8. And, for a bit of humor, what’s the funniest thing you’ve ever experienced at a dog show? PBM: I’ve always wanted to tell this story. I was working for George Ward at the time, and was about 21. We were showing at the Toledo KC show when it was held in late October in a park I believe was called Strawberry Park. Well it was cold, real cold. Bea Marvin was the Terrier judge. We had a Superman son, an Airedale we called Mack. He was rather thick headed not only in looks but brains and George made me show him. Mrs. Marvin didn’t take the two dogs around, just did the exam first. Well, when she went to check for testicles with her cold hands, Mack, let’s just say got real excited. Well he wasn’t going to move for about 20 minutes then. Mrs. Marvin then said, “Well I guess I know what they mean by Holy Toledo.” George along with some others stood outside the ring laughing their heads off. I was so embarrassed. We went second out of two because as Mrs. Marvin told me she never did get to see him move. PD: That’s a tough one. I recently judged a show and an exhibitor who had just lost a lot of weight came into the ring. As she was stacking her dog her skirt fell off! She pulled it back up and took a bow to the crowd. LCH: A rather comical thing happened at the first show I judged in 1964. I was pregnant with our second child and it was quite obvious. The expression on the face of the gate attendant as I entered the show grounds and told him I was one of the judges was one of utter amazement! KK: It would take too long to go into detail, but it happened a number of years ago over the Montgomery weekend, in the Airedale ring, with a judge who had lost all control of his ring, and a group of handlers who were each deter- mined to be first in line. It was a miracle that no blood was drawn. KL: My girlfriend, Dawn Phillips, and I were doing the ID/MT circuit in June several years ago. Well, on the first day the side mirror on the driver’s side broke off the motor home in the wind. We decided to skip having it fixed which we later regretted but made it through by me running to the kitchen window and back bedroom window every time she needed to change lanes. All ended well, but I definitely recommend fixing it right away! On another occasion, at a circuit in Canada, one handler pranked another by picking up their entire set up and putting it on top of a roof on a building on the show grounds, tables, chairs, tack box, x-pens everything!! DM: While in a foreign country I gave a group to a dog that I thought was some new, rare type of Gundog breed. Turned out to be the worst German Wirehaired Pointer. None of the other judges realized what it was either. JV: I stepped on my bitch’s tail inside the ring at one of my first dog shows. Definitely, how NOT to impress a judge and/or win friends at a dog show!
they are made of stone and judges should not be looking for this behavior as typical Cairn temperament. A happy busy dog is more what is typical of the breed than one that is trained to stand like a statue of course! 7. Is there anything else you’d like to share about the breed? Please elaborate. PBM: I think the Scandinavians are doing the best job breed- ing Cairns currently. In the past they had been getting them too big, too heavy in bone and too much rear angulation which sloped their toplines, but currently I think they have the best quality. They have toned down the size, gotten the bone right and the angulation is once again moderate. PD: I love this breed. My Cairns are all Champions and then have gone on to do other jobs as they all need jobs! I have a couple who do therapy work, I have some that do agility and Rally and others that do Barn hunting and Coursing. Cairns can succeed at just about anything if you spend the time training and they will love you for it! KK: There so much I would like to share, but time and space limit me. So, I will just touch on one area that is a bit of contention among some breeders and judges. That is the subject of size in the Cairn. Our standard is unique in the World, and calls for dogs to be 10" and bitches 9 ½ ". In my 40 years of showing, breeding and judging, I have never had or seen a 10" Cairn, let alone a 9 ½ " bitch. This is the size of a Norwich or Norfolk. Over the past decade, Scandinavia imports have had a large influence on many American and Canadian breeding programs. This has moved the breed even further from the ideal size while improving many of the structural problems we were beginning to see. My point is, please look at the whole dog and base your decisions, whether as a judge or breeder, on the virtues of the animal and not just one fault. In fact, size is not even listed as a fault in our stan- dard. By the way, the Skye Terrier standard calls for the same sizes—10" for dogs, 9 ½ " for bitches. KL: I encourage breeders and exhibitors from around the world to work together, and yes compromise, in what the Cairn Terrier standard should be, and then most impor- tantly, breed to it. As we remain divided, we are only harming the breed that we all love and are dedicated to. I also would like to thank my mentor in Terriers, the late Denis Springer for sharing his wealth of knowledge on so many terriers as well as teaching me to trim. As well as my mentor in Cairns, Glenn Sergius and Frank Mesich of McCairn (Burnaby, BC). DM: Would like to congratulate so many breeders for advancing the breed. JV: Look for balance first and foremost. Don’t fault judge by getting caught up on size. There are wonderful balanced smaller and larger dogs; let quality inspire you but do not let the size control you.
280 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J UNE 2017
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