I am always being sent lots of photographs of lots of dogs, some which I have bred and some which I have not. Recently I was sent a photo of a young bitch and asked to comment. As I have said in the past I really do not like to critique any dog from a photo, for obvious reasons. The main reason is today the image of a dog can be altered until the photo no longer resembles the dog. The quality of the original image and the presentation of the dog is also important. If it is a profile photo the dog should be standing in the correct position for the breed. Only then can the image be assessed. Of course a clever handler/trainer can present a dog to its best. What I hate to see in any photo is a dog obviously strung up so there is no throat visible. The hind legs have been trained to extend until front and back do not balance. Photos like this are produced professionally where the dog shows alert, proud and active appearance, what you don’t see is the handler and lead are airbrushed out. These photos are not of a dog presenting itself naturally. My comments on the photo I was sent were put onto the photo of a different dog, this made me smile and is another reason I do not like to critique a photo.
I have had 2 readers ask me 2 different questions this past week. The first question was on fronts. I could talk about fronts until the cows come home, but speaking to many who believe that when discussing the front you are talking about the front leg as opposed to the back leg and nothing more, they will never be able to see what and how the front leg is constructed and why. Understanding the skeleton of mammals gives you a far better understanding of how your dog is made. The front leg, which is not jointed, to any other bone is not in a rigid position – the lay or position of the shoulder blade will differ in different dogs and even within the same breed. A short shoulder as opposed to a long shoulder or more upright shoulder or a more laid back shoulder will dictate where the position of shoulder connects to the upper arm. The angulation between the shoulder and the upper arm may vary quite considerably. The length of the upper arm to the elbow will also dictate where the front leg is positioned.
In the Chesapeake one should look for a good length of shoulder blade with a good lay, the shoulder should not be upright, the angle at point of shoulder I have had described to me as being between 90 and 110 degrees as being the most ideal. I believe 110 is too wide an angle. It is of the utmost importance to have a good length of upper arm. If these lengths and angles are correct the elbow will drop below the withers carrying the depth and width of a body made for water work and the carrying of game. Many photos you may see will show dogs with a lot of fore chest, you must not let this distract your eye from looking at the correct construction of the whole of the foreleg.
I was the luckiest person back in the early 80s when I had one of the all time best American breed experts come to stay with me. This was lifetime achievement recipient from the American Chesapeake Club Mrs Millie Bucholz, Chesachobee Chesapeakes Florida. We spent all week talking about structure and coat, Millie taught me so much about angulation, balance between front and back, movement and coat.
This is a piece that I was sent in from an Our Dogs reader who is in a different breed, but it reflects to Chesapeakes just as much. The writer writes “Unfortunately short upper arm affects many gundog breeds. Trend was started in US where tight leads pulling head high, sloping top line and over angulated quarters resulted in flashy side gait and breeders then exaggerated. Whenever I judge, always insist on loose lead, upset US handlers and dogs fell apart. In breeds with small gene pools very hard to breed correct shoulders back in and those in…. today won’t know well made shoulders if it hit them in the face. The writer remembered talking to Tom Horner about this, he said Bearded Collies have best fronts! Don’t know if still true today.”
It is not just breeds with a small gene pool but some with a large one that have this problem. Several years ago at a Labrador seminar I was going over a dog hands on I said to the presenter that said dog is short in upper arm, “most all are” came the reply. A dog with a short upper arm will not reach and move like a rocking horse, whereas a dog with a well constructed front will move with ease.
Mentoring at one of the American Chesapeake Club National Show Specialties with another long-time breed specialists we both agreed the upper arm was the easiest thing to lose and the hardest thing to get back, his haunting words were “once its gone its gone”!
The other question I was asked was about colour. Which I go over and over and still there are people who do not understand the colour in Chesapeakes. To see a hundred Chesapeakes most of which are going to be brown does not give you an understanding of the Chesapeake colours. Every National Specialty I go to there are over 400 dogs entered, I have been going to the Nationals every 2 or 3 years for the past 30 years. There are 3 main colours in the breed, not 4 or 5. The main colours are deadgrass, sedge and brown.
Deadgrass is as it says, the colour of dead, dried grass – there is no brown in it there is no red in it. I have at the moment a light deadgrass dog and have received comments from CC judges such as I’m not sure about this colour – I guess this colour is ok – it’s not a normal colour – you must be put out or marked down because of the colour and so on.
The next colour is sedge. The difference between deadgrass and sedge is you start to see red coming into the colour, a light sedge will be the colour of the lightest gold, then all the way through to a dark red gold – not unsimilar to that of a fox red Labrador, which everyone is familiar with this description.
For many people, judges especially, in the UK they believe Chesapeakes are brown and one colour brown at that. I have bred and owned probably close to 1000 Chesapeakes and judged many hundreds more, yet I have never seen 2 dogs of exactly the same colour. Brown may start at the very lightest tan going all the way through to a very dark brown, the colour maybe of espresso coffee with every shade of brown in between. In the middle of the browns is where we have the reds – red, mahogany, chestnut and burnt gold have all been colours I have heard to describe the coat colour. A sedge brown or a red brown or a golden brown still fall in the brown spectrum. It is sometimes more descriptive to use some of this terminology rather than one colour fits all. No one colour should be put above another.
Then we have the colour patterns which can be the dilutes, the ash, the brindles, hound markings, tan points and split colours where the undercoat can be a light deadgrass and the top coat a very dark brown. All of these colour patterns are acceptable – self colours preferred.
The were no CCs at Driffield, with one of the two shows giving classes. Ms Nicola Spencer received an entry of 12, 5d 7b. BOB & BD Mahon-Hunns, Hunns & Newtons SH CH Arnac Bay Huron At Bergelle JW, handled by Edward Eddery, Huron was then handled in the Group by Maddy Mahon-Hunns winning G4; RBD Boyles & Boyles SH CH Pixierock Mr Tumnus By Bleyos JW; BB & BV Pont’s SH CH Oakmarsh Dancing Diva VW; RBB Murray’s Muireatai Miracle Of Dreams; BP Mahon-Hunns & Middleton’s Susqudilla Yankee Shadow (imp USA).
No CCs at City Of Birmingham. Judge Ms T Westwood received an entry of 10, 1d, 9b, 3a. BOB & BD Boyles & Boyles SH CH Pixierock Mr Tumnus By Bleyos JW; RBD : NA; BB & BJ Watts’ Oakmarsh Little Acorn JW; RBB & BV Pont’s SH CH Oakmarsh Dancing Diva.
Luxemburg hold two back-to-back shows at this time every year, the 114th and 115th International Dog Show offering CACIBs. Chesapeakes were judged on the first day by Darko Korosec from Croatia. Two Chesapeakes were entered, BOB Middleton & Mayhew’s Arnac Bay Jellicoe; Res CACIB Meuser’s Duck Trackers Break The Limit (a granddaughter of American Import Longmeadow Dundela’s MacIntosh) On the second day Bruno Facq received and entry of 4, the only male dog was absent. BOB Middleton & Mayhew’s Arnac Bay Jellicoe: Res Gotz’s Amelie Von Der Rauruwer; Junior Winner Eschweiler’s Bb’s Chesapeake Breeding Doritas Girl For Rauruwer, a litter sister to Mayhew & Macartney’s puppy.
Madelaine Cummings (Ireland) was very excited to let me know that “Gold” Irish CH Penrose Victrix Ludorum had won 4 out of 4 back-to-back BOB’s and Green Stars in the same week.
Janet Morris
01873 880271
penrosechesapeakes@gmail.com