Q&A ON THE BOUVIER DES FLANDRES
LINDA CLARK
RS: Must haves are square body and hard coat. 3. Are there any traits in this breed you fear are becoming exaggerated? LC: Rears are over-driving and backs and loins are becoming too long. YS: The breed is leaning too much to the generic show dog with hair. Also concerning is the straight front with too much rear, too long in body and over-extended gait with improper head carriage. RS: I don’t know of any required traits that are being exag- gerated, but as far as undesired traits are concerned, I think there are far too many specimens that are too long in body. 4. Do you think the dogs you see in this breed are better now than they were when you first started judging? LC: Yes, with educational seminars, mentors and health test- ing, the breed is becoming much better as a whole. YS: In some aspects yes, for instance better heads with good muzzle depth and width as well as coats. In some ways, no—there is more over exaggeration of movement, lon- ger bodies and loss of the square picture, thereby losing breed-specific type. RS: The breed may be somewhat improved during this period, but the breed had a lot of good ones when I first started to judge them. I do think there are a lot more Bou- viers being shown now, and so we see a lot more that are not so good. 5. What do you find Bouviers to have most and least consistently? LC: Substance is the most consistent in my rings. Coat tex- ture, compactness and balance are the least consistent things I see. 6. Where do you find Bouviers to be most and least consistent? YS: They are most consistent in Australia and least in North America. RS: I think the most consistency is found in Canada; the least in the Deep South and the mountain states. 7. How do you estimate size in a Bouvier, given that oversize and undersize are one of only three severe penalties under the standard? LC: I look at them and ask myself, ‘Can they do the function that they were bred for? Are they agile? Are they balanced?’ YS: We see out of standard Bouviers winning in spite of the severe penalty. The size range in Bouvier is very
I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Outside of dogs, my husband and I do volunteer work and I love to shop. I’ve been in the dog world for 39 years, showing for 34 years and I’ve been judging since 2012. YVONNE SAVARD I live in Pitt Meadows, British Colum- bia, Canada. I work full time as a Veteri- nary Pharmaceutical Territory Manager. I went to my first dog show in 1969. I’ve been showing dogs for 47 years and judging for 20 years.
DR. ROBERT D. SMITH
I live in St. Stephens Church, Virginia and am retired after a career in the fields of education and economic development. My wife, Polly and I began our dedica- tion to the sport of purebred dogs in 1960, showing German Shepherd Dogs. In 1963, Polly bought me an American Foxhound puppy for a Christmas present. Needless to say, Foxhounds became our primary breed. Later, after I had started judging, we showed and bred Welsh Ter- riers. I was approved to judge American Foxhounds and Bea- gles in 1969 and judged my first show in March 1970.
1. Describe the breed in three words. LC: Powerful, compact and intelligent. YS: Square, bold and steady. RS: Big, square and hard-coated.
2. What are your “must have” traits in this breed? LC: The must have traits are balance, compact, substance, movement, coat texture and temperament. YS: Square, correct movement, proud, bold, moderate front and rear angulation with overall correct balance.
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