Page 24 - Great Pyreneese
P. 24
THE GREAT PYRENEES BREED SURVEY
ROBERT M.
BROWN, DVM
I live in Eastern Washington State in
wine country—Pasco, Washington. Now
that I am fully retired I can follow my
beloved sports teams: Green Bay Packers;
Gonzaga college basketball team; Wash-
ington State Cougars, Boise State Broncos
and Wisconsin Badgers college football
teams, while I am consuming some won-
derful Washington state wines. I bought
my first Great Pyrenees in 1966 and started showing the breed in 1969. I have been approved to judge the breed since October 1978.
VINNY CHIANESE
My wife and I live in our motorhome.
During the winter (November to
March), we have a lot in Port Saint Lucie,
Florida and during the summer (April
to October), we wander around the
northern parts of the US attending
both the Great Pyrenees National in
April and the Portuguese Water Dog
National in September. I always had
a dog growing up and I’ve had several different breeds throughout the years. Showing started in 1979 with a points builder Siberian bitch. I soon learned from that and moved forward from there. I was approved for my first breed, Great Pyrenees, in 1992 and the Working Group in 1998.
JEAN PERO
I live in Lakewood, Colorado. I retired last year from 40 years in the Automotive Glass Replacement Indus- try, do Industry Consulting and I am on the Board of Directors for the Auto Glass Safety Council. I was not allowed to have a dog as a child, so immediately after college when I got a real job, I got my first dog—a Cocker Spaniel. I got my first Great Pyrenees in 1982, got the show bug and was an exhibitor and limited breeder until 2010, when I retired from breeding and exhibiting to concentrate on judging. I was approved for Great Pyrenees and Juniors in 2004 and currently judge 18 breeds.
1. Describe the breed in three words.
RMB: Elegant the look.
VC: Elegance, majesty and guardian. JP: Elegant, majestic guardian.
2. In order, what are the five most important traits to look for when judging Great Pyrenees?
RMB: 1) Correct head; 2) balance; 3) correct coat; 4) correct front assembly; 5) double dewclaws.
VC: 1) Size: large, well-balanced, slightly rectangular dog with a level top line of medium substance.
2) Temperament: confident, gentle and affectionate; quiet composure, both patient and tolerant.
3) Movement: easy, free flowing with both power
and agility, capable of working in the mountains.
Ease and efficiency are more important than
speed. 4) Head: correct head and expression in proper proportion to the body. 5) Coat: weather-resistant double coat of a long, flat, coarse hair over a dense, fine, woolly undercoat; white or white with markings.
JP: 1) Balance with impression of elegance and beauty with great overall size. 2) Wedge head in proportion to the body with no apparent stop, elegant and intelligent expression. 3) Confident temperament. 4) Smooth, powerful and elegant gait exhibiting power and agility. 5) Weather-resistant double coat; white or white with markings of gray, badger, tan or reddish.
3. Are there any traits in this breed you fear are becoming exaggerated?
RMB: Elimination of the normal toeing out of rear feet and selecting feet that do not toe out, thereby increasing the amount of medial patellar luxation in the breed.
VC: Weak, longer backs and narrow fronts. JP: Long backs and narrow fronts.
4. When a class of Great Pyrenees comes into the ring, what is the first thing you look for in each of the dogs?
RMB: I look at the class for elegance and balance. VC: They should look like a Great Pyrenees when
standing still as in a proper outline—not leggy, nor short-legged with a weak top line due to excessive body length. Then as the class goes around, the move- ment is important as in ease of movement.
JP: Outline, balance and strong, powerful side gait.
5. Describe the ideal Great Pyrenees movement and its importance as being judged.
