Who saw that beautiul smiler..? I think this is great news for the sled dogging community. I want one now (despite my previous comments about white sibes  )

I saw the interview with the BIS judge and I wonder if the sammy would have been higher placed if it was worked ?

Cya
E
www.sleddog.info

Honest Mr Snopeak, put your spoon away  How would you know if the Sam was worked or not  Muddy coat, dirty paw prints on handlers clothes ??
Honest you men PMSL
Terry

Muscle tone   

So the Giant Schnauzer won - a dog originally bred for hunting bear and later used in the herding and driving of stock.

Fair play to the BIS judge for commenting on him being well muscled, but then she went and blew it by saying that he won because he had very, VERY deep black eyes - breed standards are great aren't they!  Nothing to do with how well the dog would cope if he needed to carry out his original function, but at least he had nice eyes.

He was a natural showman too, apparently - which must be a real boon for a dog trying to outwit a bear.

AJ.

Yes but to judge muscle tone you would have to have your hands on the dog yourself to tell, with such a dense coat you would need to do that wouldn't you  or chuck some raindeer in the ring see if it herds them
As for Phillipe maybe they should have put a bear in the ring or some stock to see if the could do the job
then we would be in the realms of Europe where they stand the Boxers Doberman and Staffies off against each other, the first one to look aways looses, Also in Japan they stand Shibas on tables against each other again first one to look away looses too,

I for one was cross when they talked about the Mal and then the Sibe as being the racing dog of the two, no mention of working long distances etc

Just my humble thoughts

Terry

I imagine the judge said those things as she was a bit lost for words when put on the spot and interviewed in front of millions of people - it's not normally something you get asked to do as a judge! 

Lovely though that dog was (perhaps a bit shorter in the leg than the standard asks for.?....) I can only see that it can be bad for sled dog enthusiasts - any number of people will now immediately want a white fluffy "husky" and all the puppy farmers will be cashing in left, right and centre. Watch the number of longcoated Sibes being bred shoot up......

why would the sibes bred shoot up particularly, I would have thought it was the sam's that are going to get the problems more.   Mind you they may be easier for families to cope with, if they are deaf

Whereas I get youir point about everybody wanting a fluffy white "Husky", I'm sure the novelty of the idea will wear off long before  such mass breeding will have the chance to take place. In any case, I think it's the breeders of Giant Schnauzers who will have dollars for eyeballs..!

I personally favoured the Wheaten Terrier, though terriers are my soft spot so I would say that, I'd enter mine in Scrufts if she wasn't so old..!

Back to the Sleddies....I think it's a good thing because it shows the versatility of the dogs. And you chaps should be proud to see a type of dog, for which you are all so passionate about, claiming such a prestigous award. That Sammy would have happily done its lap of honour in a harness, and would still have looked bold enough to take its prize. 

Sadly Sibes are already being mass bred and it can only get worse,
Terry

I liked the little beagle.

I agree with Sharon about the judge obviously having to think of the first thing that came into her head ! Anyway. it's always going to be little things a dog clinches it by at that level...

I hope that I'm wrong, but I don't think that Samoyed would be of the type that would ever wear a harness - there are very, very few that work now and they tend to have a more athletic conformation. Have a look at the differences in type between the working Sams who often beat us at the rallies and the ones in the show ring - there is an even bigger difference in type than there is in the world of Siberians.

I would expect the number of Sibes bred to shoot up (especially longcoats) because there are a lot of people who simply can't tell the difference and the puppy farmers will know that and try to cash in. We had a call on the mobile on the way back from the show from a friend of a friend who was convinced that it was a Sibe that had won the working group..... 

I am often told by people I meet "My friend/neighbour/inlaw has got a husky....it's white and has long fluffy hair". When you ask if it is in fact a Samoyed they just look blank and confused!

Was chuffed for Philluipe, third time lucky.
Can't see that samy being included on mags, liz or alan's teams
You're right Mel. The beagle was absolutey lovely.
Catherine we can only keep our fingers crossed and pray
Suz

As someone who judges Beagles (although not at CC level yet) I was very impressed with the Hound Group winner.

Being Best In Show at Crufts doesn't always mean an increase in the number of people wanting the breed. After the lovely Cid (the Basenji Ch. Jethard Cidevant) won in 2001 there was absolutely no increase at all in enquiries for Basenji puppies, in fact the breed is numerically in decline.