TOY GROUP JUDGES THE
1. Where do you live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a judge? 2. What is your original breed? What is/was your kennel name? 3. Can you list a few of the notable dogs you’ve bred? Any perfor- mance or parent club titles? 4. What are some of the qualities you most admire in the Toy Breeds? 5. Have you judged any Toy Breed Specialties? 6. Can you offer any advice to exhibitors regarding the presenta- tion of these “table” breed? 7. Some longtime exhibitors have “ downsized” to Toys. In your opinion, has this had an impact on quality? 8. Toy Breeds can require special care. Do you have any advice to offer breeders, exhibitors, and judges? 9. In your opinion, how do today’s exhibits compare with the Toy Dogs of the past? 10. Why do you think Toy Dogs can become outstanding Show Dogs? 11. If you could share your life with only one Toy Breed, which would it be and why? 12. Just for laughs, do you have a funny story that you can share about your experiences judging the Toy Group? VICKI ABBOTT
What are some of the qualities I most admire in the Toy Breeds? They are just big dogs in little bodies. They have no clue that they are small! That is what makes them endearing. They will try any- thing, and usually achieve it, and they are excellent companions. Have I judged any Toy Breed Specialties? I have had the honor of judging many Toy Breed Specialties over the years, and am con- stantly rewarded with quality entries of dogs to choose from all over the country. It is the highest honor to be invited to judge a National Special- ty. Being asked to judge a National Specialty is about those breeders entrusting their very best from that year to you as a judge. It is a lot of fun and a great responsibility! Can I offer any advice to exhibitors regarding the presentation of these “table” breeds? Presentation, of course, can make a medio- cre exhibit look great, or a great exhibit look less desirable, until you actually have the dog on the table to go over it and weigh all the fac- tors involved. I expect the dogs that come into my ring to be clean and groomed—but I do not expect them to be perfect. They should be bathed, brushed, and de-matted, eyes should be clear, and the dog should have clean teeth. There are a lot of exhibitors who show and groom their own dogs and are not professionals, and some- times, the best dog in the ring is not the most perfectly groomed. But there is more to the choice than just the grooming. Condition- ing means many things, including being in the right weight and muscle tone, even in a Toy Dog. So often you hear that Toy Dogs don’t have to really do anything other than be companion animals, so consideration of how they move, are put together, or their condi- tion is secondary and does not really matter. Oh, but it does. You can have the typiest, showiest Toy Dog, but if that dog has definite structure problems, you can bet it is not going to serve the purpose for which it was bred—to be a good companion. A dog with bad hips, unbalanced angulation in the front and rear, knees that need operations later, or even a mouth with horrible teeth will eventually be a dog in pain and on medication. This does not a happy Toy companion make! The temperament on a dog that is in pain all the time will obviously deteriorate the more pain that he is in. Eventu- ally, the lifespan of dogs with structure problems can be much less than those put together correctly. Toy breeds are the long-livers of the dog world; these little guys can act like puppies for years and live to the ripe-old ages of 15-17 years. Much progress has been made in presentation by owner-handlers and professionals alike, especially in the area of coat presentation, as there are many different coat types in this Group. Coming from a drop-coated breed like Maltese and having shown and groomed many others as well, I know the dedication it takes to not only breed a good dog, but to learn how to present it in good condition. So, when someone puts a very nicely groomed Toy Dog on the table in my ring, no matter what the coat type, I can appreciate the time and effort that went into that! Newcomers are so welcome to this Group, and the two best things to do to learn how to best present your dog are to ask for assistance by a good mentor in your breed, as far as the grooming, and to watch how your Toy breed is presented on the table by experienced exhibitors at a show. The thing that I, as a Toy Breed judge, find quite frequently is Toy Breeds that are not trained to stand for examination or have their mouths shown by the owner or handler. Toy judges should always take care that if a puppy has a problem, not to give them a bad experience in the ring. Being heavy-handed, or trying to pry into small mouths, is not a good idea. I make it a practice to judge the mouth/bite at the very end of the examination, which seems to help with the occasional
Where do I live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a judge? I live in Fairview, Texas, which is just north of Dallas. I have been in dogs for over 45 years, first as a breeder/owner- handler, and then as a professional han- dler for many years, concentrating on the Toy Breeds. I am most well-known for the many Maltese that I handled in
the past, especially the No. 1 Maltese Dog of all time and Westmin- ster Group Winner, Ch. Sand Island Small Kraft Lite. I have been a judge for 21 years. What is my original breed? What is/was my kennel name? My original breed is Maltese, although I also bred Pekingese and Shiba Inu. My kennel name is Scylla. While I originally started the kennel in the 1970s, it became a family endeavor, including my husband, Larry, and my daughter, Tara Martin Rowell, and her husband, JD. Can I list a few of the notable dogs I’ve bred? Any performance or parent club titles? We have bred many Group-Winning and Best in Show Maltese that have held the title of No. 1 Maltese over the years. The one I am proudest of, that I handled but did not breed, was Ch. Sand Island Small Kraft Lite, bred by Carol F. Anders- en. “Henry” won the Toy Group at Westminster in 1992, was the top-winning Maltese Dog of all time, No. 1 Toy Dog for several years, No. 5 among All Breeds, and he is the ancestor now to many of our dogs at Scylla. Because of that, I am very proud of his off- spring (combination with our Scylla Maltese). His great-grandson, Ch. Scylla’s Small Kraft Re-Lit, “Hank,” was bred by Scylla Ken- nels and remains the top-winning Group and Best in Show win- ning Maltese in this millennium—handled by my daughter, Tara Martin Rowell.
136 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2022
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