JOAN SCOTT wissfire toy Poodles & ChihuAhuAs
pigment in my dogs. It is impossible to get this pigment and retain it if any dilute or merle coloration is intro- duced into the breeding program. My favorite color was, and still is, a black tri-color. I have shown many of this color very successfully. I had no black tri-colors in my kennel when I quit breeding. 7. How does size affect your decisions, as long as the dog is under 6 pounds? Size is not an issue for me. I always preferred a 4 ½ - to 5-pound dog or bitch in my breeding program. I cannot base my opinions when judging on size as long as the dog is under the 6-pound disqualification. 8. Do you see differences besides coat in Long Coats vs. Smooths? A good Chihuahua of either variety should be distinctly similar except for coat. My experience has been that smooth tend to be a bit more assertive temperament wise while the long coats tend to be a bit softer in tempera- ment. There are always exceptions to such a statement. 9. Name a previously campaigned Chihuahua that illustrates your ideal type. I simply cannot name a single dog that illustrates my ideal Chihuahua. There are too many that fill this bill for me. Ch. Mar-Rich ‘N Mina’s Rumor Has It was the dog that I was most proud of overall. He did not excel in move- ment like Ch. Mar-Rich’s Minute Man always did. Both of these dogs were closely related to Ch. Ouachitah Kodiak. Kodiak went back to the Chihuahua that I feel has proba- bly done most for our breed over the years. His name was Ch. Dartan’s Elfin Magic. Many, many top-winning dogs of today have Elfin in their pedigree generations back.
1. Please tell us about your background in Chihua- huas, including kennel name, highlights, judging experience. We’d also like to know where you live and what you do outside of dogs. Basically, I’ve been a Toy Poodle Breeder since 1967—also have bred Yorkshires, Min Pins, Shih Tzu (very short time) and owned and showed Poms briefly. I finished an English Chihuahua for a friend about twenty five years ago, she gave her to me and that started my life with Chihuahuas. I have bred under the Wissfire prefix since the sixties, live in Wilmington, DE with my husband, a retired Air Force Command Pilot. I have judged Chihua- huas since 1990. My favorite show in the breed was Japan Kennel Club—135 Chihuahuas, with excellent quality. 2. What five traits do you look for, in order, when judging Chihuahuas? What do you consider the ultimate hallmark of the breed? Overall balance, domed head, topline, tail set, terrier-like qualities. 3. What shortcomings are you most willing to forgive? What faults do you find hard to overlook? I’m willing to forgive lift in front; hard to forgive are bites since that has been the only major fault in the standard. 4. How has the breed changed since you became involved with it? Overall balance is better, losing the large eye and large ear. 5. Is there anything Chihuahua handlers do you wish they would not? In most Toy breeds, I really dislike a handler running up on the person in front of them. 6. What are your feelings about the merle pattern? I would prefer not to have merle in my line as it some- times affects the eye color and I just do not prefer the color for myself; however, since it is allowed, it is fine if someone else owns it and the conformation is good. 7. How does size affect your decisions, as long as the dog is under 6 pounds? Size does not affect my decision as long as the balance is correct. 8. Do you see differences besides coat in Long Coats vs. Smooths? I always felt that the Long coats were the “Ladies and Gen- tlemen” of the breed; the Smooths were not as clean and more apt to argue about items and be more possessive. 9. Name a previously campaigned Chihuahua that illustrates your ideal type. I always loved Ch. Bayard Wing Beneath My Wings; a handsome dog with balance, type and temperament. 10. Anything else you’d like to add? This is a great breed, good companion dog, a lot of fun to live with, challenging to breed correctly and I have enjoyed every minute of it and am still breeding!
Ch. mar-rich ‘n mina’s rumor has it, “Clay”—he is shown taking the variety at our national under
mike Billings; richard miller, handler.
Ch. mar-rich’s minute man,
“rebel”, taking Bis shown by his owner, mary Price. the Bos is his granddaughter, Ch. mar-rich’s refried dreams, “Z’s”, with richard miller as the handler under Judge edd Biven.
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