WELKS 2016 Mittel Critique. Judge: Mike Vines
German Spitz, Mittels
Very enjoyable event, weather not as good as we would like. Small quality entry. Large enough ring. My thanks to all concerned, LKA committee & the exhibitors for giving me a smile now & then.
VD (0). PD 1 Orr’s Sobriety Suited And Booted, 11 months old dark cream, striking youngster standing all square. His ears were well placed & used to best effect. Good dentition, tight lips, strong underjaw. He had neck of good length, well defined withers & exceptionally strong topline for one so young, which was of good length. Good well balanced tail set well. All angles very good. Strong bone. Tidy feet, elbows well tucked in, very sound on the move but needs to develop his reach & drive. BPD & BPIB; 2 Moir’s Jansanleis Polar Express to Pomkins, 10 month old cream, so much to like about this one but not quite as robust as 1. Good for type, needs to settle. Handler seems to be in a hurry. Well balanced head, lovely eye shape & colour. Could use his ears better. Good overall balance all through. Sound but a little erratic at times, just an age problem I think. Very promising; 3 King’s Gronw October Moon over Grizwold. JD 1 Chambers’ Druitz By Design for Musique, 18 months old brown of even colour. Very strong exhibit, loved his confident attitude, both on the table & on the ground, so good for type, & so well balanced all through, handled to perfection, presentation & pace just couldn’t be any better. Masculine head, strong well developed, excellent stop, well padded muzzle, using his ears at all times. Moderate length of neck, well defined wither. Topline short or should I say correct length, firm into a well set tail. All his angles are good, especially the forehand, good angles, good length & well set to upper arm, & of course elbows well tucked in. Tidy feet, excellent chest proportions, a good underline running into a powerful rear assembly. Sound on the move both away & back. Excelled on the sidegait, he has just the right pace for me, used his forehand & rear to best effect. He really is one to watch, gave him a really long look in the challenge, delightful; 2 Roberts’ Longsdale’s Turningn Tables at Cwrt Afon, about 18 months old cream, has a lot on offer, just felt he was rather long at, this apart, very well presented, well balanced head, confident expression. Good presentation both on the table & the ground. OK for bone, good shoulders, a little short in upper arm. Good underline & feet, hindquarters OK, strong short hocks, sound but I felt another gear on the move would highlight his good construction, well done. YD (0). PGD 1 Bridle’s Sirchray Ampel Time, 2½ year old black, handled by a young man who made every effort to do the business but came up a little short. Strong exhibit, good for bone & very firm, level bite but this apart he has very even proportions. Very firm topline, good tailset. Unfortunately struggled in presentation. Rather erratic on the move, having said all that I feel this young man & his exhibit could really improve under the right supervision. I wish he lived near me, I wish them both all the very best, 100 per cent for effort. LD 1 Hall’s Sobriety’s Grizzly Bear for Pufnstuff, 2½ year old brown, one I have seen on a number of occasions, & one who I feel never came up to the mark. Today he did not disappoint & gave me exactly what I was looking for in a male. Super profile, masculine, on his toes, with that look at me attitude. Sharp expression, all male. Correct eye shape & colour, neat well placed ears which he used throughout, strong muzzle, tight lips. Top for size. Strongest of neck of good length, with just the hint of an arch. Well defined wither from which his topline was of the correct length both firm & moderately wide. Excellent shoulders which when coupled to the upper arm form the perfect right angles. Elbows as you would expect were well tucked in. Forelegs straight into tidy well arched feet. Good underline, roomy chest proportions, good flexible loin. Her rear assembly just couldn’t be any better. Strong wide thigh, short hocks, all used so well on the move. Here I felt the handler surprised me keeping him straight at a good pace & attentive. His side gait in particular was outstanding. Well done. CC & BOB; 2 Hearson’s Nixtev Uraxys at Jumasue, a cream at just over 3 years old, a later mature I’m told. Loved him on the table, showing a mature well proportioned head, level bite, tight lips, very confident expression using his well placed ears at all times. Very even proportions throughout. Excellent firm topline. Good for bone, all angles good, slightly ten to two in presentation. Sound but needs to be kept straight away. Good sidegait with a very good reach & follow through; 3 O’Leary’s Borndownunda Talking Heads of Clarmer. OD 1 Heiwtt’s Ch Spellcast Shout About It, 5 years old black, has it all, so, so good in profile, classic head. So strong in expression, good stop, neat active ears, excellent topline from wither to croup, coupled with a tail correctly set & held at all times. Loved his confidence throughout. Well made front assembly, long well placed shoulders, correct upper arm couplings, elbows well tucked in. Underline good. Standing his fore & aft assembly covered just the right amount of ground. Sound in all directions, but he does need to go up a gear on sidegait, why hold an exhibit back with such excellent conformation, a well deserved RCC, well done; 2 O’Leary’s Ch/Ir/Int Ch Amoyalois Rufus for Cadasaro, just over 5½ s/w, quite eyecatching & a quality exhibit. Very confident on the table, of good size. Very masculine, strong expression, well balanced headpiece, eye shape good, ears well placed & active. Profuse coat, strong in neck which was of excellent length. Withers well defined & height. Topline firm, tailset correct. All angles were good, very good chest proportion. This one really did have strength in the hindquarters including firm short hocks. He was sound, but didn’t move out as I felt he should. Handled well & in the frame at all times, well done; 3 Rogerson’s Zephon The Last Samurai.
