Birmingham National (Ch - 08/05/2014)

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Critique

German Spitz Mittel

I was very pleased with the overall quality & especially with the winners, this entry was quality-wise much better than the last time I judged the breed in the UK.

PD (2,1a) 1 Zephon Stormchaser, a large, upstanding dog, elegant in his way. Acceptable head, dark eyes, good ears. Would prefer some more width of muzzle & a stronger underjaw. Balanced angulation in front & behind. Firm back, well set tail. Lacked undercoat on the day which disturbed the overall impression. Moved with enthusiasm & light on his feet. JD (3) 1 Grizwold Lohengrin at Druitz, very attractive dog with typical proportions, combines substance with elegance. Very attractive head & expression. Outstanding pigmentation for a crème. Firm back, well set tail. Enough coat to fill out the profile. Moved soundly enough from all angles; 2 Nixtev Uraxys at Jumasue, powerful white male, somewhat heavy. Has developed very far for his 11 months. Strong head which could be somewhat more refined. Deep & capacious body, firm back. Well set tail. Moved somewhat heavily & needs some more ring training. Excellent coat; 3 Zephon Stormchaser. PGD (5,1) 1 Zephon Akio at Lindcoly, dog of attractive type & quality, well proportioned. He scored heavily in soundness & has typically one leg in each corner. Typical, masculine head, a bit too much stop for my preference. Very good ears. Firm back, well set tail. Ideal amount of bone for his size. Excellent coat quality. Moved very parallel coming & going & well balanced from the side; 2 Wyndlee Jester, another dog of very pleasing type & quality, well proportioned & compact. Would prefer a flatter skull & more chiselling of foreface. Attractive ears. Excellent front. Short back. Excellent tail. Plenty of undercoat. Moved very well from the side, but not as good coming & going as the winner; 3 Zephon The Last Samurai. LD (7,1) 1 Nixtev Torvald, most attractive white male of lovely type & quality. Well constructed & well proportioned. Outstanding head & expression, excellent pigmentation. He scored heavily in ears, small & well set. Excellent forechest. Firm, short back. Well set tail. Could do with a little more angulation behind, but that did not stop him from moving very well from all angles. A lovely representative of his breed & sex. CC & BOB; 2 Hocombewood Hot Toddy for Lindcoly, well proportioned br/t dog. Truly compact & not big, but absolutely masculine. Could not compete with the winner in expression. Excelled in forechest, balance angulation & moved very well from all angles. Excellent coat; 3 Spellcast Shout About It. OD(5) 1 Ch Spellcast Jivetalking, very well proportioned, short coupled black dog of excellent type & quality. Masculine head, eyes rather round & somewhat wide set ears. Strong neck. Short, firm back. Not over-coated, he looks really good with the amount of coat that he carries & with the correct structure of both undercoat & top coat. Moved highly typical of the breed, brisk & effortless at the same time & carrying himself very well indeed. RCC; 2 Claran Narada, masculine black male, not unlike the winner & most of the comments go for him as well, but somewhat longer cast. Attractive head. Well angulated in both ends. Firm back, well set tail. Another very pleasing, typical mover; 3 Ch Musique Worth The Wait. VD (2,1) 1 Ch Zephon Spokz The Tempest, crème dog in particularly good condition for his age. He looks larger than he is when measured. Attractive head, but would prefer stronger pigmentation. Acceptable ears. Strong neck. Pleasing forechest. Firm topline. Well set & carried tail. Good coat. Moved soundly & effectively.

MPB (3) 1 Musique Charismatic, most attractive brown bitch puppy, just 6 months old. Typical head, excellent small ears. Correct body proportions, firm & handsome. Balanced angulation in both ends. Very eyecatching on the move & highly typical, using her neck to her advantage. For sure one for the future. BP; 2 Musique Hot To Trot at Hocombewood, another well made brown bitch, standing not dissimilar to the winner, but nowhere near as perfect in her movement as the winner. Attractive head, balanced angulation both ends. Excellent coat & colour; 3 Daraydala Lola. PB (3,2) 1 Zephon The Thunderstorm at Lindcoly, 11 months old, good moving bitch. Refined head, pleasing expression. Well placed ears. Attractive neck. Good forechest for age. I would prefer a shorter loin. Well set tail. Moderately angulated behind. Coat in excellent condition, well cared for. Looked her best in movement from the side. JB (5,1) 1 Oh My God av Ostretunet, very mature bitch with plenty of coat, making her look larger than she is, & filling out the silhouette to create a ball. Excellent expression & muzzle, somewhat wideset ears.Excellent forechest & body volume. Textbook topline & tailset. Moderately angulated behind. Moved with precision & energy; 2 Z The Thunderstorm at L; 3 Lysebourne Aaliyah. PGB (6,1) 1 Wyndlee Jenny, very well proportioned brown bitch, well up on legs & short coupled. Typical expression for her colour. Good ears. Excellent forechest. Firm back, well set tail. Balanced angulation in front & behind. Excellent undercoat, acceptable top coat. Moved in sync & with very pleasing balance & excellent carriage; 2 Rossfort Black Girl at Teamor, black bitch, a little anonymous standing, but came into her own in movement. Attractive head, well set, small ears. Ample forechest. I would have preferred her more up on legs. Firm back, well set tail. Moderately angulated behind. Very pleasing coat. Well handled & moved with excellent timing; 3 Spellcast Talking Secrets with Azbakan. LB (5,1) 1 Nixtev Selenia with Longsdale, instantly attractive, very handsome light crème bitch, quite a star. Very well constructed & proportioned, & well angulated both ends. Attractive head, but would have preferred smaller ears, but that is just about her only shortcoming. Short, firm back & loin. Lovely coat. Shown in great condition & really gave it all. Excellent mover from all angles. CC which I was told made her up a well deserved champion; 2 Spellcast Tell A Tail at Bullbo, very feminine, elegant bitch who scores in movement & carriage. Slightly too short in muzzle for optimal head abalance. Excellent neck. Well angulated & balanced both ends. Firm back, excellent tail. Really impressed in movement from the side. Not quite in full coat, but excellent coat quality. RCC; 3 Flamuna Curtain Call for Rosechow. OB (4,2) 1 Ch Nixtev Tantalize, well proportioned white bitch of very attractive type & quality. Well shaped, quality head, but ears are too wide set. Firm back. Her tail could be somewhat higher set. Well developed in her body; deep & capacious. Excellent coat. Moved with style & precision from the side, quite pleasing coming & going; 2 Ch Jansanleis Mayhem, another quality bitch. On the day with little undercoat which did not quite suit her. Attractive head, good ears. Firm back, well set tail. Not quite the movement of the winner from any angle, but reasonable. VB (1) 1 Terra Novella at Crystaldrift, 7 year old very powerful bitch, I would prefer some more elegance overall as well as some more length of leg. Strong head. Very well developed in her body with good forechest, deep & capacious. Firm topline. Excellent coat, well handled.

ESPEN ENGH (Norway)