Birmingham National Championship Show 2005

Dachshund (Wire Haired)

 I thoroughly enjoyed judging this happy breed, most of them treat a show as one big laugh, don't ever lose this wonderful temperament. Shoulders & hence elbows seem to have improved no end, only the odd incorrect bite, one or two could have been cleaner, especially the one with fleas crawling up it's back legs! Exhibitors seemed to be v sporting over the placings. Thank you for the quality entry.

MPD (2) 1 Derry's Andlouis The Tempest. Liked this 8 mth good coated boy. Nicely shaped head with plenty of furnishings, dark eye, correct bite, kind expression. Lovely body with plenty of length, shoulders correctly placed therefore good tight elbows. Pleasing depth of chest & prominent fore chest. Moved soundly & look smashing when standing. 2 Norman & Ratcliffe's Silvae Hotshot. 7 mth with a good coat. Pleasing head & eye but incorrect bite. Elbows need to tighten up a bit, but he is still young. Lovely body with plenty of length. Good feet. Not as positive on the move as 1. A month can make a lot of difference at this stage in their development.

PD (2) Two v nice puppies. McCalmont's Silvae Patriot. RDCC & BPD Smashing puppy, good all through. Masculine head, mischievous look in his eye, harsh coat, prominent forechest, of lovely length, moved well in front, just needs to tighten up with rear action. 1 Moore's Romanchi Carrier. Another cracking puppy, Construction comments from the winner apply to this one as well, Would have liked a slightly longer keel.

JD (3) 1 McCalmont's Silvae Patriot. 2 Gibson's Allfreys Seabiscuit. Smaller d. Liked his head & expression, correct bite & eyes. Harsh coated. He is a trifle upright in shoulder which reflected in his topline when moving & standing. 3 Calcott's Vineacre Batchelor Pad at Baffledown.

PGD (5) 1 Derry's Soneve Pharoah at Andlouis. Smart two & half y o d, v well presented & handled. Good type of head bite correct, masculine expression. Nicely laid back shoulders going into a good steady topline. Moved with drive. 2 Glanville-Biggs Silvae Onyx at Brimaville. Workmanlike little hound, with a good harsh coat. Good head with a pleasing expression. Bite correct. I would have liked a tighter elbow, movement a bit erratic. 3 Baxter's Lankelly Timothy Grass at Kharmina.

LD (4) 1 Coverley's Romanchi Choctaw, Brindle shown in good condition with a correct harsh coat. Nice depth of chest & prominent forechest. Plenty of length to this boy so was slightly surprised that his movement was only fair, do you give him hard road work? I find it tightens up an untidy mover. 2 Dible's Liebling Here Comes the Boss. how aptly named, This red boy was at odds with his handler as to how much of the ring either were going to use. The handler having been at this game more than a few years, went with the hound instead of battling against him! For me he was too small, I like a more substantial hound, but he is v nicely made all through & it is hard to fault him on anything. 3 Burke & Manston's Bonavoir Kelly's Ey.

OD (6) 1 Moore's Romanchi Beaver DCC. Super brindle d hound, lovely gentle expression, good head, correct bite, nice harsh coat, well made body, liked his outline when standing & moving. Drove around the ring using his hind quarters to his advantage. 2 Kent's Liebling Play in the Hay. Another v nice lad, bit more rangy than 1 , pleasant head, good furnishings, harsh coat, nicely made body, moved with purpose around the ring, just carried his tail a little too high. 3 Patton's Lesandic Limestone Lad.

MPB (1) 1 Kent's Liebling Star Attraction (taf). 7 mth red girl, felt she was a bit small for her age, even so she was thoroughly enjoying her day out. Good coated with enough furnishings, although her face needs to fill out a bit as at the moment it is a bit sharp.Seemed to be well made throughout but at the moment her movement is still a bit erratic , she is still a baby, sometimes I think we expect an awful lot of our puppies.

PB (3) 1 Moore's Romanchi Chicora, RBCC & BP & 4th in the puppy group! Really smashing brindle p. I was impressed with her movement, v sound, v true, & drives around the ring. Feminine with a kind expression, correct bite, well shaped head, enough furnishings, coat looked as if it had a 'tidy up' so could have been harsher. Lovely well placed shoulders going into a firm top line, this p had some quality about her. 2 Sexton & Knight's Cloudside Rheane at Molloney (naf taf). This b was of smaller build than the above but deserved her second place. She is nicely made & moves fairly well, better on the fore hand than the hind. Would have liked a bit more length to her, would have given her more balance. Could have been presented in cleaner condition. 3 Allan & Dick's Barmaud Katherine Hepburn.

JB (9) 1 Skinners Ritterburg Scheherazade. Smart looking b with almost a pin wire coat! But this type of coat does reflect in lack of furnishings on the face which I think is a pity as it gives the hound a sharper outline. Having said all that she is a jolly nice b, lovely shoulder, good fore chest, tight elbows, good firm top line, moves pretty well, just lacking in more drive. 2 Phillips' Saxonbury Playday at Tendrow. Smaller b to the above. she has a pleasing head & expression , I would like a longer body on her to complete the picture, at the moment she runs up a bit over the loins & this affects her movement, & a bit more length would even things out a bit. 3 Clark's Bystock Some Like it Hot.

PGB (10) 1 Phillp's Saxonbury Playtime at Tendrow. Well made neat brindle b, liked her head & furnishings, correct bite, gentle eye, good reach of neck going into correct ly placed shoulders, therefore nice tight elbows! She held her topline better than the rest of the class, she looked great standing, & I was happy with her movement. 2 Skinners Ritterburg Scheherazade (1st in junior). 3 Coverley's Romanchi Tigua at Aventine.

LB (5) 1 Rees' Ermewood Arabella. Really nice b & v well handled & presented. I liked her all the way through, had the best reach of neck in the class. Sweet head, correct bite, good coat , shoulders well placed, tight elbows, lovely length of body & was by far the best mover in Limit. Considered her for the RCC. 2 Davies' Cempsey Centime by Atahira. This b was determined to have a 'good day out', v full of herself she was, full of kisses! Should imagine she is a handful at home. Nicely made throughout, & looked a picture standing. movement was only fair, partly I suspect to her exuberance.

OB (7) 1 Patton's Lesandic Like a Butterfly BCC & BOB. It always seems a bit far fetched to say'caught my eye as soon as she came into the ring,' but it was true, I just hoped I wouldn't find anything adverse when she was on the table. & I didn't! I think she is lovely & I was so pleased for the owners. Little to fault her on, she is beautifully made, has an easy outgoing temperament & moves with purpose & drive. It makes it all worth while to find something really good. Hope you have a lot of fun with her. 2 McCalmont's Ch.Silvae Picnic. Another smashing b, & no doubt they will change places all the time. I found plenty to like with this b but she lacked that drive that Like a Butterfly has. She has a super head & coat, well placed shoulders, good hind quarters, level topline, but on the day the above had that extra bit more.

Suzanne Emrys-Jones