VB (0). PB 1 Pearce & Francis’ Kelham Love And Romance with Longsdale, 7 month old cream, ultra feminine, so well presented & confident at all times. Very well proportioned youngster, soft expression, dark eyes, well pigmented, neat well placed ears. In profile I felt a slightly longer foreleg would have improved her appearance, even so with her good well balanced forehand & excellent constructed rear she does picture well. Standing so square in presentation & has a smooth reach & drive on the move. Gave her a long look in the challenge. BPB; 2 Moir’s Jansanleis Envy, 11 months old, rather more rangy type than 1, but good for type nevertheless. Didn’t start to well on the first run around, but did settle as the class progressed. Patience is without doubt a virtue. Loved her on the table. Striking profile, softest of expression. nice dark eye & as with most creams today, very good pigment. Good topline, tailset & carriage. Good angles to shoulders, would like a little more turn of stifle, but strong short hocks were good & which I feel more important. Handled eased off on the move & she settled & had more confidence, all comes good at the end, well done; 3 Taylor’s Clarmers Mischief Managed under Tispitza. JB 1 Pearce & Francis’ Longsdale One And Only, 14 month old cream & a mirror image of my puppy winner, & as much can be said for her, I loved the gentle handling & smooth well balanced presentation which goes a long way with me. Training of this sort is so essential. As my puppy a classic type, well balanced profile, good for bone, maybe slightly more mature. Good angles & feet, best of rear assemblies, again taken on the move she excelled in all areas. Another one to watch, I would have to hazard a guess as to which one will come out on top, time will tell, well done. YB 1 Oakden’s Fisherbloom Moon River, about 19 months of age, a dark sable girl, very attentive & so well presented, strong well balanced head, feminine & using her ears to best effect. Stood well on the table, showing a good breed type profile. Top & underlines good. Ample bone without being too heavy. Good coat texture as were most today, good balanced height to length, I found she used her hindquarters exceptionally well on the move, sound with a balanced drive. Well handled into the bargain, liked her; 2 Hewitt & Barnes’ Spellcast Now Ya Talkin, cream & at 20 months so well made but very erratic, needs to settle, doesn’t like it indoors so I’m gold, pity because she has so much to offer. Very good for type & has a neat profile, at times so very sound. Running true, best of luck with her, well worth the effort. PGB (0). LB (2) A. OB 1 Moir’s Ch Jansanleis Mayhem, 6 years old mature cream, took time to settle, but I must say, handled with care. I found she really did fit the bill of a classic mature feminine, scoring so well in profile & type. Well balanced headpiece which included eye shape & colour, good stop not too severe, well padded muzzle, tight lip, good scissor bite & ear set well & active. Her withers were high into the firmest of toplines, tail set well & carried correctly at all times. Front assembly couldn’t be any better used on the move with excellent forward reach. Underline good, just a slight tuck at loin. Nice wide thigh, coupled to short strong hock. Movement was so well balanced. Controlled at the right pace by the handler, gave me just what I required at sidgait, eyecatching, well done. CC, well deserved; 2 Barnes, Mann & Hewitt’s Ch Spellcast Talking About Me, 4 year old, a black in absolutely tip-top condition. So well put together, on her toes & she really did give me food for thought in the challenge. So well handled & perfect both on the table & in presentation. Feminine headpiece, balance, so good for type. Ears used so well giving her a confident expression. So firm in body with enough bone to please. Construction good, all used to good effect on the move. She was so well collected by her handler, & just did not put a foot wrong, delightful. RCC. Best of days for me, my hands as clean as when I started, not to be said for some breeds. Polite handlers, within earshot that is. Very nice company.
MIKE VINES
