Page 25 - The Labrador Retriever

labrador retriever Q&A
WITH GREGORY A. ANDERSON, PLUIS DAVERN,
JANIS GRANNEMANN, JUDY HEIM & DR. MICHAEL J. WOODS
Labrador coat at all. A Labrador is not intended to have
a slick coat like a Weimaraner or a German Short Haired Pointer. They are to have a thick, water resistant double coat. Am I saying a fat Labrador never walks into the ring? Of course not. Usually when that does happen, it is a dog that lacks coat and the misguided owner thinks if it is fat it will look like it is carrying coat, but it will not. It will just look and feel fat. So I ask of the judges who now are on the skinny Labrador bandwagon, to start really putting your hands on those dogs and don’t confuse ‘fit’ with lacking proper coat. I address it with other judges by trying to educate them. I believe that the majority of judges want to do the best job possible. Its why they are here and they can be very open minded and ready to receive information about any breed if it is offered.
3. In order, name the five most important traits you look for in the ring. Are there any unforgivable faults in the Labrador breed?
Overall structure, type, movement, size and head. Now this is a bit difficult because usually if structure is correct so is movement so they tend to really go hand in hand.
I actually like a Labrador that would exactly fit into the height as stated in our standard but size isn’t as important to me personally. As a dog breeder and an artist I know that the framework/structure is the first thing you must have when you are building a sculpture or a dog. Then once you have that correctly it is easy to bring in type and correct heads to your breeding program.
One fault I find hard to forgive that we are seeing quite
a bit is tails held too high or too curved with feathering. Because this is incorrect for our breed and that otter tail is so important to the type in our breed. An ‘otter tail’ has what is called a wrap. The coat is thick and wraps around the tail. It is okay for the tail to be elevated a bit and you do especially see that in the young males, and as they mature its amazing how those tails get held less and less high. The second fault that I absolutely will not abide is an aggressive temperament. There is nothing more important in our breed than temperament. Fortunately the breeders have safe guarded the exceptional tempera- ment Labradors have for generations. An aggressive stud dog seldom ever makes its mark in our breed because breeders will not use the dog. Overall I am proud to say that Labrador breeders are vigilant about maintaining the tractable, versatile, kind temperament in the Labrador Retriever and it has served our breed well.
4. What do handlers do in presentation that you wish they would not?
At specialties we prefer to present our dogs free baited and it is the way I like to see the dogs presented to me.
I want to see what the dog is, not what a professional handler can make the dog into. Of course it is the profes-
sional handlers job to present these dogs in the best light possible. The majority of the owner handlers do not have any idea how to show the bite and this causes the dog
to fight them while they fumble around. Also the owner handlers must believe there is safety in closeness because they like to get right on top of the dog in front of them when they set their dogs up and they move more and more in towards the center of the ring.
5. How does the breed in North America compare to other parts of the world?
Admirably! I have judged in several other countries
and we have some of the best Labradors in the world right here. For many years there have been some really wonderful Labradors in Finland and Sweden and those countries were also early trail blazers in health clearanc- es. In North America dogs were originally imported from Europe as they had the better dogs. We are very fortunate in the US that we are a large country with a large popula- tion which has afforded breeders the opportunity to have a higher population of dogs which leads to a larger gene pool and ability to improve Labradors here at a rather rapid rate. We owe a lot to those early imports. When I first began in Labradors so many of the dogs had straight shoulders and short, straight upper arms. Now when
I go to the Labrador specialties I see that a majority of the dogs have wonderful front end assembly and strong nicely set rears.
DR. MICHAEL J. WOODS
1. Have your Labs competed in any performance events? Did that experience affect
judging decisions?
I was a fairly avid hunter and worked my Labs on a num- ber of bird species. In addition to amazing insight into the breed’s inherent retrieving instinct and trainability, hunting gives one an appreciation of ‘form following function’. When judging, I think I’m pretty consistent in looking for good coats, sound movement, tight eyes and feet and indication of the ability to ‘do the job.’ I think a ‘moderate’ dog is the ideal and tend to avoid extremes.
2. What are the most controversial judging topics for this breed? How do you address them?
Too many dogs are shown in poor condition and carrying too much weight. However, too many all-round judges think that the Labrador’s powerful build is fat, where a close examination of the dog reveals the dog is substan- tial and well muscled. The Lab is not built like the Flat- coat or Golden. He is a more substantial, compact dog.
236 • SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2017