Page 12 - ShowSight Presents - The Beagle

THE BEAGLE
THE HAPPY-GO-LUCKY PUP
KIM AND TIM DELANEY
We own Shillington Beagles and we live in beautiful Fort Ellis, Nova Scotia, Canada. Kim is self-employed, running her own boarding kennel and grooming shop. Tim is laboratory manager for the Department of Agriculture for the Province of Nova Scotia. Kim began showing dogs at the age of seven when her parents purchased their first purebred Collie. Tim began showing his family’s Great Pyrenees at age 14. Togeth- er we have bred some 58 Beagle champions in four different countries, with multiple Best Puppy in Show winners, Best in Show winners and specialty winners.
ANNETTE DIDIER
l live in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the house in which l grew up! We have a secluded, wooded 10-acre plot that let’s us escape from the business of everyday life. A perfect location for the Beagles! Outside of dogs, I work two jobs, leaving little time to do more preferable things! Though I do like to cook, garden, shop and travel (which dog showing lends a hand)! I began exhibiting in the mid-70s with an English Springer Spaniel, realizing rather quickly she was sub-par excellence! It was a natural change for me to get into Beagles—the breed we always owned while growing up!
The Beagle, the merry little hound! The go anywhere, do anything dog! The soft, pleading brown eyes of a Beagle portray its warm personality, however, beneath their pleas- ant exterior and compact size lies boundless energy, which contributes to their happy-go-lucky attitude. Channeling that energy can be a bit of a challenge for some, though, that same energy is the basis of the Beagle’s stamina, so critical while in the field to endure in chase all day without fatigue. So, strength and the ability to carry out this function are critical to the Beagle’s survival in the pack. That same stamina proves advantageous to the performance, show or companion Bea- gle as well, whether they are tackling an agility course or flying over a jump to retrieve a dumbbell, diving off a dock or earning a Championship or MACH titles, our happy, no non- sense, intelligent, diverse little hounds are built to do it all!
1. Your opinion of the current quality of purebred dogs in general and your breed in particular?
K&TD: Overall we would say the quality of purebred dogs is at an all time high. Dogs are much more sound now than in years past and have much more stable temperaments.
Beagles in particular are much more balanced and overall more sound dogs. They are generally of sound tempera- ment and merry little dogs. We often find the quality of bitches to be better than that of dogs, but we are seeing some low tail sets and crooked fronts in our breed, which need to be improved.
AD: In my opinion the current quality of purebred dogs
in general, as well as Beagles in particular, is becom-
ing somewhat of a division between the few outstand- ing specimens being presented versus the remainder
of exhibits who are on the slippery slope to becoming mediocre. It is unfortunate there are too many incorrect dogs being placed in the show ring. This is due to many factors though lack of education on structure and form to function, in my opinion, is at the forefront of culprits.
2. The biggest concern you have about your breed, be it medical, structural or temperament-wise?
K&TD: The biggest concern in our breed would be overall health. Most breeders strive to ensure they are breed- ing healthy sound-minded dogs—and health testing
is at that heart of it. However, while you can test for
A beautiful Beagle. Gorgeous length of neck blending smoothly into her shoulders, balanced front and rear and correct topline and tailset.
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2017 • 219