Cardigan Welsh Corgi Q & A
Emily (Fish) Barnhart continued
Cardigan judges. My answer is silhouette. Until you can properly see the curves, go over a correct front assembly, and clearly know a Cardigan is a Cardigan, please spend more time with mentors. Our breed is a great one but easily not understood. As I always say, I am more then happy to sit down with someone wanting to learn about our breed and help them out. What is my ultimate goal for the breed? That’s a big question to answer—I think our breed has improved tremendously and it’s my hope that we continue learning, growing, and teaching the newer breeders. We have an awesome community of breeders and I am honored to be a part of this wonderful breed. My favorite dog show memory? Definitely this past May when King, MBIS MBISS GRCHG Int/Am/Can CH Pawcific I Walk With The King PT JHD BCAT CAA CGC TKN, won the CWC- CA National Specialty under breeder judge Jonathon Breckenridge- Mitchell with a record entry of Cardigans. King has a tremendous story and I’m always thankful to his entire Team for believing in him, especially to his handler Kelly Shane and his co-owner Marian Mizelle. DAVID L. & DEBORAH L. ANTHONY A friend once commented that dogs were not our hobby, but our lifestyle. Deborah and I truly believe that is true as well. Our life centers around what show, seminar, specialty, match, numer- ous kennel club meetings, judges education or other dog related event that is coming up on our calendar. Luckily the family has succumbed to the idea that dogs are a priority in our lives and that we thoroughly enjoy all aspects of the sport. As long time dog lovers and admirers of purebred dogs, we made the leap into showing dogs in 1984. This is when we purchased and showed our first herding dog; a Cardigan Welsh Corgi. We won’t go into the details of that very first show dog as many of you can attest to, it has its ups and downs! It has been passed about that if a person stays in dogs for five years, then they will probably be in the hobby for their life. Again, we believe this is true as well when you look about the shows and the faces that you see appear on a regular basis. It really is an extended family. We have owned and shown a few different breeds including Bri- ards, Dachshunds, Australian Terriers, and Skye Terriers. We have imported several outstanding dogs from New Zealand and Holland and have bred numerous top ten Cardigans both here and abroad. Our dogs have competed successfully in some of the top shows in the Country. Our love has always been for the herding breeds and when we decided to make the move into judging in 2003, but now we have added a new passion to our judging by including the Non- Sporting group to our list of assignments. We have judges numerous regional and national specialities and David had the honor of judg- ing the Cardigan National Speciality in 2018. We both belong to the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America (CWCCA). David is the chairman of the Judges Education Com- mittee and Deborah has served on the Board of Directors for many years. We are truly dedicated to the breed.
Deborah and I live near Erie, Pennsylvania, in the land “Lake Effect Snow”. Luckily, Cardigans LOVE snow. We both work for local government, David is the manager for Washington Township in Erie County, Pennsylvania and Deborah in charge of Community Development. We get the comment quite often that nearly everything we do revolves around our dogs. Dogs are pretty much our life and we are quite happy with that. Although we only have pups when we are ready to add to our own family of show dogs, we are not concerned about the popular- ity of the breed as much as the quality of homes we place puppies in. We have an extensive network of owners that are dedicated to seeing that those that become part of our Dragonpatch Cardigan family are prepared to offer the best conditions possible for their Cardigan. It is a lifetime commitment. Our four-legged kids have us quite well trained. Demanding a serious game of cross-country, full-contact ball at least three times a day. They have to release energy somehow. A romp in the back- yard with the crew is essential in stress relief as well. Being able to let the local wildlife know who is in charge of the neighborhood commands a lot of their attention too. Their keen sense of hearing and quick reactions are perfect for letting us know if the neighbors are out and about and who is walking on the road out front with- out checking with them first. These are typical characteristics of the breed. The devotion to our family is amazing. They do not warm up quickly to strangers. They seem to wait and see if we are accept- ing of them first then suddenly the green light comes on and they are okay with them. They are very competitive amongst themselves too. It is of utmost importance to be the first one out the door and the one that gets the ball to us. Without proper leadership, this dominance can cause problems. You must be firm but fair in your corrections and requirements of them. We seem to see two sides of the breed. First is the “we have a job to do and we are not stopping until that’s done” and second is the “game over time for naps don’t bother me”. Although a very adapt- able breed, the best home has varying activities to keep the mind and body sharp. Because we have been long established in the breed, over 36 years, we have an excellent reputation and always have a lengthy waiting list for potential puppy owners. Some have waited years for a dog from us. We are extremely cautious about with whom we place a puppy and follow up on a regular basis. We hear almost daily from one or more of our owners. We maintain a private list- serve that is only for those people who own our dogs. This allows us to monitor the fun times and also the difficult situations that always arise. We, along with the other members, praise, support and mentor each other to ensure that the dogs are getting the very best options and guidance needed to ensure a happy long life. From simple things like how to housebreak to supporting a top therapy dog that’s displaying wonderful breed characteristics while helping elderly and children alike. Not to mention the agility and confor- mation participants amongst the many well-loved pets. At ten weeks things get very serious when determining who is of show potential or not. Without obvious faults, it is at this time that we closely look at front assemblies and rear drive. The amount
“THEY DO NOT WARM UP QUICKLY TO STRANGERS. THEY SEEM TO WAIT AND SEE IF WE ARE ACCEPTING OF THEM FIRST THEN SUDDENLY THE GREEN LIGHT COMES ON AND THEY ARE OKAY WITH THEM.”
290 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , D ECEMBER 2019
Powered by FlippingBook