yourlocation,toeven
findpointsinPBGVsinordertofinishthem,andthen
youhavetocompeteagainstprofessionalhandlerswho
definitelyshowtheirdogsbetterthanweaverageowner/
handlers.Itcangetverydiscouragingattimeswhenyou
knowyouhaveagooddogbutcan’tseemtobeatthe
professionalforthepoints.Itrulyappreciatethejudges
whohavetheknowledgeandlookpastthepossiblemistakes
wemakeinshowingourdogs.Wedon’talwaysgetaperfect
stack,buttheyshouldstillbe
abletorecognizeagooddog.
Thedogshouldnothavetobe
aperfectcookiecutterwho
nevermovesalegwhile
standingorhasahairoutof
place.Theyareahappyhound
andnotalwaysagreeableto
whatwewantthemtodo,and
Iappreciatethatpersonalitytrait
(mostofthetime).
WhatIfeelisvitally
importantinjudgingthePBGV
thatseemstobeoverlookedas
oflateispropermovement.A
PBGVshouldhavegoodreach
anddrive,butthehandler
shouldnothavetorunwiththe
doglikeitisasportingbreedin
ordertoshowmovement.Both
endsshouldbeequalwhen
movingandfluid.Free-and-easy
movementshouldbeshownata
normalpaceandnotlooklike
theyareracingaroundthering.
ThemovementofaPBGV
shouldbemorefromthe
shoulder,astraightlegoutfrom
theshoulderinfront,nodigging
orkneeaction.Iusedtoshowhorses,sowouldcomparethe
movementtoanicehorseinthehuntershowring:easy
movementholdingtheirtoplineandmovingataneven
pace.Itshouldneverlooklaboredorexaggerated.Itshould
alsoneverlookbouncy.
Inmorerecentyears,therehasbeenahugedebatewith
someofthelanguageinthestandardhavingtodowithover
grooming.Unfortunately,Ithinknomatterwhatlanguage
goesinthestandardthiswillalwaysbeanissue.Ipersonally
donotliketheoverlystrippeddownPBGVthat
nowresemblesaSealyorSchnauzer,butaslong
astheywinthatiswhatwillcontinuetohappen.
Thedogshowworldisdefinitelysubjective
andyouwinsomeandlosesome.Idon’thave
thekindofmoneythatsomepeoplespend
showingtheirdogs,soIjusthavetotryand
enjoyshowingandpossiblywinningwheneverI
can.APBGVthathasaperfectlyshapedoutline
andneverhasahairoutofplaceisnevercorrect.
Theycanbebrushedandlookneat,butstripping
themlikeaterrieristotallyincorrect.
Iwoulddefinitelyencouragejudgestomake
peoplefeelliketheyarebeingconsideredinthe
ringandtrytobeunderstandingofthepeople
whodon’tdothisforaliving.Wedogetnervous
intheringandmakemistakes,butwearenot
tryingtoruinyourday.
36
www.pbgv.org
March2014
ISaberTails
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