Scribbles & Bits

It has been a long time since I’ve updated this blog!  With 2 magazines on the go and a new one in production, on top of a regular day job as a dog groomerand lots of 4 legged mouths to feed, it seems I race from one task to another. 

The Universal Cavalier is in its 4th year and Dog Gone Art has just started its 2nd year.  My newest magazine is The Global Toy Spaniels which will have its first issue published in March.  This is a multi breed magazine and will feature Cavaliers, King Charles Spaniels (English Toys), Japanese Chins and Papillons & Phalenes.   

Good news for Dog Gone Art as 2 articles from the magazine were nominated for the Dog Writers Association of America’s writing awards and winners will be announced during their annual banquet the night before Westminister starts.  I’m pleased to say that one of the nominated articles was written by myself (“Sir Edwin Landseer, RA – The Quintessential Dog Artist”).  The other article nominated was a wonderful piece by Roy A. Wilson (“The Writing of an Award-winning Art Book)” on the writing of the Garnett-Wilson and Wilson book, The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: A Tribute in Art. 

I am off to New York in February to attend the famous “Westminister week”.  It will be a jammed packed 5 days and I will be racing from dog shows to art and book events but I’m pleased to say that I will also have an opportunity to see “The Lion King” as well as do a little shopping.  I am also hoping to meet up with some old friends and some new ones.  The next issue of The Universal Cavalier will be delayed by a day so that I can include last minute news from New York with the next issue!

I did my weekly visit to Infodog.com the other day and noticed that they had weighed into the “politics” debate.  They had all these wonderful tables based on results from the shows for which they are superintendents (MB-F) proving that the common man had as much if not a better chance to win as the handlers.  Hmmmm  There are several problems with their figures.  One that while some breeds are heavily populated with professional handlers there are many breeds that don’t see many handlers, if at all.  Two that handlers are not present at every show, in every breed.  Or they may have the Specials but no class dogs in the breed.  And so on.  In order to make the debate meaningful this question would have to be addressed.   When professional handlers are present (not just listed) what is the percentage of times that they win compared to a regular exhibitor?  I’m quite sure the numbers would change fairly drastically.

In my last editorial I recounted the strange tale of the dog show judge who gave a Best in Show to a dog of her own breeding in the US.  Apparently this is not against the rules but even so it does cross a certain line.  One of the most common complaints in the dog show world is politics.  Does it exist?  Unquestionably!  Are all judges crooked?  Sometimes one wonders. 

The major problem with the all breed judging system is that, with the exception of their own breed and perhaps a few others, it is impossible for a judge to thoroughly know all the breeds they judge.  Therefore they tend to judge dogs generically looking at points such as structure, movement and presentation. 

The North American dog show system also has people who make their livelihood off showing dogs as opposed to the majority hobby breeder/exhibitor.  They are not hard to spot and most judges even judging outside their areas (and countries) quickly find them, often helped along by advertising in the dog magazines.  Some judges may feel that because the professional handlers are making their living off showing that they need to win.  There is also a perception among many judges that professional handlers have the better dogs in the ring.  Breeders would argue the fact!

There is a saying in dogs that one must “pay your dues”.  New exhibitors will often find themselves ignored in the ring, with more established “faces” winning.  Certainly in many cases an exhibitor’s first dog/s is not of the greatest quality so there is a legitimate reason for being ignored by judges.  But sadly the “faces” can often live on their past laurels and walk into the ring with just about anything and still win.

So you have a system with judges judging breeds they aren’t familiar enough with to *really* judge.  What are their options?  They can look at some basic features and then guess on breed points and hope they don’t look stupid.  Or they can hope that the professional handler or face at which they pointed, actually has the better dog.  Perhaps it is better to look political than stupid?

The Universal Cavalier Magazine has a new poll on their website which asks the question “Do you think politics is contributing to the decline in entries at dog shows?”  Please vote.

Prior to 1926 the breed now know as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was only seen in old paintings but after Mr. Roswell Eldridge, an American, visited Crufts and made his prize offer to the best “old type Toy Spaniel” in the style seen in those old paintings some interest in this style of Spaniel was revived.

