Crufts

[becks]

I really enjoyed watching the juniors in action, especially as Brynja had handled my Levi the day before and she handled my naughty giant puppy the following day. Must admit to screaming out YES when she was the first to be pulled out into the final 10!

[The Spotted Devil]

I really enjoyed watching the juniors in action, especially as Brynja had handled my Levi the day before and she handled my naughty giant puppy the following day. Must admit to screaming out YES when she was the first to be pulled out into the final 10!

Sounds like you had a ball How norty was giant girl? :D

[Rottshowgirl]

The reactions of the handlers/breeders of the Petite & the Lab were gorgeous, they were both so joyful :)

I just adore that Petite, she seems so funny & so naughty. If you could say a dog was grinning, little Jilly definitely is!

[labadore]

A solid Lab but you don't see many here jumping like this

Thanks showdog for that great pic of Romeo jumping up so excited as his result :laugh: his excitement is so typical of the Labrador, love it and many thanks for your pics and posts in response to other posters regarding the Lab. I know everyone is not a Lab fan and I don't expect them to be as we all have different tastes in dogs, but as a Labrador owner and lover of many many years, it is just wonderful to see my beloved breed do so well at such a prestigious event and the obvious happiness of both the dog and owner/handler was just so lovely to see.

[Mudlark]

... as a Labrador owner and lover of many many years, it is just wonderful to see my beloved breed do so well at such a prestigious event and the obvious happiness of both the dog and owner/handler was just so lovely to see.

Can't argue with that :) The dog was obviously very happy and relaxed in the ring (until the nasty camera tried to eat him towards the end) and loved his owner to bits. That was wonderful to see.

Having looked again at the Labrador standard (here) I do agree that there is nothing about this dog that objectively goes against the Australian standard. It asks for a broad dog, and he is a broad dog. But, to be honest, he doesn't conform to my subjective interpretation of the standard or the breed extension (here) as, to my eyes, he is too heavy in appearance (not saying fat, just too thick and heavy in body, neck and head). I am a big lover of the breed too, but Romeo is just not the style of Labrador that I prefer, that's all. It's only my opinion.

Looking at the bigger picture :) , it's definitely fantastic to see a Labrador do so well at this level.

Edited March 11, 2013 by Mudlark

[LisaCC]

I thought the labrador was absolutely gorgeous! I adore heavy built labradors and his excitement was great to see :)

[Dogsfevr]

Having looked again at the Labrador standard (here) I do agree that there is nothing about this dog that objectively goes against the Australian standard. It asks for a broad dog, and he is a broad dog. But, to be honest, he doesn't conform to my subjective interpretation of the standard or the breed extension (here) as, to my eyes, he is too heavy in appearance (not saying fat, just too thick and heavy in body, neck and head). I am a big lover of the breed too, but Romeo is just not the style of Labrador that I prefer, that's all. It's only my opinion.

The dog fits the extension standard very well ,the extension is the same standard with more detail & the picrues & the likes fit it very well & it moved very light on its feet

[Rottshowgirl]

I didn't think the Lab looked fat at all, I thought he looked really strong and fit. Bit confuzzled as to those who think he's chubby

[labadore]

I didn't think the Lab looked fat at all, I thought he looked really strong and fit. Bit confuzzled as to those who think he's chubby

Unfortunately our beloved breed comes in for a lot of criticism on weight and every man and his dog (both non Labrador owners and Labrador owners have an opinion about a Lab's weight) . Yes there are many overweight Labs out there, but so many confuse a muscular, solid & very fit Lab with being overweight because they don't resemble a "field" Lab. There is a major difference between the show/bench lab and field/working labs and I have always preferred the show/bench Lab as they are the Labs that are bred to standard. My current youngster is from a very well renowned Labrador breeder who has been breeding for over 35 years and showing and judging Labs for many many years and I got my youngster from him as I believe his Labs are an excellent representation of our breed and he breeds to standard. Funny thing is I actually get a lot of compliments from Rotty owners on my boy who say he is the most solid and fit looking Lab they have ever seen and some ask if he is part Rotty :laugh:

If people want a slim build Lab they can get a field/working Lab as a show/bench style Lab will never be a slim build Lab as they are completely different builds, unless a show/bench style Lab has been purposely keep very lean due to joint injury or to appease their owner's often misguided view on how a Lab should look :D In saying this, I do realise that unfortunately, there are a lot of overweight Labs out there, but not all show/bench labs are overweight just because their body build is larger as a lot of these dogs are very solid and fit. In some people's mind, all show/bench labs are fat and nothing any of us say will change their their opinions, even though they have never run their hands over the Labs they judge as fat and I am not talking about the obvious overweight Labs here.

