Last night we spent a lot of time discussing the National critiques for Callan, Siska and Orin. There is no doubt Callan has better ear set than Siska, but what I didn't take in was that he didn't say wide set, he said wide and tall ears ... Hmm, maybe they are wide at the base, but not too tall in my opinion, their heads always grow into their ears. Maybe he meant wide set, maybe he didn't. As I said I'm really not complaining, it is interesting to see how people/judges interpret things differently. As I said at the time I did Siska no favours by taking her in myself, had she been looking for me she may have used her ears to advantage. But I do have to agree that like her mothers ears they are slightly wide set!
He was the first judge to ever notice Orin's eyes, and as I've always said, I agree 100%. What I didn't understand was that he only seem to have made the remark about Orin, trust me (and ask me to PM you a photo if you like) he was really not the only one! Some even lighter eyes seemed to have not even been noticed, or described as brown, maybe the sun moved? No, I'm serious, Orin's eyes look very different in different lights. Anyway, no dog is perfect and even after observing them he felt O deserved the top spot in his class. He really is such a handsome dog - he honestly takes my breath away sometimes. I think the first time I really "Saw him" as a show dog with so much potential was actually at his first show, Cheshire. I looked into the ring and saw him stood there with Ian and thought, "wow that is my dog!" When he started to move, I honestly got goosebumps. I had a similar experience seeing him at EOE with Sarah, but sadly due to the judges wishes to move them slowly I didn't quite get the same buzz!
The judge at the National also commented that Orin was a touch long in the loin ... is he? Maybe?(In dog conformation terminology the area between the dog’s last (floating) rib and the pelvis, is called the loin) He certainly is not too short which would be a concern to me. OK, the loin shouldn't be too long but should be broad, strong and well muscled. I guess the interpretation of the ideal length of loin, like all of the standard really varies from individual to individual. The over all length of the breed should be greater than the height at the wither at a ratio of 10 to 9 or 10 to 8.5.
Orin sure has had a fantastic year. Only once unplaced, and that was at a show where there was no age class for him. I still came away happy that he was shortlisted to the last 6 from an entry of 14 in a PGD class. I guess the highlight had to be SWGSD, with the other exhibits moved to one side he worked bloody hard to win that class against Derrick. It's often the same dogs in a class with him, Derrick, Ocean Cruz, Thor, Fabian are yet to beat him, but I'm sure they will. Zeus (yes another) has beaten him once, as has Fitz. In mixed classes he has been beaten by a bitch twice, on both occasions he was the highest placed male so would have won had the classes if they had been split. But of course to keep us ground, as if very necessary, at Blackpool he was last! I had been told before going that he may not be what the judge was looking for, but I'm glad I went as Siska won MPB and Best Puppy Bitch.
I guess now we can see who Orin is, the change in a year has been dramatic, though he was always eye catching, with maturity he has become impressive and glamorous. Siska is stating to mature but she is still a puppy and looks very much the teenager that she is. I can only be hopeful that she will come back together over the next year. She currently looks tall, long and skinny. I must admit I never expected her to be this tall, though she is still not over height, I guess when her body fills she should balance out nicely. I need to get meds for Loki next week, just out of interest I may take her to the vets and weigh her.
I hope that those of you who have known me a long time will be pleased at my positivity, especially with Orin. It's been pointed out to me that I tend to always see and focus on the negative ... Steve says my glass is always half empty! Well here's me chuffed to bits, passing by the negative and celebrating the positive.
The top photo is from a couple of days ago, the second was Orin and Ian debut in the ring together at Cheshire, the third is from SWGSD, and the fourth is Siska after winning at Blackpool. Wow she's changed well they've both changed/matured ... but she sure has got more length of leg now! Ok I've decided to add the last photo just to show the huge difference in just 3 months!
