THE SPORTING GROUP: CHANGES IN GROOMING & PRESENTATION OVER THE YEARS
Ch. Chuckanut Party Favor O Noel, Westminster Group winner in 2006. This dog shows more substance and more coat, much more carefully presented, in keeping with the current method of presentation for the breed. He is lighter in color than the 1967 winner and his over-all presentation is in keeping with the more modern way of showing the breed.
the dog’s conformation. Don’t agree? Stack your dog in front of a mirror and take a good look at how you are presenting him to the judge—from the judge’s prospective. Is that what you really want? Remember that some return of the upper arm, so that the front legs are beneath the withers, is usually desirable. An example: When I first started showing my Golden Retriev- ers, the accepted method of stacking the dog for examination was to “top and tail” him, place the front feet well under him below the withers, with the rear feet just behind the back of the dog so that a line drawn down from the buttocks to the feet would pass just in front of the toes. Then, the head was held forward of the body and the tail was held straight out and behind the dog with, at most, a slightly upward curve. Little baiting was involved, the dog’s backline was level as called for in the standard. Nearly constant baiting, done so that the head is held high with an exaggerated arch (too often with the neck over the withers), creating the look of a straight front (lacking proper angulation) was never done. This changed in the later 1970s when a professional handler showing an outstanding bitch, but one with a rather plain head and low-set ears, started standing or kneeling in front of her and baiting her almost constantly so that her ears were erect and framing her head nearly always, improving the look. She started to do some serious winning, including a National Specialty BOS and BOB, and multiple Groups. As a result, many exhibitors started mimicking this baiting, thinking it would make their dogs win as well—even if the dog already had a very correct head and expression. Soon, everyone was doing it whether it improved the dog or not. The practice continues today. I know this story is true, for it was my bitch. It is always interesting to compare photos of top-winning dogs of the same breed whose wins are years or even decades apart. For example, Ch. Sagamore Toccoa, a big-winning Cocker Span- iel in the ‘70s, won the Sporting Group at Westminster in 1973. When compared to GCh. Casablanca’s Thrilling Seduction, the 2011 winner at the same show, there are differences in presenta- tion and the way the dogs are trimmed. Take nothing away from either dog; both are outstanding examples of their breed. However, over time, some of the words of the Breed Standard are ignored. The Standard says: “The ears, chest, abdomen and legs are well Ch. Cragmont’s Hi-Lo, the Sporting Group winner at Westminster in 1967 (and the first Golden to earn this honor). There is a clear difference between this dog and the more modern example pictured here. Hi-Lo, an influential sire, carries much less coat and is much darker in color than the modern dog. He appears to be a less substantial dog, but it’s difficult to know if the difference is actual bone or just coat and presentation.
feathered, but not so excessively as to hide the Cocker Spaniel’s true lines and movement, or affect his appearance and function as a moderately coated sporting dog. Excessive coat…shall be severe- ly penalized. Trimming to enhance the dog’s true lines should be done to appear as natural as possible.” The accepted trim for a Cocker Spaniel today results in a dog with much more coat than in the past. To be fair, it should be noted that in the minds of exhibitors, the definition of “excessive coat” has changed over time. The allowed additional coat of today developed over many years. I remember “Toccoa” was criticized by some as having excessive coat. “Beck- ham” carried no more coat than nearly all of the other Cockers being shown. Still, the changes over time are interesting to note. Coat preparation has certainly changed in the last 40 years. Look at the Golden photos. Drawing on my experience in Golden Retrievers, when I started showing in 1971, standard ring prepa- ration consisted of some trimming of the feet, ears, and tail and, perhaps, a minimal bit of coat removal when there was an excess in some areas of the body, and a bath the day before the show. The dog was dried while wrapped in a towel to hold the coat flat against the body so that it would appear straight and wrap the body when dry. At shows, a bit of final, minor trimming might be done, and a light spray of a coat conditioner like Full Bloom might be brushed into the coat. Powder was occasionally used on wet or dirty leg and tail feathering, but carefully brushed-out before going into the ring. That was it. Total grooming time at the shows was anywhere from ten to twenty minutes. Today, the dog is kept standing on the table for at least an hour—and often longer—while it is wet-down and then dried with a strong blow drier that fluffs-up the coat so that it stands away from the body. Various grooming products are applied to hold the coat in its fluffed-up position and to sculpt a smooth outline to create the look of an arched neck and excellently angulated front assembly with a level backline—whether or not this reflects the actual structure of the dog. As with all breeds, the idea is to fool the judge’s eye into thinking the dog has it all. The wise judge uses his hands to confirm that what appears to be there is actually in place. Look at the two Goldens in the photos. Quite some evolution!
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2021 | 171
Powered by FlippingBook