Southern Bernese Mountain Dog Club

Thank you to the Southern Bernese Mountain Dog Club committee for inviting me to judge their Open Show and to Trish Barr for stewarding. Thank you also to the exhibitors for entering under me, despite several absentees, I had some lovely, quality, typey dogs to judge, including some promising youngsters. I was looking for dogs with the important, correct proportions, of good size and substance, with level toplines and with the desired masculinity and femininity. I found what I was looking for on the day, in my winning dog and bitch, and was pleased with my main winners. Best Dog & Best in Show Cotton’s Ch Shirdees Greatest Showman At Jukesbern Reserve Best Dog & Best Veteran Cotton’s Ch Kernow Billy No Mates At Jukesbern Best Bitch & Reserve Best in Show Goodyear’s Ch Harvestbank Just One Kiss Reserve Best Bitch Evan’s Etterbern Made In Essex For Evansly Best Puppy Bitch & Best Puppy Angelrain Lasting Love Baby Puppy Dog (0) Baby Puppy Bitch (2/2) Minor Puppy Dog (0) Puppy Dog (1/1) Junior Dog (1) Vaychkus & Vaickus’s Bernaroso Grand Prix 17 months old, he was active, alert and of good size, correctly marked, head developing well, correct bite, compact body, with correct depth of brisket. Sound mover, although close behind. Shown in good condition. Special Yearling Dog (4/1) Ganko’s Haribo Kielo Cud At Ninnilove Promising youngster, 19 months old, he was active, alert, of good size with a lovely, masculine, balanced head that is developing well. Dark, almond shaped eyes. Correct bite. Balanced proportions, correct markings and coat. Good front, layback of shoulder and return of upper arm. Level topline and well-rounded croup. Adequate bend of stifle. Well boned, with correct ‘cat like’ feet. Free flowing, balanced movement, with reach and drive. Shown in good coat and condition. Cotton’s Etterbern Baz Vegas At Jukesbern Another nice youngster, 19 months old, attentive to his handler and alert, correctly marked, masculine, balanced head, developing well. Correct dark, almond shaped eyes. Correct bite. Compact body. Correct front and layback of shoulder. Adequate bend of stifle. Well boned, with correct feet. Well-rounded croup. Shown in good coat and condition. Not quite the size of 1st, and I preferred the movement of my class winner today. Meakin’s Angelrain Dark Prince Masculine, good sized dog, 20 months old, with lots to like. He has a nice temperament, correct neck and good front assembly, well bent stifles. Rangier build, and without the same balance of head as 1 and 2 in this class. He carried his tail over his back and was close behind on the move today. He is well marked, with correct pigmentation and has a correct jet black, slightly wavy coat. Novice Dog (1) Meakin’s Angelrain Dark Prince Graduate Dog (2/2) Austen’s Norburylou Karias Star Good sized, 3 year old dog. Strong, masculine head, with correct bite. Kind expression and friendly temperament. Moderate length of neck, leading to well laid back shoulders, correct front assembly, pleasing width of chest and well ribbed. Slightly stretched proportions. He stood on straight, well boned front legs and has correct feet. He is correctly marked and moves soundly. Meakin’s Angelrain Dark Prince Post Graduate Dog (2/1) Connelly’s Tickbern Jackelberry 2.5 year old dog, who stood alone in this class. Lightly made, moderate front and rear angulation, needing more time to mature. He was friendly, has a well-balanced head, with kind, dark almond shaped eyes. Correctly marked, with a jet black coat. Limit Dog (2/1) Austen’s Kernow Blue Mist Nearly 6 yrs, well-marked dog of smaller size and substance than my BIS, he stood alone in this class. He has dark expressive eyes, a balanced head and a correct bite. He has good proportions with equal angulation front and rear, nicely rounded croup. Balanced, free mover, who covered the ground well. Open Dog (1) Cotton’s Ch Shirdees Greatest Showman At Jukesbern Wow, what a lovely dog, and one that I have admired since first seeing him as a junior. Now nearly 6 years of age, he was exactly what I was looking for in a mature male. He is of excellent breed type, well balanced, compact, strong and sturdy with the important, correct 9/10 height/length and 2:1 height/depth of chest proportions. Correct bite. Masculine, balanced head, leading to a strong, muscular neck, flowing to well laid back shoulders, with correct length and return of upper arm, giving a correctly developed forechest. He stood on straight well boned legs, with correct feet. Firm straight back, broad strong loin, correctly rounded croup. He stood parallel behind and has broad, well-muscled thighs, with correct bend of stifle, leading to well let down hocks and short pasterns, which enabled his strong, driving rear