Kennel Gazette June 2017 by The Kennel Club

June 2017 £ £5.00

The active and agile Glen of Imaal Terrier

Connecting music and the world of dogs – the story of the Harrison sisters The official publication of the Kennel Club 1 KC June JH.indd 1

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Contents

Contents Opinion Behind the scenes of the Activities Committee

Graham Partridge on the aim to get more owners involved in canine disciplines

Viewpoint

Simon Parsons gives his opinion on the Kennel Clubs’s new judges competency framework

7 Letters and special news

Readers’ views and feedback, plus some inspiring news from the canine world

Working for a better future

An update on how the Kennel Club are helping to shape political policy

Recalling a meeting with a world class musician and keen dog breeder

The Dane they called Nelson

A story of a brief but heart-warming friendship with a dog — can you guess who the narrator is?

June 2017

Letters L e a n special and ne news

Health matters Why can’t my bitch get pregnant?

Vet Sue Finnett explains how to give a bitch the best chance of producing a litter

Art & culture Remember when...

Looking back at championship shows that were featured in the Kennel Gazettes of yesteryear

of the Kennel Club 33 Treasures — the English White Terrier

The Kennel Club gallery features a special painting of a now extinct breed

34 Book corner

Gay Robertson reviews the latest additions to the Kennel Club library

Special features Striking the right note

Glen of Imaal Terrier

Judges’ choice Glen of Imaal Terrier

The breed standard, breed health, the Glen’s loyal fan-base, plus breed experts choose their favourite three dogs of all time

Music and dogs

Bringing the herds home

A look at the character and talents that make the Pembroke Corgi perfect for work

22 Sweet maker and dog lover

Famous for his confectionery, Teddy Gray’s other passion was Wire Fox Terriers

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

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Working Corgi

Editor: Carrie Thomas Editorial Co-ordinator: Sara Wilde Editorial Panel: Bill Moores (Chairman), Ian Gabriel, Philippa Gilbert, Robert Greaves, Revd Bill King, Gay Robertson Editorial enquiries: kennel.gazette@thekennelclub.org.uk The Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB Subscriptions: 020 7518 1016 subs@kennelgazette.org.uk

Kennel Gazette is published monthly on behalf of the Kennel Club by BPG Media www.bpgmedia.co.uk To advertise contact Andrea Walters a.walters@bpgmedia.co.uk Printed by Warners Midlands Plc

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. Cover photograph: Ch Kirikee Ronan O’Gara (Connor). Bred and owned by Mrs Ann Quinn. We asked Ann what is the most mischievous thing Connor has done. She told us that at two months old he escaped from the garden to say “hello” to the horses, however as he struggled to get back through the hole he had escaped from he became covered in sticky cleavers seeds and when he reappeared he looked very sorry for himself indeed. Photographer: ©Ian Raper

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17/11/2016 08:52

Viewpoint

Viewpoint By Simon Parsons

’m writing this just as the Kennel Club is launching its new judges competency framework, which over the next few years will come to replace the current system of breed club judging lists based mainly on the numbers of dogs judged up and down the country. No doubt between now and the publication of this piece six or so weeks later the columns of the dog press and the world of Facebook will have been full of analysis of the new system. Some of the comments will be based on careful reading of the extensive documentation made available by the Kennel Club, which surely covers most of the bases. Some will be people regurgitating their same old prejudices regardless of whether the facts bear them out. Some comments will depend entirely on the personal perspective and aspirations of whoever is on the keyboard; some will be predictable moans from the professional moaners; some will have gone into the plans in forensic detail, perhaps even so much so that they are at risk of losing sight of the big picture. One thing I can predict with absolute certainty is that the £26 annual fee for maintaining your presence on the Kennel Club’s online academy will have its vociferous critics. Some of these will, I can confidently foretell, trot out the line about ‘another money-making scheme’, which they already regularly, and ludicrously, use about the Assured Breeder Scheme. These people do not take account of the costs of setting up and maintaining the system, which I am told is half a million

