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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