Mustard & Pepper Winter 2022

2022 National Specialty ~ Judge’s Critique

to be carried too high. The standard calls for a little above the body and in some this became a lot. Another characteristic I would like to touch on are heads. I found numerous heads that were very proper, strong and large. In some instances, I would like to see stronger muzzles with more fill under the eyes. The third area I believe defines the breed is coat. The standard is clear as to the length and mixture of the hair. This is the area that I thought the entry was the weakest. There were several dogs who I would have placed much differently if not for the lack of coat. To me, it is im- portant to judge as they are on that day, and this is where the coat is so important. I was very pleased with my final choices and I would like to make mention of one class and that was the Win- ners Bitch class. For a breed to continue it must have

by Jay Richardson I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the membership of the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club of America for giving me the opportunity to judge the Na- tional Specialty. To be asked to do a National is a great privilege, especially in a breed that did much to shape who I became as a handler and now a judge. I would also like to thank all the exhibitors, many who came long distances to the show. This is a breed that re- quires much work, one does not just take them out of a crate and walk into the ring. I also would like to acknowledge the breeders and their love and dedication to this great breed. Thank you for all you do. My overall impression of the entry is the breed is in good shape. The quality was good and overall, very con- sistent. I believe there are several characteristics that de- fine this breed One is that topline with the gentle curves. There were no toplines that I considered excessive; however, I did have a few that I felt were rather flat. Related to the topline is the tail set and carriage, which I feel is a continuation of the topline. There is a tendency in some dogs for the tail

quality bitches and this class was quality. Thank you all again for a marvelous day.

Editor ’ s Note: This judge ’ s critique was inadvertently left out of the Summer 2022 issue of Mustard & Pepper . I sincerely regret the error. PDB 

BLINX

“ Breeding dogs without a sound knowledge of genetic principles is like baking a cake without any recipe. You may eventually end up with good results, but you will waste a lot of ingredients in the process...and dogs are not an ingredient that should be wasted. ” ~ Julie Wright, Just Wright Beagles “ To improve type, movement, temperament and health, must be the bottom line for every committed breeder. Such accomplishment takes a long - range plan that is carefully thought through. It requires dedication and purpose. All too often, we are sidetracked by our desire to breed to the latest big winner, and then to the next and the next. Before long the pedigree is a long list of “ who ’ s who ” that have no relationship to each other, other than they found success in the ring. What is the key to learn (and to believe), is not the success in the ring as

not an automatic indication of the dog ’ s true quality. We all wish one indicated the other, but that would be too easy. It would require the removal of human fallacy to be accomplished! Dogs do not excel for all the same reasons. Consequently, you can ’ t simply breed one big winner to another and produce more big winners. Every feature and their nature of inheritance must be studied and understood before you can “ manage ” the inheritance variables. Once you gain this skill, you are on the road to produce a great line of winners. ” ~ Anita and Zeljko Radic, LaCrima Christie Dalmatians, Croatia “ It is a mistake to overestimate the influence of any particular distant ancestor in the pedigree. Even though its name appears in the pedigree, actually it may have contributed no genetic material to this dog. A 10 - generation pedigree can theoretically represent 1,024 different dogs and would be comparable to a human pedigree dating back to the 1600's. ” ~ Population Structure and Inbreeding From Pedigree Analysis of Purebred Dogs , Federico C. F. Calboli, Jeff Sampson and David J. Balding Editor ’ s Note: Where do the world ’ s smartest people get their ideas? From books, interviews, podcasts, blogs, magazine articles and the like. This column, BLINX, presents insights from some of the fancy ’ s most well - known master breeders and exhibitors. Because we cannot reprint every worthy dog writing or interview, I hope these short quotes will inspire you to find and read or listen to more from these well - known dog people and think outside the box. SPH 

Mustard & Pepper

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Winter 2022