"Thanks to all exhibitors for turning out on a cold January day, many from a considerable distances. Overall I was pleased with the quality of the exhibits - the bitches were particularly strong and I was spoilt for choice when assessing my final line up in the bitch challenge. There were at least three bitches in top contention for the CC and on another day I am sure they will change places. But on the day I was extremely impressed with my final choices and my Best of Breed was outstanding - Bearhugs Falcon lived up to his name and certainly soared to impressive heights, gaining his Champions crown with ease after an incredible barnstorming performance both at this show and the shows preceding it. His rise has been meteoric and it is gratifying that his quality has been so amply rewarded by a succession of judges. Such an outstanding dog - at nearly 5 years old, he is now in his prime and will definitely be the dog to beat in the months ahead. My Bitch CC. Cewrirdwr Llyn Geirionydd was delightful - real substance coupled with a sweet femininity - I loved her! Mention too should be made of the absolutely stunning Best Puppy, 7 month old Merrybear Euphoria at Millthorpe. I adored her and can only say she has an amazing showing career ahead of her. She has the prettiest head and expression, though she certainly looked naughty!

In general I was pleased with the soundness of the dogs entered and temperament as always was excellent. One sweet bitch was too nervous to be handled but this could be overcome with more socialisation and ring training, though I appreciate this is not always easy when living somewhere remote from a ringcraft club. Presentation was good overall although a few dogs needed a bath - spending money on show entries then asking a judge to 'find the tats' in the armpits and under the tail is not sensible and is not conducive to securing a decent placing.

In light of the Kennel Clubs directive to all breed judges from 2014 onwards that a Breed Health Monitoring form be completed after the appointment, a few comments are in order. The Kennel Club Breed Watch highlights breed specific points of concern for Newfoundlands and all Championship Show Judges of Newfoundlands must now submit information gathered during their Judging of the breed. This information will be reviewed by the Dog Health Group and will play an integral part in influencing the future development of the breed as well as contributing to the process of Health monitoring. The specific Breed Watch Point of Concern is 'Conformational defects of the upper and lower eyelids' (loose eyelids). As a Judge I am required to inform the Kennel Club of my findings, actually giving the number of dogs affected in the entry - not an easy task. I became aware when checking every dogs eyes for loose eyelids that we do have a problem. Some are more obvious than others, ranging from saggy lower eyelids exposing considerable haw to exposure of haw in the corners. The Breed Standard states 'Eyes - relatively small, dark brown, not showing haw, set rather wide apart. Free from obvious eye problems'. So haw is incorrect, but a lot of dogs have the problem to a greater or lesser degree. As I have said previously, part of the problem is the loss of the correct Newfoundland head. At Leeds in 2010 I commented that we had a problem with overdone heads, too massive, too abrupt in stop, too wrinkled or jowly, too deep, what I call a St Bernard/Mastiff type head. Some dogs have really long narrow muzzles which sweep back into narrow skulls with minimal stop. I think we need to be very careful that head type complies with the UK Breed Standard. The rush to import dogs from many other countries where type varies and may be more exaggerated is compounding the problem. The reason given by many importers is that this widens the gene pool. Unfortunately this is rarely the case - the majority of dogs in Europe and America are actually related and the same dogs and kennels dominate when pedigrees are examined closely. Breeders and Judges should always remember that a Mastiff type head is totally incorrect in the Newfoundland and is a health risk, leading to respiratory problems, snoring, panting, drooling and excessive wrinkling of the skin which in turn leads to loose eyes. Deep set eyes can also lead to ingrowing eyelashes and this is a debilitating painful problem which we need to be aware of. I find it so depressing that Facebook is awash with photos of often imported Newfoundland dogs and puppies with hugely overdone heads and there are ridiculous comments from friends praising the dogs beautiful head. A puppy with a very massive strong head is extremely undesirable since the exaggeration will be even more pronounced as the puppy matures. I suggest ALL breeders, importers and exhibitors look again at the Breed Standard which states that the head should be broad and relatively large, occipital bone well developed, no decided stop, muzzle short, clean cut and rather square. Then please choose and act accordingly.

With eyes at the forefront of my mind, I looked for dark well set almond shaped eyes with close fitting eyelids and minimal haw. There were a few light eyes which spoil expression, but in an overall good dog I made allowances as long as the eye and brow ridges were correctly shaped and the balance between muzzle, stop and crown of head was correct. All my top winners had gentle, curving, well balanced, unexaggerated heads.

I dislike fault judging and looked for positive features. I searched for substance, size and strong bone. It was not easy since I found a variation in type, size and balance in relation to substance and proportion. Some dogs were rangier, standing taller, longer in the back and loin and disproportionate with regard to adequate bone and substance. Some males were much shorter in the leg, shorter in body and lacked height although their depth at brisket was acceptable.

Movement was obviously key - the KC's directives to Judges prohibits the placing of lame or unsound dogs. This was rather tricky since a number of dogs were very unhappy about the ring mats which were slippery and a number started bunny hopping in one corner of the ring although they were sound moving in the opposite direction. However, the movement of my winners was excellent, long striding, effortless and rhythmic with powerful drive from the rear and accurate forehand extension, covering the ground with the minimum of effort. My winners looked like they could actually work and filled the eye with their strength, stamina and power."