The King Charles Spaniel with its shorter nose was made popular during Victorian Times and was probably a combination of the longer nosed flat skulled spaniel and shorter nosed, dome headed, stockier breeds such as Pugs. Occasionally a “throwback” (the longer nosed spaniel) would be born in a litter of Charlies and generally culled as undesirable.

Some breeders became interested in the idea of re-developing this old breed and started to look for dogs with which to work. They approached King Charles Spaniel breeders and asked and in some cases begged for their “throwout” puppies the ones with the bad “Charlie” heads. While some have denied this, there was most likely some mixing of other breeds in the early days. In fact it is said that the famous Ann’s Son, winner of the special “old type” class at Crufts 3 times and who was the living model when the breed standard was drawn up, was out of a tri King Charles Spaniel bitch but sired by a Papillon. Other breeds that have been suggested as being used in the earlier development of the breed were the Welsh Springer, Dachshund and English Cocker. One bitch who may have been a result of a mixed pedigree was “Rangers Nicky Picky” who came from a kennel that bred Clumbers, Springers and Cavaliers. By all accounts she was an odd looking Cavalier and though registered her pedigree is not given. A much used sired during the War years Cannonhill Ritchie goes back to Ranger Nicky Picky on both sides of his pedigree – his grandmother on his mother’s side and great-grandmother on his father’s side.

Prior to WW II there were 6 main sires used during this stage of the development of the breed:- Ann’s Son (Blenheim); Wizbang Timothy, Ann’s Son’s full brother (described as Black and White); Carlo of Ttiweh (Blenheim); Duce of Braemaore (Tri-coloured); Ariste of Ttiweh (Tri-coloured) and Kobba of Kuranda (Black and Tan). These dogs were extensively bred on as sires who produced the desired Cavalier type and all modern day Cavaliers would find these dogs in their pedigrees many generations back.

In the 2nd generation important noted sires were Peter of Ttiweh (Ruby), an Ann’s Son son. His litter sister was Lucy of Ttiweh who was to be the dam of the unbeaten Bridget of Ttiweh. Bridget was sired by Wizbang Timothy (Ann’s Son’s full brother).

Also another Ann’s Son’s son of note, Duke’s Son, who was sire of Belinda of Saxham, she being the winner of the 1st Cavalier Championship Specialty ever held and dam of Ch. Little Dorrit of Ttiweh (aka Lady Jane of Turnworth). Little Dorrit was a very important bitch for the Ttiweh kennels producing 2 Champions Ch. Harmony of Ttiweh and Ch. Jupiter of Ttiweh as well as Mars of Ttiweh who was the sire of 2 Champions including the Ch. Abelard of Ttiweh who then went on to sire 2 Champions for Mrs. Keswick’s Pargeter Cavaliers, Ch. Pargeter Anemone and Ch. Pargeter Bob Up.

Among the 3rd generation a sire of note was Ranger’s Bimbo (Blenheim) sired by the ruby Peter of Ttiweh. “Bimbo” was the sire of Plantation Robert. Plantation Robert was the sire of Plantation Banjo and grandsire on both sides of Cannonhill Ritchie (Ruby). Two other Peter of Ttiweh sons, Mark and John of Ttiweh were also important sires at this time.

During the War dog breeding was much curtailed, with food at a premium for human consumption many dogs had to be euthanised and gas rationing prevented breeders from travelling to more distant and different sires. It was the main reason the two dogs (Plantation Banjo and Cannonhill Ritchie) were so extensively inbred on through the war years.

Immediately after the war it was difficult to find unrelated Cavaliers to breed on as many important pre-war “Cavalier” bloodlines had been lost. In 1945 Cavaliers were given separate registration with The Kennel Club and the process of sorting those dogs that were eligible for the Cavalier registry was undertaken. For some years after this, The Kennel Club did allow a certain amount of interbreeding between the two breeds, King Charles Spaniels and Cavaliers due to the limited number of sires available. For example Celandine of Littlestream was an inter-bred, sired by a King Charles Spaniel called Flash Grenadier. She was the grand-dam of Ch. Pargeter Patron, top stud dog in 1956. In the 1950’s a Cocker, Suntop Joyful was bred to the Black and Tan Cavalier, Crest of Candlelight with The Kennel Club’s approval, with dogs of that mating in their pedigrees winning RCC in all four colours in later generations.