pounds, nor of the other material available to judges on their section of the academy (hopefully including more and more breed videos as time goes on), nor of the costs to each judge which would previously have been incurred in fuel and time, so the price of one entry fee a year is surely well spent. Perhaps as a concession the Kennel Club could grant a lower fee to those who have worked their way through the system and now award CCs in just one or a very few breeds, so are likely to judge only once in every two or three years at most. A crucial factor for whether the new scheme works in practice is the breed clubs working together with the Kennel Club. This is surely something where the Kennel Club is going to have to tread carefully and personally I feel it will in some cases need to be handled with kid gloves. Breed clubs will no longer have to produce their own lists of judges; these will be replaced by a centralised list on the Kennel Club Find a Judge site. Many clubs

will welcome this as compiling these lists takes up endless time and is a hassle, often involving more work than any other part of the club’s activities. Some, though, may see it as taking away some of their independence and influence. Yes, the breed clubs will still have an important part to play in various other aspects of a judge’s progress and indeed the co-ordinator they are required to appoint may well have a complex and thankless role. Whether every club will feel the balance between what they are supposed to put in to the process and the influence they get out of it remains to be seen. We all know that some clubs are currently very supportive and encouraging to those (specialists or otherwise) interested in judging their breed; some quite the reverse. At least the new plan should level things out. My final thought for the time being is one I’ve often expressed over the years, and that is that no training scheme is of much use if those who eventually issue the judging invitations don’t also enter into the spirit of things. With the centralised list showing exactly who is available to judge what, societies have no excuse now not to make sensible choices.

SIMON PARSONS Simon Parsons has owned a variety of breeds but his first loves are the Corgis. He is associate editor of Dog World and awards Challenge Certificates in 13 breeds. In 2014 he instigated the revival of the Kennel Gazette

Photo: ©Laura Kolbach/The Kennel Club

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Letters and special news

Letters and special news An inspiring boy and his ‘guardian angel’ dog give back to charity

LETTER I found Valerie Foss’s letter about Margaret Barnes very interesting in the May edition of the Kennel Gazette. Six years ago when researching for the book I co-wrote about the origin and founding of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel I spent a great deal of time going through both the Cavalier Club’s archives and also in the Kennel Club library. The Cavalier Club was formed in 1928 with the aim of resurrecting the old type toy spaniel as depicted in many old paintings. At that time only the flatter-faced King Charles Spaniel was around. The Kennel Club finally accepted the Cavalier as a separate breed in 1945 but there still was a certain amount of disagreement among breeders about how exactly a Cavalier should look. Some breeders thought that they should be like the small toy sleeve spaniels as shown in some old paintings while others believed that they should be more like toy sporting spaniels. In the early fifties Margaret Barnes did try to create a more sporting type of Cavalier by crossing a Cavalier with a Cocker Spaniel and I managed to uncover the registration and photo of Suntop Spillikin who was born in 1952. She never pursued this line but it was indeed an interesting experiment.

he Crufts Eukanuba Friends For Life finalist Joel Sayer and his dog, Caddie, have inspired the nation by raising £32,000 for the charity Dogs for Good. Thirteen-year-old Joel has autism, and was chosen by Eukanuba and the Kennel Club as a Eukanuba Friends for Life finalist at this year’s Crufts. Although Joel and Caddie didn’t win the competition, they stole the nation’s heart in TV, radio, and newspaper interviews about how his ‘guardian angel’ assistance dog had transformed his life. In April, Joel, his mother Janet, and Caddie, celebrated this success and presented the £5,600 they had raised, to sponsor a puppy to help a child like him, to Dogs for Good. For being a finalist in the Eukanuba Friends for Life competition Joel received £1,500 from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. To enable people to donate more, Joel launched an appeal and he quickly raised another £3,500 to give to Dogs for Good. Janet Sayer said: “Joel and I just wanted to say thank you — to Dogs for Good for giving us Caddie, to all the people who voted for us in the competition, to the many people who donated to Joel’s appeal to help us sponsor a puppy to help another family like ours, and to the hundreds of people who donated after seeing and hearing our story on TV and radio and in the papers. We’re just so thrilled with the amount raised.” Caddie was trained by Dogs for Good,

