judge John Shepperd

I would like to thanks the members & Committee of the Northern Counties Shih Tzu Club for their invitation to judge their Championship Show. I would like to thank those concerned for the wonderful hospitality extended to me during my stay & to Mrs Grace, their talented President for the painting of my favourite Shih Tzu. The entry of 175 dogs was excellent in comparison to Australia & most other countries, where entries are declining! Unfortunately with quantity one does not always find quality! Overall I found the dogs v disappointing. Thankfully the bitches were far superior. Overall the general presentation of the dogs was gd, with the exception of a couple of dogs which were matted underneath! The English breeders have retained the correct shape of skull, however, length of muzzles varied as did the placement of the nose. I was shocked to see long down faced dogs being exhibited. Mouths varied & although misplaced incisors do not concern me, overshot & wry mouths are not acceptable. Eyes also varied in both size & colour, another problem that faces breeders worldwide. Fronts! ln some cases they were horrific! They were either heavily bowed & out at elbow & in a few cases there was no front with two legs coming out with no width of chest. Bodies were gd but length of rib needs to be watched Length of leg varied poor toplines accompanied the bad fronts & straight hindquarters. Tails were overall v gd, however even the English have not avoided the odd flat & screw tail. Breeders need to pay more attention to the structure of their dogs, there were exhibits that I examined with anatomical faults that in my opinion should never be exhibited & most certainly not used for breeding. In most cases I found my class winners stood out, however it was v difficult in a number of the bitch classes where I found the quality to be v high. Once again my sincere thanks to all the exhibitors who attended & accepted my decisions in such a sporting manner. My comments & observations on the breed will hopefully be accepted in a constructive manner by those who are genuinely interested in the betterment of the breed.

MPD (11).
1 Ethelsmead Bak To The Future, Larger type gold/white with well shaped head & gd dark eye;
2 Simesha Made For Me, Solid gold with gd head & eye, topline could be better;
3 Harropine Just A Habit.

PD (7).
1 Santosha Sorcerer, well balanced gold/white youngster, attractive head & outline, moved well BPD;
2 Zuthis Elektrik Avenue, gold/white youngster, not as balanced as 1 st;
3 Boris Browning Of Camglia. J

D (7).
1 Jacquinta If By Chance, promising black/white youngster, gd type & balance. Gd head, body topline & tailset. Moved well;
2 Symaraju Lord Of The Dance, brindle/ white of gd type, moved well but would prefer a darker eye;
3 Bhandari Toffee Nose.

MD (4).
1 Harropine Adagio, gold/white. gd head & expression, enough leg;
2 Simesha Made For Me;
3 Heragus Phlashlight At Camglia.

ND (3).
1 Boris Browning Of Camglia, well marked smaller type black/white well presented & typical; 2 My Lucky Charm, attractive gold/white, failed in top line compared to 1 st; 3 Jardhu Tung Tzse.

SpBEG D (4).
1 Mungun Star At Katouk, honest gold/white dog ,lacking in coat; 2 My Lucky Charm; 3 Jardhu Tung Tzse.

GD (6).
1 Jacquinta If By Chance, winner of Junior class; 2 Pekoe Sun Of A Gun, gold/ white, nice balance but lacked the head & eye of winner; 3 Cedarhythe A Stoke Of Luck.

PGD (9).
1 Pekoe Son Of A Gun; 2 Mungun Star At Katouk; 3 Donovans Gold Del Lorics.

LD (20).
1 RCC Wynele Realization JW. Honest gold/white with gd head of correct shape, gd eye & expression. Nicely constructed dog to examine who moved well. Additional work on his Coat would improve his appearance;
2 Laurmerand By Design, another nice dog to examine, gd type & balance, needs to settle on the move;
3 Hashanah Lock Stock N Barrel.

OD (15).
1 DCC Ch Hashanah Hot Shot, quality male gd head & expression, well balanced with correct tail & set on. Excellent presentation & well handled;
2 Ch Hashanah Elite With Mingshu, another quality male, well handled & presented, an honest dog to go over, not the outline of 1 st;
3 Zuthis Hurdy Gurdy Man.

VD (6). All exhibits were a credit to their owners.
1 Hajenza Incantation, won the class on his overall breed type & balance;
2 Ch Pekoe The Amber Nectar;
3 Otraharp Chere Magic.

 MPB (18).
1 Cabbala Needs No Frills At Harima, super brindle/white who stood out in this class, lovely type & balance. Well presented, v promising youngster who should have a bright future; 2 Hashanah The Thought Of You With Mingshu, another quality youngster who was unfortunate to be in the same class as 1; 3 Galeshi Petite Sirah.

PB (17).
1 Chanikos Justa Dream. Super gold & white who appealed to me as she entered the ring. I was not disappointed when I examined her, excellent type & movement which saw her go through to BPIS;
2 Debeaux Is It Me, attractive gold. Not the quality of 1;
3 Socorro Uptown Girl.

JB (18).
1 Cabbala Happiness Is, red/white, well presented, gd type & balance, moved well;
2 Symaraju Shining Star, v nice overall, nicely shaped attractive head, moved well;
3 Cedarhythe Chance A Rumour At Fairlou.

MB (10).
1 Wynele Mixed Blessings To Laurmerand, attractive black/white who stood out in this class;
2 Paliden Gold N Precious, solid gold, just 6 mths, gd head, well balanced with a level top line & correct tail set;
3 Chanikos Maid Of Dreams.

NB (10).
1 Chanikos Justa Dream; 2 Wynele Mixed Blessings To Laurmerand; 3 Penlizas Cerrutti.

SpBEG B (4).
1 Wynele Mixed Blessings To Laurmerand;
 2 Metadale Party On , youngster who needs time to mature & develop; 3 Metadale Popinjay.

GB (4).
1 Rossvale Almost An Angel, small gold/white, won class on type not construction;
2 Chelhama Secret Affair, large plain bitch, sound but lacking in breed type.

PGB (17).
1 Harropine I’m In Heaven At Bellwaycharm, attractive gold/white, gd head & expression, gd to go over, well presented & moved well;
2 Shanjo Heartbreaker At Fairlou, another bitch of gd type & balance;
3 Superlion Identity Crisis.

LB (15).
1 BCC & BIS Kucheng Klassic Capers At Cabbala, The ultimate in arrogance, she caught my eye as she entered the ring, superb outline & balance. Correct balance of head with true breed expression. Well constructed a pleasure to go over, Expertly handled & beautifully presented, her only fault is that she is not mine;
2 Superlion Redoute Rose At Caserose, another lovely bitch, feminine, again v correct moved well & again handled & presented expertly. Another who should have a gd future;
3 Harropine Minfaa Chantilly Lace.

OB (10).
1 RBCC & RBIS Ch Hashanah Flashpoint, Gold/white, lovely outline & balance. Gd head & neck, correct expression & lovely tail, a pleasure to go over, well presented & expertly handled;
2 Ch Santosha Rainbow High, yet another quality bitch, well presented gold/white, gd head & expression, gd body. I preferred the outline of 1;
3 Harropine American Beauty At Metadale.

VB I would like to congratulate their owners as all were presented in excellent condition for their ages.
1 Ir Ch Grandavon Lotus Blossum At Jardhu;
2 Delmarvey Miss Chief;
3 Ch Grandavon Ming Toi.