Paignton & District Fanciers' Association

It was an honour to be invited to judge this general championship show and I thank the committee for their invitation and the exhibitors for travelling so far for my opinion. It was a shame numbers were so low, but I understand the numbers were where they have been for the last few years for this show. I also understand there are now some litters around, so hopefully the lower classes will refill soon.

The day was quite warm for some of the dogs but despite that, they performed well and I think we found adequate shade. I do feel that the general improvements I saw on my last appointment, was an improvement in bone quality and hard muscle condition in many dogs. This was heart warming to see. I also generally found an improvement in top lines with a higher number of level backs than last time I judged. However, I do feel there are some less than desirable tails creeping in, and though a tail does not maketh a dog, we do have to remember that the ringed tail is a unique characteristic of the afghan hound and therefore needs to be protected.

Special Beginners Dog and Bitch

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Minor Puppy Dog

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Puppy Dog

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Junior Dog

1/1

1st Lancashire, O’Donnell and Lancashire’s Drishaun Baby in Black JW. Upstanding B and T commanding attention. Striking head with lovely chiselling and triangular eye given a houndy eastern expression. Very nice depth to jaw and strong bite. Long neck leading to a square outline with short and strong loin and wide set prominent pin bones. Lovely deep chest with nice spring. Well angulated and balanced fore and aft. Lovely low set ringed tail raised on the move. Moved with a style of high order with a nice spring both from construction and conditioning. Absolutely loved him and the coat presentation one expects from this kennel. I generally prefer to stay higher up the line for top awards, but could not resist giving him the RCC. I expect when he is soon completely mature, he will make up quickly.

Yearling dog

2/2

1st Harwood & Harwood’s Altside Too Hot To Handle JW. A lovely domino, who was striking on the stack from the start due to his correct square outline and exotic and arrogant expression. He had a low set and correctly ringed tail. His angulation was balanced and his feet were large and strong of correct conformation. His conditioning was fantastic – hard muscular condition – as it should be. Moved well but would have preferred a little more forward extension today.

2nd Holder & Holders Zendushkas Rolling Stone at Farakushk. Attractive gold shaded mask who was certainly happy today. I would prefer a little more ring to the tail here. Otherwise he is balanced, well muscled and just needs a little more time to mature up.

Post Graduate Dog

2/2

1st Dunstan and Waterhouse’s Shimalma Disaronna at Tazkindi. Pale gold self masked dog. Of a square outline with well balanced angles fore and aft. Low set tail with a good enough ring. A houndy expression and a powerful head. Low set tail. Not the heaviest of coats, but is correctly silky and more reminiscent of desert type than mountainous.

2nd Gunn & Gunn’s Katanga’s God of Thunder JW. Black and Tan dog presented well. He has a masculine head, super expression and triangular eye. Handled well by his owner but some more work on the stack needs to be done as dipping his topline today. I would prefer a tighter ringed tail.

Limit Dog

9/9

1st Hurl & Hurl’s Zandahar Xcuse Me Mister nicely winning a good strong class. Upstanding Brindle and masculine male. Without doubt his head is suggesting strength and working ability which for me is essential. Triangular eye giving an eastern expression. He has a superb long neck which leads to fantastic sloping shoulders with return and correct angulation fore and aft. Lovely square outline with deep ribs and short loin and finished with a huge silky coat. He has a low set and lovely donut ringed tail raised on the move to compliment his balanced and well sprung movement giving a style of high order due to his conformation and hard conditioning. A real contender in the challenge.

2nd Roper’s Sitana The Kingsman at Temenshu. Handsome gold shaded mask. A dog who has a sense of humour and was challenging his owner today. I really liked this boy. Well ribbed up, lovely low set and properly ringed tail, well muscled and with very good reach and drive. He did however loose out to 1 as his characterful nature meant I saw less of the movement than I perhaps should have been able to see. Glad to see him enjoy his day though.

