Not sure how they "get away" with it. I am watching TV now --part 1 of
the show. I guess all the rules are made to be broken! Sorry, I don't
mean to sound flippant, but the shows are obviously getting too big to
supervise all of the pre-show activity. ~~~~ I wanted to ask if
anyone knows about Tibetan Terriers, which is my favorite breed ---oh my
gosh / it just finally won!! It won top of the non-sporting breeds!
I used to have one, but got it "by accident" since someone came to town
from the east coast and was trying to find a home for theirs. They are
so expen$ive to get from a breeder / I would not probably be showing the
dog if I got another one - wish I could find one for not so much $$$$!

On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 03:38:00 +0000 (UTC),
(Melanie L Chang) wrote:

Reuters goes behind the scenes at Westminster:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=7625772

Is this article accurate? Is what the reporter describes actually
illegal? And if so, why do people get away with it?

At the Philadelphia Kennel Club show I saw Barbie Collie handlers
breaking out the chalk and hair spray. I thought neither was allowed?

Please. Do you think a Poodle's coat is naturally capable of
being *that* huge? We're talking at least a can of hairspray per dog,
which is immediately rinsed out after the dog is finished showing so
the damage to the coat is minimal.
I'd *love* to see some judges booting dogs from the ring for
being hairsprayed or chalked -- as a dog should be DQ'ed 'which has
been changed in appearance by artificial means except as specified in
the standard for its breed'. Last I checked, hairspray wasn't in
there.
Of course, we'll never see it, because the judges are hired by
the clubs, and clubs won't hire an unpopular judge. And DQing for
grooming stuff would make that judge pretty damn unpopular pretty damn
quick.




Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

Melanie L Chang wrote:
Reuters goes behind the scenes at Westminster:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=7625772

Is this article accurate? Is what the reporter describes actually
illegal? And if so, why do people get away with it?

At the Philadelphia Kennel Club show I saw Barbie Collie handlers
breaking out the chalk and hair spray. I thought neither was allowed?


Technically any grooming product is supposed to be brushed out before
the show. Chalk *should* be brushed back out, and a dog with chalk left
in might indeed get booted. Shaving, trimming, etc. is acceptable.
Grooming additions (mousse, hairspray, coat sprays) are in reality an
extremely accepted part of the sport, and no judge is going to dismiss a
poodle for having spray in its coat, or a Doberman for having show sheen
on. It should be noted that the minute poodles come out of the ring the
spray is taken out of their coat and it's put into conditioner to
preserve the hair.

What is not accepted is dying, tooth fixing, and any surgical repair.
That's a huge no-no. Some people will dye a coat to make it deeper and
richer--say the liver in a Springer. Some will put temporary pigment on
a nose that isn't totally filled with color (has pink spots). Some will
put rubber bands on teeth to temporarily move them into alignment. All
of this will get you suspended if it's found. The last time I spoke
civilly to the woman who had been my mentor in dogs was when she asked
me to hold a dog for her to put bands on the teeth. I said no, she threw
a fit and said she'd never win without the bands, I said too bad--and
that was that.

I think what happened to this woman can happen to a lot of conformation
people. They start getting more into winning. Then they start breeding
just for their next show winner. Then they start fudging things just a
little to make the dog better--a bit of dye on the ears maybe. Then they
start doing other things, and before you know it they're totally over
the line.

"Robin Nuttall"
snip
What is not accepted is dying, tooth fixing, and any surgical repair.
That's a huge no-no. Some people will dye a coat to make it deeper and
richer--say the liver in a Springer. Some will put temporary pigment on a
nose that isn't totally filled with color (has pink spots). Some will put
rubber bands on teeth to temporarily move them into alignment.

Add hair pieces and dilating light eyes to make them look darker.

Sort of funny: About a week before our last specialty show (in which I was
showing Shane) I put some henna in my hair. It stained the heck out of my
hands, and it was _still_ there the day of the show. Now, Shane was in the
Senior Veteran's class. I show him for fun. But someone noticed how my hands
were stained and asked me if I'd dyed him because he's very, very red.

I laughed. A) Anyone that knows me knows that I'm too ethical AND too lazy
to bother with that. B) He's a _senior veteran_. Like I want to win BOB to
the point where I'd dye my damn dog C) How the hell would I keep it off his
white bits???


--
-Andrea Stone
Saorsa Basenjis
http://home1.gte.net/res0s12z/

"Orchid" wrote in message
...

I'd *love* to see some judges booting dogs from the ring for
being hairsprayed or chalked -- as a dog should be DQ'ed 'which has
been changed in appearance by artificial means except as specified in
the standard for its breed'. Last I checked, hairspray wasn't in
there.
Of course, we'll never see it, because the judges are hired by
the clubs, and clubs won't hire an unpopular judge. And DQing for
grooming stuff would make that judge pretty damn unpopular pretty damn
quick.

This *does* happen - but it has to be overwhelmingly bad for it to occur. I
recall a turmoil on one of my Sheltie lists when a judge dismissed a dog for
chalking - the dog had so much orange chalk on its face that the judge had
chalk all over her hands after touching it. Normally, chalk is supposed to
be worked in and brushed out, to plump up hair or deepen color or whatever -
not that THAT is particularly correct either, if one was following the
letter of the law. But when a judge looks like she's been eating Cheetos
after touching a dog...

Christy

"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message
news:VZeQd.38148$C24.2412@attbi_s52...
Some will put temporary pigment on a nose that isn't totally filled with
color (has pink spots).

i've seen this at every dog show i've been to. people use sharpies.

-kelly

AndreaS wrote:

I laughed. A) Anyone that knows me knows that I'm too ethical AND too lazy
to bother with that. B) He's a _senior veteran_. Like I want to win BOB to
the point where I'd dye my damn dog C) How the hell would I keep it off his
white bits???

Actually it's not that difficult--I know people with Liver Springers who
have done it...

culprit wrote:

"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message
news:VZeQd.38148$C24.2412@attbi_s52...

Some will put temporary pigment on a nose that isn't totally filled with
color (has pink spots).


i've seen this at every dog show i've been to. people use sharpies.


It didn't used to be widespread or common, and it shouldn't happen.
Chalk, spray, mousse--those all help coat texture. Marginal, but not
awful. Disguising a genetic fault (i.e., the nose is supposed to be
totally colored and you're faking it) is a no-no and those people
could/should be reported.

[]
BTW, I love the breed ring videos they've put up this year.
Check them out if you haven't already.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

All you need to know about Social Security "reform": Your
in-laws are going to have to live with you

on 2005-02-15 at 08:21 wrote:

[]
BTW, I love the breed ring videos they've put up this year.
Check them out if you haven't already.

i checked out the Boxer and Sibe breed videos. *very*
entertaining. i don't have cable, so i haven't been able to
see any of Westminster on teevee. when i've watched dog
shows, though, i've always been disappointed in how little
attention they give to the breed rings--usually just a couple
of quick re-caps. i'd *much* rather watch the breed rings
than the group or show rings.

oh, and i received that back issue of Mushing yesterday. talk
about fast service!

--
shelly
http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette
http://cat-sidh.blogspot.com/ (updated dailyish, apparently)