Form Follows FUNCTION
A few years ago, I wrote an article about the functioning herding dog and its move- ment. The last paragraph of that article was as follows: “Let me now state that while we are discussing a particular feature of the herding dogs—gait—let us not fall into the trap of putting too much emphasis on any one part of the dog. While movement is the proof of structure, we must always look at the dog as a WHOLE. We should not discard all of him just because we do not like one part of him, unless that one part is so faulty as to make him totally unable to perform his original purpose. Please think about this for a moment. If you have a well-bred dog of excellent overall breed type that has one glaring fault, would you discard him (or her) as a breeding animal because of that one fault? If the whole dog paints the proper picture and, overall, the dog in motion is equal or nearly equal to the picture the dog pres- ents to us when standing still, then isn’t that what we should be looking for whether for show or as breeding stock (which should actually be one and the same)? On the other hand, we may often be presented a dog with an outstanding breed characteristic, but also with several minor faults or maybe even a major fault. As judges, if we do not reward or at least somehow recognize the dog in the show ring that presents to us some magnificent feature, then we will often wind up with a dog as the winner that has no outstanding faults, but neither does he possess any outstanding virtues. What is left is mediocrity. Fault judge only when you are preparing to breed a dog, so that you know what it is you need to correct in the breeding. Look for the outstanding features of the dog when you are evaluating them in the show ring. It is the outstanding features that we want to perpetuate, not the faults! ” FAULT JUDGING BY STEPHANIE HEDGEPATH
“WHILE MOVEMENT IS THE PROOF OF STRUCTURE, WE MUST ALWAYS LOOK AT THE DOG AS A WHOLE.”
46 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2021
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