Open Dog

3/3

1st UK and Aust. Ch. Millward, Race Millward & Ferguson’s Aus UK Ch Tahkira Affogato (Imp) Aus. Wow what a dog. As I saw him come into the ring he literally caught my eye enough that I did a double take. Black and cream upstanding dog in the most impeccable condition. He has a masculine head with correct depth of jaw – his head is strong and yet still refined which is a difficult ask to pull off. Triangular and dark eye. Very long neck leading to correctly angulated fore and hind quarters. He has a deep chest and a short loin. He is well off for bone. His brilliant and hard conditioning (which in combination with near text book angulation) allowed him to move effortlessly round the ring with a style of high order. He has a low set and perfectly ringed tail raised on the move. There aren’t many dogs who can appeal to most kennel type preferences – but he is surely one of those. There was no question he was my CC winner and BOB today and he later went Hound Group ONE.

2nd Lewis Aust Supreme Ch. Aviva Vampire Tetra (AI) (Imp) Aus (ATCBB36003AUS). Another upstanding (cream) masculine dog. He has excellent chiselling to the face, and an eastern expression which I like. Square outline and again hair perfect presentation. Deep chest for plenty of lung room. He moves with a style of high order and commands attention, but I prefer the shoulder of 1 today.

Veteran Dog

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Minor Puppy Bitch

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Puppy Bitch

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Junior Bitch

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Yearling Bitch

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Post Graduate Bitch

2/3

1st Lawson-Ball’s Sitana Mystique At Zarcar. Gold shaded feminine bitch with lovely chiselling and deep and strong jaw. Triangular eyes. She has a lovely level back with very good fore and aft assembly. She has long, sloping shoulders and return of upper arm with the rear complimenting this correctly with well let down and turned stifles. She has a correctly set and well ringed tail and moves with a style of high order. Lovely girl.

2nd Green and Powells Yansukhim’s Candy Floss. A different kennel type to 1 but none the less a typical and beautiful black bitch in the most stunning condition. She has excellent fore and aft assembly with sloping shoulders, correct return of upper arm and her rear quarters compliment this perfectly. An eye catching mover with tail raised in action. Theres a lot to like here but I preferred the of tail of 1 today.

Limit Bitch

8/8

1st Mitchell, Smithson and Thornton’s Absolute Afghan’s India at Karnak (Imp Nor). A super feminine pale gold shaded mask in stunning coat condition and length winning a really strong class full of super bitches. My line up could switch places on another day, but today was her day for the class. Correctly angulated fore and aft to allow her to cover her ground with ease. Well ribbed up and back. Very nicely muscled: a must for a healthy and working hound. She has a correctly ringed tail raised on the move. There is a lot to like here.

2nd Sanghera and Sanghera’s Sitana Love and Thunder JW. A red-gold patterned bitch so typical of the breed. She appealed to me in type very much – very houndy, feminine and yet strong enough to do the job too. She has a lovely level top line and is square in outline. A lovely perfect donut ringed tail raised on the move. She moved well with spring and a style of high order but today was just pipped to the post by the movement of 1.

Open Bitch

4/4

1st and BCC Dowd and Malia’s Ch Saxonmill Mirror Image. Another Stunning head turner in an incredibly strong class. Black and Tan in perfect coat condition. Her head is strong but refined and ultra feminine. She has a strong and deep jaw, chiselling and dark tight triangular eye. She has a long neck leading to square outline and level back. She has excellent front and rear assembly with near text book angulations. She is well ribbed up and back with a short and strong loin. She is in the hardest of muscle condition which allows her to move with verve – lovely reach and drive and correct spring. Her tail is set on low with a ting at the end. If any bitch were to tempt me back into owning an Afghan Hound, this would be the one. She challenged hard for BOB and frankly I am sure they can change places on other days.

2nd and RCC Gilbert’s Ch Altside Hot as Hell At Affietar. Of a different kennel type to 1 but another Wow dog. She is a brindle bitch presented to perfection. She is a houndy girl with a strong but feminine head with chiselling to give refinement. Another lovely level back with near perfect angulations fore and aft again. Handled to perfection as one expects from this kennel. She does have a ringed tail on the stand so hits the breed standard but loosens it a little on the move which saw her loose out to 1 today.

Veteran Bitch

1/1

1st and Best Veteran in Breed Cannon and Gunn’s Int Ch Lux Ch Amal Salang Hey I’m The Star at Zushkhan Vw (Imp). Another stunning black girl. And at 9.5 years still pushed hard for the RCC. Lovely shoulder angulation and well let down stifles, she has a level back and square outline. Everything about her flows and her hard conditioning is wonderful especially for her years. She moves with a style of high order and covers the ground easily. A super specimen of the breed.