THE AUSTRALIAN TERRIER
VANDRA HUBER I live in the Pacific Northwest in a small town outside of Seattle. I’m an emeritus professor of Management from the University of Washington and do some consulting. Lately, I’ve been writing articles on various dog related topics and I’ve started drawing again. MARETH KIPP I am honored to have been asked to participate in the dis- cussion regarding Australian Terriers. I live on a 250 acre dairy farm in Southeast Wisconsin, namely North Prairie. When I’m not doing “dog stuff”, I vol- unteer at our local hospital as well as being the bookkeeper and “gopher” for the farm. 1. Your opinion of the current quality of purebred dogs in general, and your breed in particular. VH: My original breed is Scottish Terriers. I find that the breed is in good shape regarding conformation. However, there have been major declines in the number of litters and puppies such that we soon will not have enough breed-quality Scottish Terriers to preserve the essential qualities of the breed. MK: It’s interesting to think about the quality of purebred dogs in general. There will always be ups and downs within each breed. When judging, I always look for the special one, sometimes it’s there, sometimes not. I have noticed however, the differences in all breeds over the 50 years I have been lucky enough to share my love for dogs. 2. The biggest concern you have about your breed, be it medical, structural, temperament-wise, or what. VH: I am concerned that many breeders do not test their dogs for health and when a problem arises, they keep it a secret rather than working through the problem and considering viable options. Some people criticize the problems of others but do not do proper testing on their own dogs. We need to determine which genetic faults
we can not live with and work around them. We can not throw out good dogs who carry a fault or two.
3. The biggest problem facing you as a breeder. VH: Preserving the breed while working with a decreasing gene pool. I have difficulty when those who don’t test criticize but do no testing themselves. We must unify and work to preserve our breed. MK: Since I’m not an Aussie breeder, I have no knowledge regarding several of the questions. 4. Advice to a new breeder? Advice to a new judge of your breed? VH: To the new breeder, be patient and get a good founda- tion bitch. Breed to the best quality dog (not just what looks good on paper) but to the best dog whose offspring have impressed you. Keep two related lines going that are slightly different but generally the same. For judges of my breed of Scottish Terriers, I want you to focus on temperament and type. We must have a heads up and tails up (noon carriage, not 1 or 2 o’clock). Do not rely on people holding the dogs together. Let them look at each. They must stand their ground. Bitches may turn their backs in the spar, but it’s more in disgust than lack of attitude. 5. Although the Silky Terrier’s in a different Group, they are often used as comparison breeds in semi- nars. Do you feel that the average judge appreci- ates the special attributes particular to the Aussie? VH: It takes time and experience to understanding the nuances and the subtle differences in Australian Terri- ers versus other short legged terriers and Silky Terriers. Certainly it is easy to tell the difference in coat texture, but determining a hard, harsh wire coat can be more difficult. Both the Silky and Australian Terrier are around 10 inches tall but silkies can be smaller and Aussies are acceptable larger but they differ in body length. More important, the Australian is a working terrier that can easily take down vermin. It is courageous and naturally more aggressive as a hedge hunter. The Silky is tends
“MORE IMPORTANT, THE AUSTRALIAN IS A WORKING TERRIER THAT CAN EASILY TAKE DOWN VERMIN. IT IS COURAGEOUS AND NATURALLY MORE AGGRESSIVE AS A HEDGE HUNTER.”
272 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J UNE 2018
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