Anyway no amount of criticism of our beloved breed will dampen my joy for both the very happy and gorgeous Romeo and his delighted owner. :) Great achievement

[LisaCC]

I didn't think the Lab looked fat at all, I thought he looked really strong and fit. Bit confuzzled as to those who think he's chubby

Unfortunately our beloved breed comes in for a lot of criticism on weight and every man and his dog (both non Labrador owners and Labrador owners have an opinion about a Lab's weight) . Yes there are many overweight Labs out there, but so many confuse a muscular, solid & very fit Lab with being overweight because they don't resemble a "field" Lab. There is a major difference between the show/bench lab and field/working labs and I have always preferred the show/bench Lab as they are the Labs that are bred to standard. My current youngster is from a very well renowned Labrador breeder who has been breeding for over 35 years and showing and judging Labs for many many years and I got my youngster from him as I believe his Labs are an excellent representation of our breed and he breeds to standard. Funny thing is I actually get a lot of compliments from Rotty owners on my boy who say he is the most solid and fit looking Lab they have ever seen and some ask if he is part Rotty :laugh:

If people want a slim build Lab they can get a field/working Lab as a show/bench style Lab will never be a slim build Lab as they are completely different builds, unless a show/bench style Lab has been purposely keep very lean due to joint injury or to appease their owner's often misguided view on how a Lab should look :D In saying this, I do realise that unfortunately, there are a lot of overweight Labs out there, but not all show/bench labs are overweight just because their body build is larger as a lot of these dogs are very solid and fit. In some people's mind, all show/bench labs are fat and nothing any of us say will change their their opinions, even though they have never run their hands over the Labs they judge as fat and I am not talking about the obvious overweight Labs here.

Anyway no amount of criticism of our beloved breed will dampen my joy for both the very happy and gorgeous Romeo and his delighted owner. :) Great achievement

Well said! When my yellow boy was young and healthy he was a very big boy, but definitely not fat, at the time his breeder enquired whether we would be interested in showing him as he had grown to be quiet lovely (my Mother decided she didn't want to). The comments we got from other people were disgusting, I had one man drag his skinny field lab bitch over to me at obedience and say "This is what a proper labrador should look like" and that Sam was "Grossly obese".

Edited March 12, 2013 by LisaCC

[Mudlark]

Here are the Labrador bitches being judged. Tail wags all round :) The winning bitch and winning dog were then assessed together by both judges. Apparently the judges could not agree on which was better out of the two and so a third judge was brought in and chose the male.

[Guest RosieFT]

hee hee I just watched the clip and all those metronomic wagging tails made me smile :laugh:

Lovely dogs, I grew up with one as a child and have a soft spot for them.

[Tralee]

Published on 11 Mar 2013

Arena coverage of Group Judging

(Pastoral) and Presentation - Crufts 2013

The Beautiful clean lines of the Maremma Sheepdog

Presented by Anna Albrigo of Slevaspina Kennels.

No surprises there. :)

ETA. It was good to see the Lead Judge at Crufts, not pushing the Maremma to allow itself to be handled.

Edited March 12, 2013 by Tralee

[Trisven13]

I was the one who raised the initial question and it was based on MANY comments I'd seen from European & English dog people who had watched it live. I hadn't seen a picture of him so I asked if he was fat. When I saw a photo I said that he was bigger than I'm used to seeing but I meant that more in a height & substance way.

[Katdogs]

Lancashire Heeler is another breed I've never seen. I'd love to meet one but again they're not in Aus.

[Mudlark]

I was the one who raised the initial question and it was based on MANY comments I'd seen from European & English dog people who had watched it live. I hadn't seen a picture of him so I asked if he was fat. When I saw a photo I said that he was bigger than I'm used to seeing but I meant that more in a height & substance way.

