Page 275 - ShowSight - January 2020

breeders do a great job of making friends with their buyers and encouraging them. I think the TTCA could go a step further and teach breeders, not only about safe sales practices, but about devel- oping our buyers into authentic dog people.
The largest health concern facing my breed today? We still have dogs with primary lens luxation and PRA, in spite of our genetic testing. In my opinion, the largest health concern is allergies. I hear about it from almost all breeders who are willing to admit to it. Usually I hear about it from puppy buyers. The only way to stop it is to take affected dogs out of the gene pool.
Any trends I see in my breed that I believe need to continue or stopped? Scissoring, sculpturing, trimming and shaving are the only serious faults listed in the breed standard. Although this has gone on for a long time, it has become a much larger problem as the breed is presented.
The profuse coat is a hallmark of the breed, and when exhibitors change the coat, it’s not possible for the judge to evaluate it properly. Judges should stop this trend by rewarding the quality dog that is un-trimmed. The coat should stand off slightly from the body rather than lying flat like other drop coat breeds. It should give the judge the feeling that it could survive a Tibetan winter.
The second troublesome trend is that bigger is not necessarily better. The framers of the breed discovered that dogs over 17 are not functional in the mountains of Tibet. Likewise, dogs under 14 inches could not survive either. Therefore, they created a size range where the average dog is 15-16 inches. In the ring, we see dogs that are far too tall and heavy to survive under the original condi- tions they were bred for; however, rarely do we see a Tibetan Terrier under the minimum size.
In addition, the standard provides a weight range, 18-30 pounds with those average 15-16 inch dogs being 20-24 pounds. Almost all the dogs in the ring today are well over 25 pounds. If breeders really are preservation breeders, they should strictly adhere to the stan- dard size and weight. They should promote the most correct dog to preserve its original purpose. That’s why we call them Preservation Breeders. Judges should award the correctly-sized quality dog.
I would be remiss not to mention their unique foot construc- tion that allows them to walk on top of the snow. It is of unique construction, flattish, large and flexible. It served a purpose and is a hallmark of the breed. Losing this unique foot is a concern among some breeders and should be checked for by judges in the ring.
The greatest pitfall awaiting new and novice judges is the notion that because they know their breed, it will be easy to stand in the middle of the ring and find the best dog. In fact, it’s the opposite. The best breeder in the world has still had the luxury of watching their puppies for weeks or months. In the ring you have very little time to pick the winners. I have seen many new judges who just stand there and stare, unable to make decisive choices. I have often seen this phenomenon. As a new judge, you have to prove yourself as a judge as much as you had to prove yourself as a breeder. There are a few, rare exceptions; the superstars.
It is difficult to stand in the middle of the ring and judge one’s peers or perhaps even more difficult is judging the breeding stock of those who have gone before you...of your mentors or who consis- tently bested you in both quality of dog and wins in the ring.
When you start to judge, the journey is just beginning. Work hard, relax and enjoy the process. You will meet amaz- ing people who want to help you do well and be part of the judging community.
The funniest thing that ever happened to me was being in the 1991 National Specialty Sweepstakes class, down to the winner of it all and SPLAT I went down on my face, spread eagle. I think I had so much adrenaline going, I didn’t feel a thing, jumped back up, raced around some more and won Best in Sweeps with my bitch over 100 entries.
LESLIE ANDERSON
I am originally form Des Moines, Iowa and moved to Greenwood, Arkansas about nine years ago to escape Iowa winters! I have been involved with dogs since a child but began conformation in 2002 with my first Shiba. Outside of dogs, I work as a Veteri- nary Technician and in the medical field since 1996. I am very interested and focused on my four-legged furbabies. I guess you can say I literally live, eat and
breathe Shibas.
I grew up with GSDs and Rough Collies. Now that I was on my
own and needed to downsize my breed. I had always been intrigued by the Shiba Inu since its acceptance into the AKC and the first time I saw them on TV (Westminster). When I started to contact breeders, I found only show breeders had the best dogs bred for tem- perament and correct look. I did not consider showing dogs before then but when I friended some of those breeders, I realized I may be able to learn from them and they were very accepting and helpful. I have always loved dogs and would attend our local shows which we had three of them yearly. I wanted to be competitive in the ring and decided to breed so I could pick of what I wanted to show from a litter rather than what was offered to me.
Since I have been a Vet Tech and worked in the medical field since 1996, it gave me a vast base of knowledge as a jumping off point. I spent several years learning as much as I could about the Shiba Inu which consisted of reading every book I could, endless hours of combing through websites, watching who was winning and learning from what they were doing to make them successful.
Non-Sporting Q & A
“When you start to judge, the journey is just beginning. Work hard, relax and enjoy the process. You will meet amazing people who want to help you do well and be part of the judging community.”
ShowSight Magazine, January 2020 • 267