working lurchers/whippets and flapping dogs

[minshaw man 111]

never met a person yet that could tell whether a lurcher worked or not just by looking at it .unless their clairvoyant that might help a bit lol.

ya can tell a worker will have marks and scraches and skuffs off going thru gates and crashing into dyke or nocks it gets [bANNED TEXT] running a non worker will hardly have a mark on it

[birddog 1,354]

never met a person yet that could tell whether a lurcher worked or not just by looking at it .unless their clairvoyant that might help a bit lol.

ya can tell a worker will have marks and scraches and skuffs off going thru gates and crashing into dyke or nocks it gets [bANNED TEXT] running a non workerr will hardly have a mark on it

not always, i've seen pets that have never worked stub a toe going up stairs or tear itself chasing a ball in the park and some veteran workers that hardly have a mark fact is some dogs are more accident prone than others worker or not, i've found that a dogs demeanour says a lot an experienced worker who's been there and done that usually has an air of confidence about it often even a bored look about the whole show thing

[MoChara 1,632]

Birddog, you should come here and judge lol wish the judges i took him up to done what you do once he settles down hes ok its just the initial meeting and straight into feeling around him..

 

Atb, Nicole.

[paulsmithy83 567]

i love to show my animals, i love to work them too. The biggest problem with any show ive attended is that the judges dont know conformation and skeletal structure or the knock on effects of poor conformation, just to 'know a good dog' is not enough in my opinion.. To place a worker up because it has a Scars is bollox, what macho crap is that. I have yet to see a Judge talk through there judging with the handler, tell them the pros and cons of the conformation. I feel shows can be educational and have purpose but the judges should have to at least undertake a basic conformation course.

i've never put up a dog just because it has scars, in my post i said both dogs being equal the 'scarless' one would get it,it is a beauty show after all, it's just that scars or a let down toe type injury caused by work in my eyes doesn't take away from conformation, structure balance etc, and if anyone has approached me after a show i've given them my honest view, do we really need to know the function of the thoracolumbular fascia or the importance of the length and angle of the dorsal bones (which i do) in order to recognise the correct balance and movement in a running dog ? sometimes a dog has all the right bits in all the right places but is way off the condition of a structurally lesser animal that is in better condition, fitter and stronger, so which one comes first ? the best made one that couldn't catch it's tail it's that far out of condition or the lesser dog (structurally) thats fit as a flea with firm elastic muscles and a gleaming coat, this and a hundred other puzzles face the man in the middle, so the judge thats taken the basic conformation course gives it to the dog with soft muscles, flat feet and dull coat because basic conformation was better......if only it was that easy

I think ur right shows are just a beauty contest and tbh a Lurchers conformation means nowt on working ability. This my view put usian bolt in a line up of sprinters and judge on conformation as a 100meter sprinter bolt would place last but yet he's the fastest man alive. Shows will always be about which looks prityest and with the best conformation in the world has no resemblance to field use

[birddog 1,354]

another way to do it but it wouldn't be easy especially in the bigger classes, would be to hand each competitor a critique sheet, it would be a hard thing to implement as there is no set standard only one or better two judges subjective opinion but it would help especially with integrity, it needn't be a lengthy thing a line or two on the dogs structural positives and negatives, a conditioning tick box affair would be easier ie coat condition, muscle tone, nail length etc all things which every entrant should / could be equal (ish)

[minshaw man 111]

never met a person yet that could tell whether a lurcher worked or not just by looking at it .unless their clairvoyant that might help a bit lol.

ya can tell a worker will have marks and scraches and skuffs off going thru gates and crashing into dyke or nocks it gets [bANNED TEXT] running a non workerr will hardly have a mark on it

not always, i've seen pets that have never worked stub a toe going up stairs or tear itself chasing a ball in the park and some veteran workers that hardly have a mark fact is some dogs are more accident prone than others worker or not, i've found that a dogs demeanour says a lot an experienced worker who's been there and done that usually has an air of confidence about it often even a bored look about the whole show thing

put it this way i can tell if a dog has seen graft or notthankyou aaron

[troter58 1,711]

never met a person yet that could tell whether a lurcher worked or not just by looking at it .unless their clairvoyant that might help a bit lol.

ya can tell a worker will have marks and scraches and skuffs off going thru gates and crashing into dyke or nocks it gets [bANNED TEXT] running a non workerr will hardly have a mark on it

not always, i've seen pets that have never worked stub a toe going up stairs or tear itself chasing a ball in the park and some veteran workers that hardly have a mark fact is some dogs are more accident prone than others worker or not, i've found that a dogs demeanour says a lot an experienced worker who's been there and done that usually has an air of confidence about it often even a bored look about the whole show thing

put it this way i can tell if a dog has seen graft or notthankyou aaron

thats you told atb

[sowhat 1,572]

it's not down to the owners and the problem would be so easy to sort, it's the judges, plain and simple, the stick i've taken over the years for 'putting up' a dog with a scar or a limp caused through work, injuries are part and parcel of the lurcher game and if the organisers picked judges who had the cohonies to stand by what they believed was right rather than what the onlookers wanted it would help immensly. i agree totally that they are beauty contests but its the man in the middle who has his hands on them that makes the difference, all things being equal conformation, balance, condition etc the injury free dog should win but if the best conformation and conditioned animal has a scar or a bust tendon through work they get the ticket from me, the exception i make to this is a fresh injury as imo the dog shouldn't be paraded about a potentially germ filled field but should be tucked up at home healing, whats wrong with lookers that work?

 

Can you just remind me the breeding of this fine looking animal if I judged your lurcher you'd be walking away with this

[birddog 1,354]

jeff, her dads a kinda line bred deerhound / greyhound and her mum's a top honcho bred greyhound, as you know i was after one of your pups at the time (but unluckily she didn't take ) for mooching, bushing and ferreting with jazz, and whilst she's building quite a tally on bunnies her heart and natural gifts are set a little higher, when out in the woods her gaze is often out over the fields and if we ever judge together mate they'll be trouble cos i'd have to give it to your wee one from what i've seen you just couldn't better her as she's a wee belter. we were all gutted when your bitch didn't take and the wife and young lass spotted belle's pic and i was outvoted

[birddog 1,354]

never met a person yet that could tell whether a lurcher worked or not just by looking at it .unless their clairvoyant that might help a bit lol.

ya can tell a worker will have marks and scraches and skuffs off going thru gates and crashing into dyke or nocks it gets [bANNED TEXT] running a non workerr will hardly have a mark on it

not always, i've seen pets that have never worked stub a toe going up stairs or tear itself chasing a ball in the park and some veteran workers that hardly have a mark fact is some dogs are more accident prone than others worker or not, i've found that a dogs demeanour says a lot an experienced worker who's been there and done that usually has an air of confidence about it often even a bored look about the whole show thing

put it this way i can tell if a dog has seen graft or notthankyou aaron

my 2 the broken coated one where you can see the scuffs and scrapes if you look close enough has just over bunnies to her name..... the rough coated one thats had stitches, staples, burst barbed wire running through it knocked branches off trees etc has thousands to her name and without shaving her you'd not find a mark