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I hear talk all the time about needing more bone.
I've been told by some that my dogs are too light in bone, but their bone is
moderate, and oval shaped which is correct. The size of the bone is balanced to
the size of their body. Yes, we have to be careful not to lose bone, but we must
also be careful not to have too much bone. I too wish the judges knew a correct
Pyr. Some do, many do not. When I sit ringside, I think to myself, "Is that a 2
sheep dog or a 20 sheep dog." In other words, how many sheep would the predator
maim or kill before the dog could get there to do his job. And grooming does
play a big part when sitting ringside. I've seen dogs in the ring that were way
"overboned" IMO, only to get my hands on them later to feel that the bone was
actually correct, but the grooming made it look way too big and round. The only
thing that can really be judged with any true accuracy from ringside (without
getting your own hands on the dog) are good and correct movement and heads,
IMO.
Barb Bowes >>
I like your idea of a 2 sheep or a 20 sheep
dog, a pyr should never be or look ponderous, but being bored in a show
ring (a rather common occurence with pyrs) and a lot of coat can easily make a
pyr look a lot less agily than it really is.
But just as a lot of coat down the legs can give
the impression of too much bone, so can a lot of coat - especially stand-offish
coat - in the head make a rather bony head - as in sharp angles - look smoother
than it is, so I believe it is equally important to get the hands on the head.
The expression of the dog can be seen from outside the ring, but there is more
to a good head than a nice expression.
Years back a friend of mine was visiting a breeder
well know for good heads, and she was looking at a couple of his dogs trying to
figure out which had the best head, and he told her: "No, close your eyes and
use your hands". I believe he had a point there, and since then I have
used my hands a lot more.
Lene Nielsen
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