Page 226 - ShowSight - September 2020

THE
GOLDEN RETRIEVER
1. Where do you live? What do you do “outside” of dogs?
2. How many years in dogs? Showing? Judging?
3. Describe the breed in three words.
4. What are your must-have traits in this breed?
5. Are there any traits in this breed you fear are becoming exaggerated?
6. Do you think the dogs you see in this breed are better now than they were when you first started judging? Why and why not?
7. What do you think new judges misunderstand about this breed?
8. Some have suggested Goldens today are losing breed type, as compared to dogs in the past. Do you agree? If so, what are some key breed-type characteristics you feel breeders need to improve on?
9. How do you prioritize key Golden breed-type elements when judging the breed? What is most important to you?
Least important?
10. When evaluating dogs in your ring, how do you go about assessing correct Golden breed character/attitude/tempera- ment? Do you think current breed judging is favoring “generic showdogs” with wound-up high energy, or dogs with a more workman-like, yet biddable attitude?
11. What about correct Golden Retriever outline and proportion? How would you characterize proportion of the majority of dogs you’re seeing? Do you feel breeders are doing a good job with length to height; or is this still a drag on the breed? What about short versus long back/loin length? Which areas of pro- portion do you think breeders still need to concentrate on?
12. What is the state of Golden Retriever heads today? What do you look for? What can be improved?
13. It seems that many dogs being shown today are moved at a fast pace. How do you assess adequate reach and drive versus effortless/efficient movement?
14. How do you prioritize correct Golden coat and color when considering breed type?
15. What do you think are important features of Golden Retriever type that are too often overlooked by conformation judges?
16. What advice would you give to a new judge of your breed.
HELEN DORRANCE
I have been showing, breed- ing and competing in performance events with Golden Retrievers since 1977, and have owned or bred over 50 Golden Retriever champions under the Ducat prefix. I’ve owned seven GRCA Outstanding Dams, including the Dogs In Review top-
producing Golden Retriever bitch in 2012, and have personally owned and trained five Goldens to Excellent Agility titles. I cur- rently judge the Sporting Group and am a retired agility judge. I am lucky enough to own and live on an eight acre farmette with sheep, goats, chickens, a livestock guardian dog, and a boarding kennel in central Texas.
Describe the breed in three words: Purpose, profile, soundness.
What are my must-have traits in this breed? Slightly off-square proportion; level, firm topline with correct tail carriage; well-devel- oped forechest; deep and wide muzzle, only slightly deeper and wider at the stop than the tip; well-defined stop; correct coat; bal- anced and symmetrical movement. Although not specifically stated in the standard (other than “muzzle straight”), parallel planes are also a must.
Are there any traits in this breed that I fear are becoming exag- gerated? Yes—excessive grooming, longer body length, too much coat, and exaggerated and inefficient gait, frequently resulting in “kicking up” in the back or overreaching on the side.
Do I think the dogs you see in this breed are better now than they were when I first started judging? I don’t think the dogs are better or worse than they have been since the mid-seventies when I started showing. Like any breed, Goldens wax and wane accord- ing to whatever the current influence is—usually dependent on the stud dog du jour. As in any breed, when you rush to fix something, like fronts, another part of the dog suffers. It’s impossible to fix everything at once. Goldens are particularly hard to breed because they have several genetic problems we screen for. Golden breeders are very conscientious and generally follow the code of ethics and don’t breed dogs that don’t pass OFA. Just as in breeding for type, when you suddenly have to concentrate on breeding dogs that can pass cardiac screenings or pass eye clearances at the age of eight, you may lose some of the other traits you spent a generation or more cultivating.
What do I think new judges misunderstand about this breed? Coat, color and gait. Coat should not be as profuse as we are fre- quently seeing in the ring. (Profuse coat truly does slow down water retrievals and retrieving from heavy cover.) Neither should the coat be scissored all over to present what the exhibitor thinks is the cor- rect outline. Not only does the scissoring ruin the outline (the oppo- site effect of what the exhibitor is hoping for), it changes the texture of the coat so that it is no longer firm and resilient. Wavy coats are perfectly acceptable and, in many cases, are the correct texture and the least likely to hold burrs. Unfortunately, exhibitors frequently spend hours stripping out coat and/or trying to “straighten” the coat “for the judges,” thereby ruining the wrap-around jacket it is sup- posed to be.
I think the majority of breeder-judges are truly color blind. What shade of gold a Golden is rarely factors into the decision- making process. Plus, color can change throughout the Golden’s life. Some dogs can look almost white at six months of age and be a medium shade at six years.
Lastly, I sometimes feel it is easier for judges to focus on side gait instead of trying to remember all of the nuances of breed type. Goldens are supposed to have a powerful and well-coordinated gait commensurate with their body proportions. When we reward the dog with the “sweeping” side gait or tremendous reach and drive, we may be rewarding the dog that has no forechest to interfere with that tremendous reach; or we are inadvertently rewarding a longer- bodied or short-legged dog, or narrower and/or racier dog with an uncharacteristically longer neck and narrow head.
Do today’s Goldens have breed type? Throughout the years there have always been several Goldens with good breed type—and there still are. Unfortunately, a lot of these Goldens are now only going to breeder judged specialties. I try to encourage them to exhibit at all-breed shows so that judges can see what typey Goldens look like, but many feel it is a waste of money. In general, bodies and loins need to be shortened and backlines need to be firm, level, and
224 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2020