"Although the entry of Newfoundlands at this show was relatively low for me including my overseas appointments, I was very pleased with the overall quality of the dogs exhibited. In my final line-ups for both dogs and bitches I am of the opinion that these exhibits would probably have fared just as well as part of a larger entry.

It was reassuring to find that size was reappearing in the breed as well as better front angulation, the latter bringing with it much better movement on the whole. About 12 years ago, I perceived that there was a move to breed for a specific type of Newfoundland that better met the American Newfoundland Club Standard. The latter Standard concentrates mainly on head quality. At the same time, I noticed when judging on the Continent that this was also happening. With this came the smaller Newfoundlands who excelled in head quality but appeared to introduce the straight angulation in the front with over angulation in the rear. This meant that most of these Newfoundlands tended to overreach on the move.

I was delighted with the entry at the WKC, as the type seems to be settling to nearer the British Standard of producing Newfoundlands that are of the correct size with no exaggerations of any kind. The general presentation of the dogs was of a very high standard and the fashion for the over trimming of the chest area seems to have fallen out of vogue, the owners preferring to tidy up the coat leaving a more balanced look."