Crufts

I was honoured to be the first breed specialist invited to judge my beloved breed at Crufts and would like to take this opportunity to thank the Crufts committee for this privilege. Special thanks must go to my 2 helpful stewards, Bryony Rochester and Sue Finan. I was delighted by both the number of entries, especially given Covid restrictions, and the quality of the exhibits. The breed has come a long way since I became involved 32 years ago and the quality, internationally, is now much more consistent, including in the UK, than it was back then. I was pleased to see that all exhibits had correct bites. I saw consistently good feet, but would caution that it is not ideal to trim right up between the toes, as it can take away from the correct tight oval shape of the foot. I did also notice that, although the gender dimorphism should be clear in our breed, we still tend to have some very small bitches and this perhaps needs watching in future breeding programmes. What particularly impressed me, however, was the sportsmanship amongst the competitors, as well as the wonderful relationship that many handlers had with their dogs.  

PD (1,0) 1 Parkinson, Kaydanmy Hot And Crispy, Promising 11-month-old all-black with a luxurious coat. Charming personality who made me smile. When he settles in a good free stand, he shows his balance and good outline. Correct, strong, wedge-shaped head with expressive dark eyes and barely defined stop. Topline is nice and firm, chest well developed for age. Plenty of bone. At this stage, his hocks turn slightly inward, which may well improve as he strengthens with age, but he goes around with correct stride length. BP

PGD (5,0), This class was not only the largest on the day, but also the most competitive with some super dogs. 1 Lacey & Mallory, Albionspitz Rigel, Eye-catching 4-year-old wolf-grey dog with a beautifully balanced outline. Presented in super muscular condition. Great coat texture, loosely lying. His head is typey and wedge-shaped, with excellent parallel planes; ears are a fraction large, but they do not detract from the good proportions of his head or his sweet, friendly expression. Neck of good length, chest well developed without being exaggerated, great tuck up. Firm, straight topline, excellent tail set. Moves fluidly with strides of moderate length when viewed from any angle. Shown to advantage, the connection with his handler is a pleasure to see. Delighted to watch him put on as classy a performance later in the group. BD, BOB 

2 Parkinson & Scott, Glasir’s Blaze Of Glory, A pleasing almost 2-year-old red and black with everything in the right place. Beautiful head and appealing expression. Good well-muscled neck. Chest well-developed for age. Slightly upright in forehand as his upper arm is a little shorter than I prefer, but has very good topline and good rear angulation. Moved fluidly in all directions. 

3 Cadwallander, Albionspitz Burt.

OD (2,0), 1 Le Geoff Int/Fr Ch Jarod Velcro Des Legendes De Retz, Impressive, 7-year-old red male presented in luscious coat. While his legs could be a touch longer, he is still beautifully balanced over-all. Plenty of bone. Head is masculine with super dark, almond-shaped eyes and a lovely, kind expression. Excellent neckline and shoulder placement, well-developed, correct forechest, neat elbows, excellent angulation front and back and a good tuck up. Firm, well-set and carried tail. His movement was a pleasure to observe, sound and true in all directions. RBD

2 Parkinson, Kaydanmy Deluxe Edition, Appealing almost-3-year-old cream dog who needs a little more time to fully mature. Excellent outline. Loved his attentive expression, although his head is a touch squarer with a shade more stop than I prefer. Decent neck, excellent firm level topline, strong croup and super tail set. Today coming towards, his front movement could have been straighter and more balanced with his rear movement but was good away and going around.  

GCDSD (1/0), 1 Parkinson & Scott, Glasir’s Blaze Of Glory.

VB (2/0), 1 Stedham, Albionspitz Tanzanite ShCM, 7-year-old red and black bitch, eye-catching with lots of ring presence. Calm but a little reserved as is typical for the breed. A little finer in bone than my ideal, but I appreciated her overall balance. Feminine head, eyes a little round but engaging expression. Neck of good length set into well-laid shoulder, firm backline, excellent tail set. Symmetrical front and rear angulation. Moved fluidly with moderate strides. A testimony to how well Eurasiers age. RBB 

2 McKean, Silmoralbions Euphoria at Yawren ShCM, An almost-8-year-old red bitch of good overall symmetry though I’d prefer a little more leg length. Super wedge-shaped head, dark slanting eyes and beautiful expression. Correct depth of chest though she can stand a little slack in topline, more noticeable as she was carrying some extra weight today. Very good angulation front and back. Moved well.

JB (1/0) 1 Kaydanmy Glitz N’glamour of Noblerose, Charming 18-month-old of appealing overall proportions. Her biggest asset is her excellent wedge-shaped head, well-defined occiput, good ear size, shape and set, and a sweet and engaging expression. Shoulders well laid back. Good backline. Though her elbows are a bit lose and she can thus toe in a little when coming towards, she moved well in profile and with good stride length. 

PGB (3/1) 1 Stafford, Albionspitz Learn to Fly, 5-year-old, red and black bitch, presented in full, and quite long coat, obscuring her outline somewhat. She might not be the most eye-catching, but on closer inspection I found lots of breed quality and good proportions. Very good head, well-set neck of medium length, leading into correct withers. Good depth of chest, and good symmetrical front and rear angulation. Excellent movement towards and away and showing pleasing stride length in profile.

2 Conquest, Silmoralbions Ygritte, Quite a tall, but very appealing cream bitch. I particularly liked her very typey and feminine head, wedge-shaped with parallel planes, dark, medium-sized, well-set eyes and kind expression. She stands a little narrow in front and I’d prefer a little more layback of shoulder. However, she has a good backline, correct croup and truly excellent tail set and carriage. Sound mover. 

OB (3/0) 1 Parkinson, Kaydanmy Exclusive Edition, So much to like about this 2-year-old, truly feminine red-cream bitch. A little finer in bone than my ideal, and I wouldn’t want her any longer, but she is still balanced. Beautiful, wedge-shaped head, flat skull of moderate width. Good neck into well-placed shoulder, well-defined withers and firm, level topline. Well-angulated with the front matching the rear. Her movement was effortless and lovely to watch, straight and true with correct, moderate stride length. She certainly gave the BD competition for BOB and with a little more maturity I expect her to challenge the best. BB

2 Pearce, Albionspitz Diphda, Charming 4-year-old, very feminine fawn bitch. Well-proportioned but very much out of coat and I was not sure if we would not end up with most of her coat on the famous green carpet by the end of the hands-on examination! Liked her typey, wedge-shaped head, though her ears could be a shade smaller; pleasing eyes with very appealing expression, neck of medium length, well set-on, correct moderate forechest. Slightly upright in forehand as her upper arm is a little shorter than I prefer. Good breadth of croup, well-set tail. Moved soundly but lacking the fluidity and ease of 1. 
 

3 Gutteridge, Albionspitz Imajica.

GCB (3/0), 1 Stedham, Albionspitz Tanzanite ShCM,

2 Pearce, Albionspitz Diphda, 

3 Gutteridge, Albionspitz Imajica.

Mrs Brigitte Mordan-Grimm (Alphacanis)