 0115 9335016/07773335641

NEXT MONTH

Lancashire Heeler

Photo by Mike Jones

WINTERKLOUD

CH WINTERKLOUD MAD MOMENTS

For advertising opportunities within Judges’ Choice please contact andrea.walters@warnersgroup.co.uk April 2019 - Kennel Gazette 31

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Portuguese Water Dog judges’ choice

Int, Be, SCh, Nl, Ir Sh Ch

Fame da Pedra da Anixa (Imp Prt)

(Multi Ch. Way to Glow da Pedra da Anixa * Negrita Stones da Pedra da Anixa) Prcd-PRA Clear, GM-1 Clear, JCDM Clear, Hips 4/5 = 9

Many thanks to Isabel Vieira Santos for entrusting this exceptional boy to us, and the many judges throughout Europe who have recognised his quality.

Sire of 3 Champions in his first 2 litters

RYSALKA

(PWD since 1989)

Sue Tweedie

Email : sue@rysalka.co.uk

DRAGONBANK Ray Mainland

Home : www.rysalka.co.uk

(PWD since 2007)

Email : ray@dragonbank.co.uk

Home : www.dragonbank.co.uk

32 April 2019 - Kennel Gazette

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Portuguese Water Dog judges’ choice

Crufts BOB Winners

Breed clubs and societies take the welfare of their breeds very seriously and work tirelessly to provide help, support, and homes for dogs in need.

Portuguese Water Dog 2007-2019 2007 CH BREGANTIA THE X-FACTOR AT WINTERKLOUD 2008 AMERICAN DANCER’S MAGIC THUNDER

Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain Mrs A Hobbs

2009 ROBEL CHARLEMAGNE AT AQUATASS 2010

ISOSTAR’S MISS MATCH

2011

CH RARJO IT HAD TO BE YOU FOR ANKORS

2012

CH RARJO SCOUTING FOR GIRLS

2013

CH TRACLEM TALK OF THE TOWN

2014

ROBELALEXANDERTHEGREATAQUATASS

2015

WINTERKLOUD COCO CHANEL AT BREGANTIA

2016

AQUAFORTIS ENERGIZER

2017

CH HI SEAS DR ROMEO MACDUFF

2018

SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE DA PEDRA DA ANIXA

2019

AQUAFORTIS KAMIKAZE

Tel: 01268 724522 andrea_hobbs@btinternet.com www.portuguesewaterdogs.org.uk The Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain

Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain Rescue Mrs M Spencer

Tel: 01724 798321 or 07830 320278 dogsrme@live.co.uk

Breed Education Co-ordinator Mrs J Creffield Tel: 01449 744250 Email: melfieldk9@btinternet.com

For further information on rescuing a dog and list of breed rescue contacts in your area, please visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/findarescuedog or contact Anita Tabrett, welfare relationship manager on 020 7518 1048 or email: anita.tabrett@thekennelclub.org.uk

The Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain Club Open Show with Annual General Meeting Sunday 7th April 2019 10am judge Janice King and special award classes Jayne Hopkins held at Bugbrooke Sports & Community Centre NN7 3RW Club Championship Show Saturday 31st August 2019 judge Tom Johnston held at Stoneleigh in conjunction with City of Birmingham Championship Show

Fun Day Sunday 9th June by kind permission of Mr & Mrs J Johns Trafford House Marshland St James Breed Appreciation Day Saturday 20th October 2019 venue to be confirmed

Breed Education Co-ordinator Jocelyn Creffield - Email: melfieldk9@btinternet.com All other enquiries Secretary Andrea Hobbs - Email: andrea_hobbs@btinternet.com

www.portuguesewaterdogs.org.uk April 2019 - Kennel Gazette 33

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Championship Show Judges Portuguese Water Dog 2019 Birmingham Dog Show Society Ltd

Mr R Mainland

M

Scottish Kennel Club

Mrs J Peak

M

Bath Canine Society

Mrs CA Green

M

Windsor Dog Show Society

Mr Anthony E Burscough

M

National Working & Pastoral Breeds Society

Mr TJH Richards

M

Leeds City & District Canine Association

Mr BW Reynolds-Frost

M

Bournemouth Canine Association

Mrs J Creffield

M

Welsh Kennel Club

Miss E Haapaniemi

M

City of Birmingham Canine Association

TBC

Portuguese Water Dog Club of Great Britain

Mr Tom H Johnston MPhil

M

Richmond Dog Show Society

Mr ARR Doedijns

M

Darlington Dog Show Society Ltd

Mrs A Pedder

M

Ladies Kennel Association

Miss SJ Tweedie

M

This information is correct at the time of going to print, however appointments may change due to unforeseen circumstances

MELFIELD

Portuguese Water Dogs and LĂśwchen Ch Melfield Saucy Sapphire

Ch & Ir Ch Bentarsna Anglo Irish At Melfield Rhea (greatly missed) 30-08-01 - 25-01-19 My first Champion and still the only curly champion

Sophie my latest Champion now resting after maternal duties. Her puppies Melfield Dora The Explorer and Melfield Sea Diver at Bentarsna will be out later this year with Melfield Elusive Emerald who has 2 CC’s

Jocelyn Creffield Email: melfieldk9@btinternet.com

27-31 Judges Choice.indd 34

14/03/2019 11:14

AquaFortis Serendipidy at Gemson (import Norway) Breeder: Runi Kristiansen Sire: AquaFortis CasaNova by Robel Dam: Whisborne Mariposa TentaCao

Introdu

cing

“B oog i

e”

Boogie made his debut at LKA and qualified for Crufts at 6 months by winning 1st Puppy Dog C Crufts - Best Puppy in Breed at 9 months

Gemson Portuguese Water Dogs - Jayne Johns Jayne Johns.indd 1

13/03/2019 10:25

Upgr a Petlo de to ou r g Pre m i u Lifet m Mem ime* b Sche ership me f one o or a ff f of £1 ee 7.

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17/10/2018 13:25