Min L/h Dachshunds

An excellent entry with no absentees in the males & only a handful in the bitch entry.

Temperaments were generally very good, only a couple of youngsters on early outings a little diffident on the table.

As a member of the Dog Health Group at the Kennel Club I was cynical when it was suggested that some exhibitors deprived their dogs of food & water to keep them under 11lbs. However, now I am not so confident as I found some exhibits thinner than I liked & 2 exhibits disturbingly so – both unplaced. I weighed all exhibits & noted those who tipped the scale & made a note of their weight. It made no difference to my placings & I would rather have a dog a couple of ounces overweight which was balanced & in good condition than a ribby one who was under 11lbs.

I think one of the problems in the variety is that many are too long in the body for balance. The Standard asks for moderation & if some of these Miniatures were scaled up to standard size they would be very long indeed & in some cases had the same body length as a standard. Lack of forechest, short ribcages & lack of neck were my other main concerns.

However, I enjoyed judging the breed. I spent a lot of time in Germany working in the great von der Birke kennels as a student, & later had the best mentor possible in Alf Hague & older exhibitors might recall me handling his last champions – so the breed is very dear to me & these comments come as a devotee to the breed rather than a critic.

MPD 1 Galrhia Dizzee Rascal, 7 months b/t, lovely shape & very good assembly which he uses on the move. Excellent forechest. Ribbing just a little short. Carried himself well; 2 Lyndarlea Latte, 7 months choc/t, lovely proportions & holds his shape very well, excellent head & eye. Front assembly a little forward placed & needs to fill out in front. Lovely temperament & beautifully schooled with excellent carriage; 3 Mirriadachs Red Baron. PD 1 Ralines Here Comes The Sun, 10 months red, very good outline, masculine head. Ribcage a little short, sound mover holding his topline & carrying quite a thick puppy coat at the moment. Very good carriage. BP; 2 Sunnyview Distant Darkness To Hilear, 11 months, lovely proportions & size, good head. Not the front assembly of 1 & just tucking himself up on the move. Sound rear action, excellent ribbing & good body condition; 3 Rafthouse Iceman Among Thelepees. JD 1 Lyndarlea Rafarty, easy winner here, lovely quality, excellent head & eyes, good topline held on the move. I would prefer a little more forechest but everything else to please. Went well with super carriage & made the final cut. With maturity in body will have a good career; 2 Willowheath Festival Guy, almost 18 month b/t, balanced & well put together & this shows on the move. A little diffident on the table but on the floor excellent movement & carriage. Eyes could be darker; 3 Summerview Make My Way For Roo. PGD 1 Lyndarlea Bubbles, chocolate whose colour could be better but the best construction in the class with good ribcage, forechest & good head & eye. Excellent topline, front movement could be better. Used his hocks well, excellent condition & carriage; 2 Garbosa Catcha Moonbeam, red, lovely outline & beautiful head & eyes. Ribcage a little short & needs more body. Not the forechest of 1. Moved well, tail carriage just a little high; 3 Yelva Cardamon Prince. LD Top two in close contention at the head of this good class. 1 Sengepabu Saint Valentine, took the eye immediately for topline, tail carriage & movement. Lovely type & good to see one who moves out freely & with good stride & topline. Lovely head & eye, good ribbing & forechest, pressed hard in the challenge. RCC; 2 Jenwood Shady Spot, similar type, lovely head & eye, excellent forechest. Not quite width in front of 1 or as firm in topline but full of quality; 3 Ralines Red Kuri. OD Three excellent dogs to top this class. 1 Ch Zarcrest Ice Conqueror, shaded/cr, beautiful shape, proportions, construction & movement, good skull, would prefer a little more underjaw. Great quality & lovely carriage, in excellent condition. CC & BOB & later G3; 2 Ch Wildstar Wrenowned, b/t, little longer than 1 whose balance I preferred. Masculine head, good ribbing & body. Not quite the scope through the forehand on the move as 1, very good body, in super condition; 3 Willowheath Henrix. VD Three very good veterans, all with good ribcages well ribbed back. 1 Ch Lyndarlea Choc Ice, 7 years chocolate, excellent proportions & balance & like all from this exhibitor has lovely carriage, excellent head & eyes; 2 Jenwood Ring Of Bells, 9 years, excellent movement, forechest & ribbing. Very good head, little short of coat. Really enjoying himself, freedom of action excellent. Just a little proud of his tail; 3 Skildown On Parade.

MPB 1 Minard Eye Kandi for Ralines, 8 months cream, a big pull in maturity, carriage & movement here. Excellent head, little too long & would benefit from more body. Excellent movement won her this class; 2 Findowrie Rings ‘N’ Roses, 7 months, preferred her size to 1. Lovely proportions & well constructed, needs to develop a little more strength in muzzle but she is young & has beautiful eyes. On her first outing & needing a little more confidence & schooling; 3 Lyndarlea Cathrine. PB Good class, top 3 all a little different in type. 1 Ridgegrove Chocolate Drop at Boscolla, 9 months dapple of lovely proportions & excellent movement. Head needs time to develop but scored in balance & freedom of action to head this class. Great ribcage & well covered. BPB; 2 Nagshall Wings Of Love, 10 months, lovely construction & ribbing, scores in head over 1 but not quite the carriage of 1. I liked her a lot, would just prefer a little more ground clearance for perfect balance. Lovely quality; 3 Rafthouse Designed for Ellemich. JB 1 Shenaligh Sweet Susie, 13 month b/t, quality all through, good angulation, forechest & ribbing. I would prefer a slightly smoother flow of neck into withers but very good movement at both ends. In excellent condition; 2 N Wings Of Love; 3 Devoncream Maid Of Diamonds. PGB 1 Zarcrest Ice On Fire, top quality cream, comfortable winner here, excellent proportions & ribbing, chest & carries herself well. Could use a little more neck, lovely condition. CC; 2 Wildstar Reflection, b/t, lighter framed, lovely proportions & free & good striding on the move. Needs a little more maturity of body, very extrovert & a little proud of her tail; 3 Halunke Sheer Magic. LB 1 Willowheath Lady Sophia at Miriadachs, 5 years b/t, lovely quality & super movement, liked her all through & held herself well on the move. Made the last cut in the challenge where I preferred those that beat her in smoothness of croup. Loved her movement & use of her hocks; 2 Willowheath Frosting Angel, rather dark dapple, excellent construction, very good head & mover. Just a little short of neck & runs up a little on the move but a lot of quality. I see another Willowheath, all from this breeder had really good movement; 3 Nagshall Puppet On A String. OB Top 3 all a little different but all with quality. 1 Indicott In Tune with Dolyharp, brindle, excellent mover & very good construction, scored in eye & front movement. Not in her best coat but great carriage & movement. Preferred proportions of CC winner. RCC; 2 Ch Shenaligh Sweet Surprise, b/t, preferred her proportions to 1 but eyes rather large & not the front action of 1. A lot of quality & in lovely condition, if she had put her best foot forward could have reversed the placings; 3 Ralines Butternut Posh. VB Both a credit to the breed. 1 Boscollo Lady Isabella, 10 years cream, in remarkable form, beautiful head & eye, full dentition immaculately clean, firm topline, lovely quality all through, good bodily & muscular condition. A pleasure to see & to judge; 2 Yelva Silver Cloud, almost 8 years dapple, in very good condition, lovely head & eye, went freely. Not quite topline of 1.

FRANK KANE