Page 222 - ShowSight - February 2020
P. 222

                 Australian Terrier Q & A
“They are moderately energetic, they love to go on adventures, they are very devoted to their people too.”
 Theresa Goiffon continued
I live in Siren, Wisconsin which is located in Northwestern, Wisconsin. It is a rural area, and our home is situated on many acres providing lots of places for our terriers to explore.
After retiring from a career as a VP of Commercial Lending, having raised three daughters, my most important role right now is watching my one-year-old grandson four days a week. I also serve as the President of a local Not for Profit Veterinary clinic in our community. I am a website designer part-time, often working on my next book to publish and in my free time I enjoy cross-country skiing in the winter and gardening in the summer.
Do I hope the breed’s popularity will change or am I comfort- able with the placement? Our breed numbers are incredibly low and we as a breed are concerned about the sustainability of the Austra- lian Terrier. It is of great concern to me and has been since I first discovered this wonderful breed years ago. This is not a new issue, it is however, one that just recently has raised concern to our breed club. In 2018, Dr. Jerold Bell presented an informative seminar, at our National Specialty, in which he expressed how serious of a matter this truly is, with respect to the sustainability of our breed.
Our gene pool is small and dwindling. I have personally dis- cussed this concern with long time breeders in their native Australia and this is of concern to them as well. It is imperative that breeders encourage and mentor new people in our breed and it is also equal- ly as imperative that breeders work together with other reputable breeders to increase the gene pool.
What does that look like you might ask? How do we work at increasing our numbers responsibly? It starts by looking at dogs within your own country, but also inevitably, one must look at importing and exporting outside of the USA to expand our rapidly declining gene pool. We need to breed but we need to breed wisely and avoid the overuse of the same sire. To be careful and not fall into “Popular Sire Syndrome”, which in a small gene pool as ours could have a devastating impact on the future of our breed.
Does the average person on the street recognize the breed? Actu- ally, very few people have seen an Australian Terrier in person and even less people have ever heard of them. Many times, when we are out and about with our dogs, people will stop us and ask us what breed are they? Often people think they are an oversized Yorkie or some kind of Cairn.
What about the breed makes them an ideal companion? With- out sounding too bias, they truly are the perfect family dog for most families. They are moderately energetic, they love to go on adven- tures, they are very devoted to their people too. But they are a ter- rier and their instinct to chase a squirrel or keep the vermin out of “their” yard is very strong, which can reflect not only a self-assured dog but one with their own agenda.
Mostly, they are fun loving, should always be wonderful with children and adults of all ages. They want to be with you always and you will realize quickly, if you have an Aussie Terrier, you will never have the bathroom to yourself again.
I think this applies to most breeds but the Australian Terrier in particular, is not a dog to be kept for hours on end alone at home or in a crate or kennel. They are highly intelligent and the need to be with their family is important for their happiness.
Are there any misconceptions about the breed I’d like to dispel? They are not a yappy breed, they generally get along well with other animals, dogs as well as cats and they are very easy to train.
What special challenges do breeders face in our current econom- ic and social climate? To breed properly and responsibly to me that means at the minimum you must health test, socialize and keep the puppies until they are 12 weeks old. It is expensive to breed properly and it is time consuming to not only raise the puppies but to provide attention and devotion to your adults as well.
At what age do I start to see definite signs of show-worthiness? I start to evaluate my puppies starting at four weeks, then every two weeks and generally make a decision on those show prospects by 11 or 12 weeks of age. Sometimes during their early months, they can go a bit off, but generally based on my experience if they had potential at 11 weeks they will mirror that image once they reach adulthood.
The most important thing about the breed for a new judge to keep in mind? Judges need to judge the “whole” dog without preju- dice with respect to cosmetic alternations, specifically tail docking verses natural tails. That is key particularly in a small gene pool breed like ours in which we must work together with our European counter parts who are not allowed to alter their dogs.
Overall, I am pleased to say our breed has many good quali- ties such as not many genetic health concerns, good temperaments overall and for the most part we are keeping our “type”. Sometimes “type” appears to be in the eye of the beholder, but most breeders follow the standard and strive to maintain and improve our breed.
What strikes me worthy of mentioning particularly to a new judge, is to understand our breed is not big boned nor small boned, they are to be medium boned. Neither are they square in body. The standard states 1 to 11⁄2 inches longer than tall and their shoulders should be nicely laid back, with a nice strong keel.
When viewing the side movement, they should cover ground with a nice smooth reach and drive motion with little to no space between where the front and rear feet meet at the ground. If the front assembly is solid, the topline should be firm and not bounce when in motion.
The best way to attract newcomers to my breed and to the sport? I have mentored dozens of new people in our breed. Some in confor- mation, others have chosen to participate in performance activities. Making new exhibitors feel welcome and supported is key. To be willing to help and teach new people everything from entering a show on line, to grooming and everything in between.
My personal goal for the breed is to continue to breed healthy, sound tempered Australian Terriers. To educate others in our breed, always be a resource for others and continue to promote breeder choice with respect to docking or not docking our breed.
Continue to show and breed hopefully more best in show dogs, but most of all, my ultimate goal is to continue to help sustain the breed for many more generations to come.
My favorite dog show memory? We have made so many great memories over the years. We have traveled the country and even made a trip to the world show in Finland where we exhibited with two of our dogs.
Our multiple Best in Show wins handled by two of my young daughters will always be a highlight and blessing to our family.
But I guess if I have to pick one memory it would be, watching my daughter Lydia at Madison Square Garden, show her bred by and owner handled Australian Terrier, Jake, that won the breed, we were so proud. But what made that extra special was Lydia at that time, worked at a nursing home as a CNA and we had taken Jake to the nursing home many times to visit with her elderly patients. When the residents found out they were going to be on television the entire nursing home was a buzz and those wonderful elderly residents stayed up very late to watch their favorite CNA and their friend Jake live. It truly was extra special and meant to so much to Lydia.
This sport is about enjoying your dogs, in addition for us it was about making family memories and sharing and promoting our dogs. It is also important to recognize these special moments and realize the positive impact this sport and pure-bred dogs have on others.
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