Photos: ©Dogs for Good

Dennis Homes Thank you very much for your letter, it is most interesting. Editor

a charity making life-changing differences to people with disabilities. The charity’s assistance dogs support adults and children with a range of disabilities and children with autism. It also has a ‘Family Dog’ team which gives families of children with autism specialist training advice and support with their own pet dog. For more information about the charity visit www.dogsforgood.org ●

Joel Sayer with his ‘guardian angel’ autism assistance dog Caddie

Amendment In the May edition within ‘Crufts 2017 in pictures’, an incorrect image was published. The Kennel Gazette apologises for this error and has included the correct image and caption below:

Feedback...

We would appreciate any feedback you may have on the Kennel Gazette and we welcome reading your news and views. Please write to Kennel Gazette, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB or email kennel. gazette@thekennelclub.org.uk and put ‘Letters page’ in the subject line.

Stages in the future life of the puppy Joel and Janet are sponsoring. From left to right: volunteer puppy socialiser Michelle Spilsbury and puppy-in-training Pasco; trainer Melanie Wood and dog-in-training Twickers; Joel and Janet Sayer with Caddie

2016 Best in Show winner Marie Burns with Devon is presented with a painting by artist Anne Zoutsos (right). Also present is Tom Mather, Chairman of the Kennel Club Arts Foundation

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Treasures of the Kennel Club

A beautiful image of a now extinct breed

©The Kennel Club

Treasures of the Kennel Club – the English White Terrier

By Valerie Foss

his month’s treasure of the Kennel Club features the now extinct English White Terrier. The painting is one of the final images ever painted of this breed. The artist is Henry Crowther and his paintings are often important historical depictions of named show dogs. He is already represented in the Kennel Club collection. Through checking show information listed on the back of the painting, we know she is a bitch, Little Beauty. Her Kennel Club Stud Book details are as follows: 32,472 Little Beauty Mr C Randall, 11, Bevington Bush, Liverpool; Breeder, Dr A Lees Bell; Date of birth, March 25th 1890; colour, white. By Leeds Elect (25,707) out of Lively (by Spring out of Belle) David Hancock’s book, ‘The Heritage of the Dog’, shows a sketch by Arthur Wardle

entitled ‘The English White Terrier in the 1890s’. Hancock describes the breed as follows: “The English White was about 16 inches in height, with a short sleek coat, a whip-like foot-long tail, a symmetrical build and had a gentle yet lively nature.” Writing on the English White Terrier before the First World War, Robert Leighton, in his book ‘Dogs and All About Them’, recorded: “This dog, one would think ought to be considered a representative national terrier, forming a fourth in the distinctively British quartet. It is a pity that so smart and beautiful a dog should be suffered to fall into such absolute neglect. One wonders what reason of it can be.” One reason was the edict from the Kennel Club in April 1898 outlawing the cropping of dogs’ ears. But there were other reasons for the decline and then loss of the dog altogether. Dr Lees Bell who bred many fine specimens of the breed recorded in 1893: “All breeders have, I daresay, experienced

