"Thank you for the lovely entry and the opportunity to go over so many quality dogs. Presentation has now become almost an art form and very commendable when you see the time and effort that has been put in, a compliment to any judge to have clean smart dogs to handle and much appreciated.

Noticeable changes have taken place over the last two decades, soundness being an obvious improvement. Incorrect mouths are now in the minority, which on an otherwise good dog I did not penalise too much bearing in mind the old saying 'Don't throw the baby out with the bath water'. Whilst aiming to judge the dog as a whole type being ever important I looked for sound movement, driving action, length of stride and dignified head carriage. Eye colour varied in shades of brown and as long as the colour didn't spoil expression I did not penalise too heavily, but what I did find unsightly was the loose rims that showed too much haw at the outer corners. Sadly narrow fronts were in abundance but on a plus point there are still a lot of good typy dogs out there. Sound with size and substance. Shoulders in the steep upper arm with hardly any angulation between the elbows and point of shoulder. Coats, the icing on the cake, flat, dense, harsh in texture and a healthy bloom was what I looked for. Temperament was flawless as was the overall behaviour, even the puppies had obviously been schooled for their introduction to the show ring and I thoroughly enjoyed getting my hands on them all."