For anyone who's interested the Westminster results have started to come in.

Debs

I was just looking at pictures on the site of the BOB winners and couldn't make out the Havanese photo.  Is that a corded coat??

Debs

It certainly looks like it.

What a lovely looking dog

How on earth do you take care of that sort of coat

Lucy
xx

see the e.s.s. got best in show this week if you go on  westminster kennel club it shows video,s of the breed judging

I've been watching the breed judging for my breed on the website, it'd be great if they'd put up a similar thing for Crufts for those who couldn't be there :)

It would be lovely I agree but the fact of the matter is Westminster is tiny compared to Crufts.  Westminster has 7 breed rings - Crufts 36.  Westminster has an entry of 2,500 - Crufts over 22,000.  Westminster is over two days - Crufts is over 4.  The logistics of having THAT many cameramen working shifts when some breed judging takes 8 hours doesn't bear thinking about.

Debs

i have just watched by breed....oh dear   feet  heads   fronts backs  and strung up like I dont know what
only good bit was their hind ends  I know where i wont be looking for new stock!!!

Same here Sam, watched my breed, thought very similar. I watched live in the US in September, and my opinion hasn't changed, far too trimmed, encouraged to raise their tails, soft looking coats, poor movement (in most), oh dear, oh dear!

Kay

I agree.  Completely over the top!

It's all the 'flashy' style that I cringe at when I see it here, as some handlers in the UK are following the American pattern of handling.  Don't they realise that a dog shown naturally looks far better than one strung up, moved too fast for the breed, and coat presentation that would put most poodles to shame?  It seems to be hugely exagerated hind ends with straight up and down fronts and necks like giraffes!

When I watched the Pharaohs (all that white up the throat ) there was only two that I really liked - then I realised they were the same breeding as I've got at home :d

Debs

Just watched mine. Stacked (let go of the tails and they droop) :(, strung up (heads on one side because the handler's practically holding the ear) :(. And in a ring so miniscule they can do 5 strides in a straight line. There were several there I wouldn't give houseroom to.

Yeah, on first glance they look very flashy etc but when you look closer, it was a different story, when stacked the handlers of my breed were pushing their tails up so much they were practically wrapping them round their necks! But yes I've seen a lot of U.k handlers taking on the american style of handling too. There was one that I thought was lovely - and guess what? He was U.K bred :D :D

Thought my breed was beautifully groomed but most were way too heavy and they all stacked the dogs and strung them up so that they looked up sideways at the handler ( most odd).

I picked out the BOB winner as he reminded me of a friends dog and guess what ? - he was the BOB's sire :D - way to go Sandra :D

Yvonne

Back to the Havanese.  I have never seen one with a corded coat and I looked at a few.  They seem to have a very cotton soft flyaway coat so cording would be nice.

Edited to say it certainly looks like more of them in the ring are.

Yes but the AKC standard for Havanese says  -

Coat
The coat is double, but without the harsh standoff guard hair and woolly undercoat usually associated with double coats. Rather, it is soft and light in texture throughout, though the outer coat carries slightly more weight. The long hair is abundant and, ideally, wavy. An ideal coat will not be so profuse nor overly long as to obscure the natural lines of the dog. Puppies may have a shorter coat. A single, flat coat or an excessively curly coat are equally contrary to type and should be faulted. Disqualifications: A coarse, wiry coat. An atypical short coat on an adult dog (atypical would be smooth, flat coat with, or without furnishings.)

Not sure how you'd tell if it was double, soft and light in texture or ideally wavy when it's corded!  It's all open to interpretation but I'd say being corded would be excessively curly.

Debs

And it was a corded dog that won?

It looks corded to me from this photo, yes.

Debs

My neighbour has Portuguese Water Dogs - I was amazed to see the difference in presentation in the States - their coats were left on and clipped so that ( to me ) they resembled large Bichon Frises - or perhaps the Spanish water dogs - must confess I preferred them like that - not too keen on the 'bare bum' look myself ;) - she says clipping them out like that is against the breed standard over here

Yvonne

The German Shepherd that was placed in the group looked, ermm, shall we say, interesting.