movement. He is a balanced, powerful mover, holding his level topline on the move, and showing excellent reach and drive. He has a jet black, long, shiny coat and was shown in excellent condition. Very pleased to award him Best Dog and Best in Show. Breeders Dog (0) Veteran Dog (2) Cotton’s Ch Kernow Billy No Mates At Jukesbern Flashy, handsome, 7 year old, active and alert with a delightful, animated expression, very attentive to his handler. Impressive size and substance. Correct proportions, compact, strong, body. Masculine, well-marked and balanced head, dark eyes, correct bite. Good front and shoulder placement. Well boned. Level topline, held on the move. His active, balanced movement was pleasing to watch as he moved round the ring with good reach and drive, and it was lovely to see a veteran in such fine form. He has a long, silky, jet black coat, was shown in excellent condition and was well-presented and handled. Pleased to award him Reserve Best Dog & Best Veteran. Larkin’s Rodiveco Sagacity Another lovely veteran. Masculine, 7 year old, of good size and type, well off for bone. Kind, dark almond shaped eyes, friendly temperament. Good body and proportions. Moderate angulation front and rear. Correctly marked, with lovely, black coat. Moved soundly. Minor Puppy Bitch (2) Meakins’s Angelrain Everlasting Love Promising 7 month old puppy, of good size, flat skull and head developing well, with correct eyes and bite. Forechest developing well, adequate front and rear angulation, correct coat and markings, moved well. Ganko’s Ninnilove Alita Just 6 months old, very much a baby and overall was less developed than the class winner. Not as balanced as 1st, set on of neck, fore chest and front angulation not as good. She was however well angled behind. She needs more time to mature. Puppy Bitch (0) Junior Bitch (1) Peacocke’s Husheen Lower Sabie 17 months old, promising bitch, needing more time to mature. She has a well-balanced head and correct bite, dark, almond shaped eyes and kind expression. She is of good size and substance. Good width of chest and moderate angulation. I would have preferred a more level topline and a tad more angulation, front and rear. She would benefit from being moved out more fluently. Correctly marked, with a jet black coat. Special Yearling Bitch (3/1) Evan’s Etterbern Made In Essex For Evansly Good sized bitch of correct breed type, and very well balanced. 19 months old, developing well with more to come. Balanced head with correct markings, dark eyes, correct bite. Strong body with good substance and bone. She is correctly proportioned, with correct angulation front and rear. Straight legs, broad chest, distinct forechest, correct layback of shoulder, nicely rounded croup, well bent stifle. She holds her level topline on the move, her gait is balanced, showing reach and drive. Jet black, silky coat, in excellent condition. Pleased to award her Reserve Best Bitch. Peacocke’s Husheen Lower Sabie Novice Bitch (2/1) Turner’s Angelrain Cuban Sunset With Tangyachates Just over 2.5 years, she is a nice type, with good size, substance and adequate bone. She was active and alert, and moved well, with a ground covering stride. Angulation is good, she has a well laid back shoulder and well bent stifle. Shown in good coat and condition. Graduate Bitch (3/2) Peacocke’s Husheen Lower Sabie Post Graduate Bitch (2/1) Turner’s Angelrain Cuban Sunset With Tangyachates Limit Bitch (1) Vaychkus & Vaickus’s Bernaroso Born To Be Queen Nice bitch of good breed type, balanced of good size and proportions with a friendly temperament. Well-proportioned head, dark eye and correct bite. Well laid back shoulder, good depth of brisket and broad chest. She stood on straight, well boned, front legs. Active on the move and moved out well, but not as clean and straight as my main winners today. Open Bitch (1/1) Breeders Bitch (1) Goodyear’s Ch Harvestbank Just One Kiss Lovely, typey, mature bitch, nearly 6 years of age, she is of good size and substance, her body is compact, with bone to match her size and she is correctly proportioned, giving a pleasing outline. She has a well-balanced, feminine head with kind, dark, almond shaped eyes and a benevolent expression. Correct bite. Correct set on of neck, leading to well laid back shoulders. Correct shoulder/upper arm angulation, giving a correctly developed forechest, with good chest width. Firm, straight back. Level topline, which was held on the move. Correct rear angulation, with well bent stifles, she moved freely, was balanced, and showed good reach and drive. She has a jet black, shiny coat and was well presented and handled. She perfectly complimented my best dog. Very pleased to award her Best Bitch and Reserve Best in Show. Debbie O’Toole (Djordash)