I should know better

I had a refreshingly different judging experience at the weekend - a little fun show for charity, part of an equestrian event.

Before it began I sat in on the dressage judging, - nervous riders, confused horses - and felt desperately glad that I do not have to ask my dogs to do anything that precise. (And they would laugh at the very idea.)

From control (well, attempted control) to chaos. I went round to the little field where the dog show was to be held, reflecting how much better it was than some of the mud I was asked to show in last year, and was faced by a host of small children, desperately hanging on to their pets, most of no particular breed and of a type I always think of as "jolly dogs". Many of the dogs were considerably larger than their handlers, and children were towed all over the field.

There was only one entry in Veteran, and a large and truly ancient mongrel came in and proceeded to trail his tiny handler all round the field, where his only interest was to lift his leg as often as possible. I eventually brought them to a standstill, and asked the little girl how old he was. She looked around for help. None came. "I don`t know" she whispered, and I suddenly realised that he was at least twice as old as she was.

As we proceeded through OVER 15 INCHES; UNDER 15 INCHES; BEST SIX LEGS; WAGGIEST TAIL (a really hard one this, as most of the tails went so fast they were just a blur); BEST CHILDREN`S PET (where I asked one child if her Lab was a working one and she replied "I should say so - he`s a stud dog!") and headed towards DOG THE JUDGE WOULD MOST LIKE TO TAKE HOME, it became a matter of avoiding tears, and I sent for extra rosettes so that no-one would be left out.

On we went, with me trying to see that no child was left out, and being licked and climbed over by happy panting contestants. Things slowed down as more and more people joined in. By the time we reached the end, we had quite a crowd, and all seemed pleased with the results.

There was another happy result that weekend.

Three years ago I sold one of Fenella`s puppies called Daisy to a show home, where she was destined to be a brood bitch. She had two litters, and then the decision was made to let her go. My friend`s son, who knew the family and the dogs, was upset about this, and eventually bought Daisy, just as a pet. His mother, very experienced in the breed, looked at Daisy and thought otherwise. Daisy received a lot of skilled attention. And the outcome of that was that on the same weekend, a very tail-waggy Daisy won the Bitch CC and went Best of Breed and was shortlisted for the Group under a well-known international judge at a large Championship Show in Wales.

And I couldn`t be more pleased.