Little Beauty’s first entry from the 1891 Kennel Club Stud Book

Little Beauty, oil on canvas by Henry Crowther

the same difficulty of breeding pure white puppies with level heads and fine skulls, together with proper English terrier lines of body. Unfortunately, too, congenital deafness was also present in the breed, as in some other all-white breeds.” Also the use of Whippets with the intention of producing a ‘daintier’ dog led to some loss of terrier character. Mr Charles Randall, who owned Little Beauty, was the great grandfather of Jack Randall, a member of the Kennel Club and treasurer of Midland Counties Canine Society Championship Show. Charles Randall was born in 1860 and served his time in a tannery in Whitehaven, under his uncle ‘old’ Charles. He married Mary McKay when he was 20, and they had five children. He worked in tanneries in Bermondsey, Nantwich and, latterly, at Shackerley’s Tannery in Bevington Bush, Liverpool. Charles always took two dogs with him to the tannery as the area was rough and it was during this period that he owned and showed Little Beauty. By 1901, he had relocated to Warwickshire and took on the Kenilworth Tannery Co. His brothers also went into tanning as did his sons John, George, and Charles Jnr. He was well-known in Kenilworth, serving as a J P for the county of Warwick, and died in 1933. His career in dogs can be followed through the Kennel Club Stud Book entries and the painting of his English White Terrier is an important part of our canine history and a great addition to the Kennel Club’s Collection. ●

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Book reviews

Book corner

The Kennel Club Library is Europe’s largest collection of canine literature and these two books are recent additions 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

Reviews by Gay Robertson

Good Guide to Dog Friendly Pubs, Hotels and B&Bs (Ebury Press) Edited by Cath Phillips

ncluding a selection of walks beginning and ending with a dog-friendly pub is a great idea, so this sister publication to the Good Pub Guide could be useful to dog owners. The directions, however, are quite vague and there is no indication of how long the walks are — an OS map is recommended by the Guide. Full marks for listing the beers on offer in the pubs but if a meal or overnight stay is planned, I would recommend some additional research before booking anywhere. Many places allow dogs in the bar but not in the bedrooms and those that do welcome dogs

upstairs, tend to charge £10 or £15 per night. There are some honourable exceptions and I was amused to find a Bournemouth establishment which only accepts guests accompanied by at least one dog and reserves the ground floor bedroom for elderly or disabled dogs. Coverage of the country is patchy; if you want to stay in Northampton, only one, breakfastless, option is offered; Devon has six pages; London, two. I didn’t find any tempting suggestions for an overnight stay before or after a distant dog show, but if you do a lot of driving with dogs, this could offer a welcome diversion.

HELP! My dog doesn’t travel well in the car By Toni Shelbourne & Karen Bush

have to admit to picking up this book with more than a passing interest as my six-month-old puppy had suddenly started being car sick. The authors — experienced animal trainers — have previously written several ‘help’ books together so this is a comprehensive and informed look at a very common problem. Possible physical causes are explained and tips given to make sure the dog is comfortable and unstressed. Car air fresheners, it seems, are a no-no and so is smoking; the boot is not the ideal place for a dog to travel, as well as making a pet extremely vulnerable in case of an accident, and your choice of music can help — or make things worse. Opening the window before shutting the door avoids a sudden change of pressure. The authors make the point that your puppy will not necessarily “grow out of it” and mild concern can escalate. All the well-known tips (ginger biscuits, rescue remedy and others) are evaluated with an obviously extensive knowledge of herbal

remedies, some of which should not be given to pregnant bitches. What sets this book apart are the chapters on acupressure and Tellington TTouch with detailed illustrated explanations of how to do both. Acupressure was new to me and I was fascinated to learn that the dewclaw is the pressure point for the large intestine. A session with a TTouch practitioner is advised before embarking on DIY treatment but both techniques obviously have relevance to all sorts of training and general stress busting, not just car sickness. Did anything work for my puppy? I had already decided that travelling over the wheels in the back of the car was not for her. Moving her to the middle of the car and a trip to the garage to sort out some unusual vibration, fixed her problem, but I would recommend this book to anyone with an even slightly nervous dog or with a training problem, for the wider knowledge it brings. Will I be trying my hand at the Clouded Leopard and Raccoon TTouches? Maybe.

The Kennel Club is happy to welcome visitors and help with research. It holds information on every Kennel Club recognised breed and also covers a whole host of dog topics, such as training, breeding, shows, field trials, and other activities, health and veterinary care, dogs in art, and even dogs in literature. Opening hours by appointment: Monday to Friday, 9.30am-4.30pm. Contact us: library@thekennelclub.org.uk

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