wolfsoul
11-10-2007, 07:21 PM
I went to a Pat Hastings seminar today. If you're not familiar with her, she is probably the best structure judge in the world. She knows everything. She evaluates over 300 litters a year, has evaluated approximatly 27,000 puppies, and with the evaluation procedure that she and her husband invented, her results have been 100% perfect. People pay her airfare and wage to evaluate their dogs and litters all the time. She has written a few books, has her own movie (that I REALLY recommend!) called Puppy Puzzle. She has handled to over 250 Best in Shows, and has bred almost 30 breeds in order to live and learn more about them. She has been an all-breed handler for many many years and an all breed judge.
So I went to one of her seminars today (which was incredible by the way -- I highly recommend going to one if you are interested in structure, nutrition, some health, etc). And at the end we brought our dogs in for evaluation. She REALLY liked Visa. She kept saying "she is a very nice bitch, I really like her." She aksed why I'd brought her. I told her I thought she might be short in the upper arm and too long in the loin.
Her front and rear angulations are perfect -- amazing shoulders, perfect angulation from shoulders to point of elbow. Her upper arm is not short, it is completely equal to the length of shoulder. Her loin is longer than alot of Belgians, but not too long -- just long enough for great movement. She is not too long in the body. Nice topline, nice length of neck. Now, the reason I thought she was short in the upper arm was because her prosternum is set so low. But Pat told me the reason her prosternum is so low is not that she is short in the upper arm, it is that her chest is shallow. So that is really her only structural fault -- I can only breed her to a nice deep-chested male.
Then she went on to say what I was hoping she would, becuase my old American lines get beat up all the time for not being "in style.'' She said that everyone is now bringing over "European crap" and it's making Belgians so short backed and square from head to tail that they can't even move. She stepped back and looked at her one more time and I said "There isn't a single European dog in her pedigree." And she looked at me and said "I can tell." Then she pushed Visa's head back, squished her rear in and roached her back and said "There, now she is a European Belgian." LOL.
Anyways I am just very excited. To have a such a good evaluation under Pat Hastings is incredible, I am very proud to have Visa as my foundation bitch.
So I went to one of her seminars today (which was incredible by the way -- I highly recommend going to one if you are interested in structure, nutrition, some health, etc). And at the end we brought our dogs in for evaluation. She REALLY liked Visa. She kept saying "she is a very nice bitch, I really like her." She aksed why I'd brought her. I told her I thought she might be short in the upper arm and too long in the loin.
Her front and rear angulations are perfect -- amazing shoulders, perfect angulation from shoulders to point of elbow. Her upper arm is not short, it is completely equal to the length of shoulder. Her loin is longer than alot of Belgians, but not too long -- just long enough for great movement. She is not too long in the body. Nice topline, nice length of neck. Now, the reason I thought she was short in the upper arm was because her prosternum is set so low. But Pat told me the reason her prosternum is so low is not that she is short in the upper arm, it is that her chest is shallow. So that is really her only structural fault -- I can only breed her to a nice deep-chested male.
Then she went on to say what I was hoping she would, becuase my old American lines get beat up all the time for not being "in style.'' She said that everyone is now bringing over "European crap" and it's making Belgians so short backed and square from head to tail that they can't even move. She stepped back and looked at her one more time and I said "There isn't a single European dog in her pedigree." And she looked at me and said "I can tell." Then she pushed Visa's head back, squished her rear in and roached her back and said "There, now she is a European Belgian." LOL.
Anyways I am just very excited. To have a such a good evaluation under Pat Hastings is incredible, I am very proud to have Visa as my foundation bitch.