In 1945 Amice Pitt purchased Daywell Roger (Blenheim) a grandson and great-grandson of Ann’s Son through his dam Daywell Nell. His sire was Cannonhill Ritchie. He was to be the 1st Champion in the breed. “Roger” was the top stud dog in the breed from 1951 through 1954 and produced a total of 11 Champions. He was much linebred on and can be found many generations back in most, if not all Cavaliers’ pedigrees.

One of the few Cavaliers of that time not going back to Plantation Banjo or Cannonhill Ritchie was The Young Pretender of Grenewich. He was the foundation for Mrs. Green’s Heatherside Cavaliers producing the two champion littermates Ch. Heatherside Andrew and Ch. Heatherside Anthea. He also produced two champions for Mrs. H. Pilkington’s Hillbarn Cavaliers, Ch. Mingshang Corinna (aka Coraleen of Hillbarn) and Ch. Claudette of Hillbarn. His son Ch. Heatherside Andrew was a top stud dog in 1955 and his grandson Ch. Hillbarn Quixote (Andrew’s son) was top stud dog in 1963.

The original Cavalier gene pool was small and the War years made it smaller. In post-War Cavalier pedigrees one notes that breeders tended to opt for linebreeding rather than the inbreeding seen during the War years. There have been many important Cavaliers since the 1920s, many healthy and long-lived. Though the date of Ann’s Son’s death is unknown he sired a litter in his 12th year in which Daywell Nell was produced. Ch. Daywell Roger lived until he was 13 years. Many other top stud dogs have lived into their teens, just some examples of important stud dogs are:- Ch. Heatherside Andrew – 13 years; Ch. Pargeter Patron – 14 years; Ch. Crisdig Celebration – 13 years; Minstrel Boy of Maxholt – 14 years; Ch. Rosemullion of Ottermouth – 13 years; Ch. Homaranne Andy Capp – 13 years; Ch. Homaranne Caption – 15 years; Ch. Alberto of Kindrum – 15 years. Through linebreeding on some of these long-lived and healthy Cavaliers through the generations we should be able to hope for the same in the modern day Cavalier.

This is just a brief history of the early genetics in the breed. If you are interested in learning more about the origins and history of the breed there are many great books on the Cavalier such as “All About the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel” by Evelyn Booth and “The King Charles Spaniel” by Bruce Field. A great resource is the UK Club’s Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Champions which has pictures and pedigrees for all the UK Champions from the 1st into modern day. Unfortunately not readily available but one of my most cherished books about the breed’s history is the Southern Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club’s Amice Pitt Commemorative Cavalcade which has writings by Amice Pitt as well as essays on the early top stud dogs.

The following is a somewhat tongue in cheek look look at the types of bitch owners a stud dog owner might meet reprinted from the September/October 2008 issue of The Universal Cavalier.

It has only been in fairly recent years that I have become a stud dog owner to any degree, preferring to keep girls but suddenly I seem to have a houseful of the boys or so it seems when the girls are in season!  While I may allow the boys to be used to outside breeders I must admit that I am the world’s worst stud dog owner.  I neither have the patience, time nor the salesmanship required to “pimp” my stud dogs to bitch owners.  However I have noticed through the years that there are varying categories of bitch owners that approach you about your stud dog. 

The True Stockman

A delight for any stud dog owner to deal with.  Usually a long term successful breeder who uses common sense and knowledge to determine upon a stud dog.  Before contacting a stud dog owner they have usually done their research basing their decisions on pedigrees, what a stud dog has produced, what a certain stud dog might have that they feel their bitch can improve upon.  They are less interested in how the dog did in a show ring or whether the dog has been tested for every condition ever heard of.  They might ask a few questions but they have generally already decided on the stud dog they intend to use for their bitch.  The questions asked tend to range along the lines of structure, temperament, longevity and health behind the stud dog and faults that may have appeared in offspring.  They will also listen to the stud dog owner should you advise that your dog might not necessarily work well with their bitch and while they may go ahead and still use your dog, they do keep your advice in mind once the litter is on the ground.