It is a fair thing to ask and I think the consensus is that the dog is not fat, but is just a very solid, big-boned, muscular boy (IMO at the more solid end of the spectrum, even for a show dog). I thought he was fat at first sight but on closer inspection he got around the ring without the kind of wobble you'd see on a fat dog. I guess people (including myself) can be quick to call a Labrador fat because so many owners (pet owners I mean, not so much show) let their dogs get huge and mistake it for muscle and it is sad to see. Weight is always a sensitive issue for Labradors! :)

There was a dog in the Gundog group that I had not seen before - the Bracco Italiano. Wow - I really loved that dog. He had a beautiful, fluid movement and a regal air about him. What I thought was really good though was that most of the dogs seemed to be relaxed and having a good time.

[Dogsfevr]

I didn't think the Lab looked fat at all, I thought he looked really strong and fit. Bit confuzzled as to those who think he's chubby

I think the problem is people have no clue what barrel chested means & just presume they should look like & goldie or Flattie which neither should be barrel chested & each Retriever has a different build.

Many field Labs simply look like naked Flatties which is ashame but this has happened in many gundog breeds where they have altered them so much its hard to even recognize .

Many of the top show Labs where dual titled in the years gone past & all true to breed standard so very capable of working .

Everyone is entitled to own what they like but as you say its very sad when people comment without actually understanding or just making a judgement .

[Nevafollo]

The reactions of the handlers/breeders of the Petite & the Lab were gorgeous, they were both so joyful :)

I just adore that Petite, she seems so funny & so naughty. If you could say a dog was grinning, little Jilly definitely is!

Thats Petits, they are so very cheeky and naughty and happy ALL the time! My mum owns two, she doesnt show one at all anymore for various reason but her bitch who I personally think is very nice gets shown occasionally and is actually fairly closely related to Jilly! Watching her take BIS was very exciting, a huge win for the breed!

[espinay2]

Mary Roslin Williams of Mansergh Labrador fame who bred many dual titled dogs in her day and worked her dogs extensively in the field as well as in the show ring, wrote about and lamented how changes to field trial competitions brought about changes to the dogs bred specifically for them - with some crossbreeding also taking place to get dogs that were leaner and 'faster'.

Edited March 13, 2013 by espinay2

[The Spotted Devil]

Mary Roslin Williams of Mansergh Labrador fame who bred many dual titled dogs in her day and worked her dogs extensively in the field as well as in the show ring, wrote about and lamented how changes to field trial competitions brought about changes to the dogs bred specifically for them - with some crossbreeding also taking place to get dogs that were leaner and 'faster'.

Sounds like an interesting lady. From a bit of reading, it seems she did prefer a "moderate" dog. From here

Her dogs had to have typical Labrador heads, their coats were superb weather resisting coats with no feathering, of the type we rarely see to day, they had to have otter like tails and their overall conformation had to be correct. Mary knew that if they were not made right then they would not survive years of work.

Mansergh bone was always good, but never overdone as some are today. Their substance was what they were born with, not what they were fed to look like, as we do it these days in many cases. In the later years Mary had a problem with the more modern judges going for the bigger, more overdone type of Labrador. She hated to see this but she was determined to keep breeding the type of dog she had always bred and believed was the genuine typical Labrador. She would never follow fashion in either her choice of stud dog or in the type of puppy she would run-on. Manserghs were slow to mature.

They had a decent length of leg but were not leggy, they had a good depth of chest but were not overdone in this respect. They had a good reach of neck too. These features were an advantage, not a disadvantage, in a working dog. The heads in Labradors were also changing, but not the typical Mansergh.

The Lab is such a multi-purpose dog nowadays that it doesn't surprise me that there is such variation in type.....pets (primarily), showing, retrieving, agility, obedience, guide dogs, assistance dogs, drug detection. I know customs prefer the field-type dogs - very high drive dogs that will work all day. Guide dog organisations don't really care what they look like (provided hips and elbows ok) but a steady temperament and no desire to chase whilst on the job is essential. Of course there are some dual-purpose dogs out there but live and let live I say - no dog can be everything to everyone :)