Page 208 - ShowSight - February 2020

Toy Group Q & A
“THEY NEED TO REMEMBER THE BASICS: SOUNDNESS,
GOOD TEMPERAMENT AND MODERATION.”
Lois March continued
I owe the most to whoever handler I am currently using is a big help to me in selecting the dogs that I should keep and those I should sell.
The biggest pitfalls for novice judges is being influenced by breeders pushing their own dogs type. Unfortunately there is not a lot of agreement among the fancy as to what that is and there are many variations on the theme. They must be very confused. They need to remember the basics: soundness, good temperament and moderation.
The biggest pitfall to new novice breeders is being influenced by other jealous breeders who try to discourage them or get them into their clique. It always seems like we are all divided into enemy camps. It would be nice if we worked together and if we welcomed new novices with open minds. I don’t see that happening however!
The funniest thing I’ve ever seen at a dog show? An amateur owner/handler losing their skirt in the ring and finishing the class in their slip!
DARYL MARTIN
I have been in Maltese my entire life, successfully throughout the years. I have had the privilege of seeing the dogs and breeders from the past years especially when we had a smaller gene pool. Besides being a successful breeder, I am one of the few people that have handled dogs besides campaigning many different lines and pedigrees, so I have had a hands on far
different than 98% of the Maltese people. This background has given me a great picture of the past, present and future of our breed. Even as a youngster I was one of the few people that traveled totally around the country to also have the scope of our breed from one coast to the other. I am happy to say I have mentored/shown for many of our present Maltese breeder judges too. I also am an honor- ary member of the American Maltese Association. I went with my mother to the original meetings that were held when the AMA first started. I am still a student of our breed and of our sport.
I live in the Chicago area on the Northshore for my entire life, other than the first three years where I was born in Tulsa, Okla- homa. I have been in dogs my entire life as my parents were showing and raising dogs from the early 50s. Outside of dogs, I frequently go to the theater and dinner with my “theatre group”, Jere Marder and Matt Hougland, with some other added people on various occa- sions. My hobby is my lifetime work of making beautiful lifetime companions with my dogs.
I personally have bred Maltese as a continuation of my mothers work since the late 50s. I have also through the years bred addi- tional breeds, quite successfully too. I have bred many best in show and group winning Lhasa Apsos, Tibetan Terriers, Shih Tzu and Silky Terriers. However in the past twenty years or so, I have stayed strictly with Maltese, the love of my life.
My breed described in three words: beautiful expression, sound body/mind and silky, white coat.
How does my breed rank in popularity among other Toy breeds? They are not as popular as they used to be in the show ring due to the intense presentation, the hardship of small litters and the fact people want designer dogs. However as pets once a Maltese person,
always a Maltese person. So many people repeat having one through their life time. Sometimes they have one growing up in their family, then they get married and have one and then after the lifetime of one dog they usually replace it again with a Maltese.
Does my breed get its fair share of attention in the Group? Truthfully they are not as popular in the group ring as they once were. They used to command the group ring all over the country. However now that there are more breeds to choose from and the rare breeds have come up in quality like the Affins, the ET’s, Griffs, and also the addition of more breeds, they seemed to get overlooked even if they are great quality as compared to past years. I also think people the newer judges cannot grasp the idea of breeds with coat and put up more breeds that are either smooth like Pugs or even double-coated like Poms.
Any trends I see in my breed that I believe need to continue or like to see stopped? Trends for sure, the balance and heads and tail sets are very different on many dogs than in the past. The presenta- tion is so different too. So many dogs just because they are groomed to perfection to cover their faults or for the glamour have taken away from the true quality of what the dogs really are. The topknots have totally changed the balance of the heads. Maltese are not the only toy breed affected by this, the Yorkies, the Shih Tzu all have the same problems. The coat textures have changed as well. It may look like they are better, but in actuality the preparation and hair products have made the difference.
What can my parent club do to increase awareness and popular- ity of my breed? The parent club tries to educate the judges what the standard states. However, the judges can only judge what is in the ring. I do not think the parent club can increase awareness of the popularity of the breed. There are many Maltese being sold as pets they are popular that way, just not in the show ring. Years back, many Maltese were exported to foreign countries and there was a big market for champions. In those days more people showed so they could sell their dogs and therefore more were shown. Today the people just put a good website up and sell their dogs without the investment of proving the quality of their dogs.
Of course my biggest mentor was my mother, Rena Martin. We both learned by experience. And the important part of that was learning and knowing dog structure, the standard and right from wrong and always trying to breed for better. The way you do that is through constantly studying pedigrees and dogs. Today’s people have no idea even what the parents of the dogs look like or how they produce.
The biggest pitfalls for new judges are not knowing the standard and not being able to see beyond the grooming. Sometimes the new judge will pick up one term from a seminar and only judge on that. The overall balance is most important and knowing what makes a Maltese different from other breeds! As for the new exhibitor/breed- ers the same is true. With the breeders just going to other countries because they will sell you a dog is not the answer. The only way that would work is if they know the background of the dogs and buy more than one to create a line. So many new breeders like a look that is not typical of Maltese too. Health has become a big factor for breeding Maltese today.
My favorite dog show memory? An old story that still to this day is funny, Billie Kendrick judged Maltese at least 50 years ago. We, as in today’s world, had put dogs in to make points. Somehow, with the confusion, someone handed my mother the dog that went Win- ners Dog, our famous Jingles. But this was the bitch class. Billie Kendrick put him up again, and then we realized we had the same dog! Obviously things got straightened out, but he was consistent!
206 • ShowSight Magazine, February 2020