The Novice

There is a great variety and hope when dealing with a novice breeder.  They are loaded with questions, sometimes even the right ones.  Many come wanting to learn and looking for the best choice for their bitch.  Some have been sent by a mentor or co-owner, others have been sent by other stud dog owners feeling your dog is a better choice for the particular bitch than their own – usually the true stockman noted above.  Some novices are willing to be educated but others are already heading down the path to one of the types below. 

Seeing Stars

I must admit I don’t get many of these types having never campaigned a top dog but there are many bitch owners who breed to the current top winner in the show ring whether it makes sense for their bitch or not.  Since dogs who are being campaigned are often young dogs and have yet to establish themselves as successful stud dogs it makes one wonder how successful overall these bitch owners are.  Especially as a top winning dog is not necessarily the best representative of its breed.  But for some, the longer the string of titles in front of the dog’s name and the more wins advertised they see convinces them of the worth of the dog as a stud dog.  It seems more a status symbol thing than a thought-out breeding decision as the bitch owner then can advertise they have bred to the “Great Mukky-Muk” and certainly the other “seeing stars” types and puppy buyers should be impressed.

Certificate Hunters

These are the bitch owners whose sole basis for deciding on a stud dog is how many health certificates the dog has accumulated.  Pedigrees are often unimportant unless the sire or dam also have a string of certificates, the dog could look like a Beagle with fur but by heavens does he have those certificates. 

The Kennel Blind

There are some bitch owners who will only breed to dogs or dogs from lines from certain kennels.  In some cases this makes sense if you are looking for a certain type or style of Cavalier but kennels tend to have a certain faults in their lines and it may be necessary to go out to other kennels to correct the fault.  However the kennel blindness tends to not let the bitch owner see the fault/s so they never see the need to go to other dogs which may not be from their desired lines.

The Bottom Liner

You know these people the second they make contact as the first question they ask is “how much”?   These are the bitch owners who pretty much only look at the bottom line when deciding on a stud dog.  The dog next door with his lower stud fee (even better if there is none) is by far the best choice for them!

They also like to consider themselves the big wheeler and dealers in the breed and will continue to tell you how by allowing them to breed to your stud dog – for nothing – it will be great for you, because THEY will have puppies by your stud dog. 

The On the Fly Decision Maker

This is the bitch owner that you receive a call from telling you they’d like to use your stud.  This is the first contact so you are generally thinking months down the line.  O foolish you!  Once chatting for a few minutes they then inform you that their bitch has been in season for a week and you are also left with the feeling that they’ve already called around to several other stud dog owners just trying to find someone to accommodate them at the last moment.  Worse in this day and age is the bitch owners who want frozen semen sent at the last moment – when they could have had it sent months earlier and stored at a local clinic if they hadn’t been making the decision “on the fly” for a stud dog.

Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve

Probably among the most annoying of bitch owners.  They are the ones who email you for pedigrees, health certificates and pictures of your stud dogs, approach you at shows to examine your dog, discuss stud fees, call in the middle of the night to you to tell you their bitch is in season …. AGAIN and then breed to another dog often in their own kennel …. AGAIN!  Later when your stud dog is retired or dead they loudly expound to whoever will listen that they had intended to breed to your stud dog especially if he was a successful producer but the timing wasn’t right, the bitch didn’t travel well, they didn’t realise the bitch was in season until too late (even though you knew they were watching her like a hawk because they told you weeks before the bitch came in season that they expected her to come in season any day now so to expect her to arrive for her breeding to your stud dog!) and a multitude of other excuses.   They continue on to state that they just know that if they’d had the opportunity to breed to your dog they would have produced the “one”.

The types noted above are a bit like the characters in the movie “Best In Show”.  You recognise them or at least facets of them but of course they aren’t you – are they?