sweeping rear ends with hind toes stand- ing far behind where the point of but- tocks end. Feet are round, tight, with good arches and thick pads. Th ese are feet that need to work on all sorts of ter- rain as well as swim. Flat feet, paper thin pads, loose feet all contribute to injury for a working spaniel. As I am going over the dog I am also evaluating coat and texture. Markings are easy—they don’t matter as long as I have a dog that is a rich chestnut red and pearly white. Th e coat is straight, fl at and soft. Silky not wooly. No obvious barbering and not dripping in feathering either. I end the exam with movement. I want to see a dog moved at an easy trot. Th ink of it this way… how much e ff ort does it take to trot around a show ring on level ground usu- ally on matting and in a climate-controlled building? Even if outside on a hot day on poorly mowed grass with gopher holes, there shouldn’t be much e ff ort made to trot. I want to see a dog light on his feet, covering ground smoothly and with purpose. I de fi - nitely do not want to see a dog raced around the ring. When a Welsh is in the fi eld he is an endurance trotter with frequent bursts of running. He doesn’t trot in the fi eld at break neck speeds; if he is going to trot that fast he will break into a run. Currently there are two movement problems I see occurring more frequently. Th e fi rst is lack of convergence of the front legs as the dog is moving towards you. Although the Welsh does not single track, the legs de fi nitely do converge as speed increases. Too many Welsh are moving in a side-to-side, wide, plodding movement. Th e other problem is lack of conver- gence of the front leg with the hind leg
underneath the body. Th is can be attrib- uted to several things, but primarily it fol- lows the course of the incorrect front end as I stated earlier. As for temperament, I expect the dog to accept my hands for examination. Th e tail may be wagging furiously or maybe just a gentle waft, but except for obvious novices or very young puppies that may be a bit overwhelmed by their surround- ings, I want my Welsh to exhibit a friendly and con fi dent character. To do otherwise is anathema to the breed. I would like to end this article with a statement from A.T. Williams, as quoted from Th e Twentieth Century Dog, ed. Herbert Compton, London, 1904: “ Th e ideal Welsh Spaniel must be exceed- ingly active and strong, able to negotiate the most di ffi cult as well as the thickest places, and to last out the longest day. His color must always be red and white, the red deepening with age. His head is fairly long and strong, but not settery type. Ears should be small, o ff ering a minimum of resistance to gorse and briars; eyes dark and full of spaniel expression; body very muscular, not long on any account, with thick coat, not curly, stern down, never above the line of his back, with plenty of movement; legs medium length with plenty of bone and good round feet. And for disposition he must possess utter devo- tion to his master, high courage and not afraid of a fi ght if imposed upon him, but not quarrelsome.” Th at quote holds true over 100 years later. It is our responsibility as breeders, owners and judges to ensure that it holds true 100 years from now. In the meantime, I hope you too enjoy the simple pleasures
BIS/2xBISS Rolyart’s Still the One CD RN WD VC. Among his many, many accomplishments, ´*atorµ Zas also tKe first EreederoZner handled Best in Show winner for the breed. ‘Gator’ is the son of a Swedish sire and American dam.
Br. Ch. Julita Ryvanda, ‘Vanda’ is a British WSSC club show winner as well as full British Champion field and EencK AltKougK ¶9anda· is full %ritisK breeding and is pictured here as a veteran bitch, notice the similarity of type to the young American Champion ‘Gator’.
of judging this delightful breed, the Welsh Springer Spaniel.
BIO Adrienne Bancke,
WSSCA Judges Edu- cation & Briarbanc Welsh Springer Span- iels. For more infor- mation on the Welsh Springer Spaniel, go to www.wssca.com/html/ wsscaEducation.html
“The tail may be wagging furiously or maybe just a gentle waft, but except for obvious novices or very young puppies that may be a bit overwhelmed by their surroundings, I WANT MY WELSH TO EXHIBIT A FRIENDLY AND CONFIDENT CHARACTER. TO DO OTHERWISE IS ANATHEMA TO THE BREED.” 176 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , M ARCH 2014
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