Show Condition

[fable]

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I would be interested to know what people think about showing very thin whippets.

On a couple of occasions I've seen a skeletal whippet (possibly the one in previous topic ) placed above very nice dogs - including my own I must admit -that has been the only time I've felt really unhappy with the judges opinion.It would be unacceptable to show or compete a horse in that condition.

 

[Jan Doherty]

I think there is a big difference between a thin whippet who is undernourished and miserable and a very fit whippet who is in good coat and in fine form. Both will be spare in condition but the condition of the coat and the look in the eye says it all.

 

[lalena]

its not good whippets should be lean, rangy, in top condition, but scrawny with every bone protruding? no! even the thinnest of , healthy, whippets will have muscle tone. i'm shocked that a starved creature would be placed above healthy ones look at the ones here on k9: they are vibrant, glossy, full of life, a joy to see, and above all...HAPPY!

a miserable, trembling, nervy wreck is as far from the ideal as you can get people who willingly allow their dogs to be that wreck shouldnt own any animals :angry:

 

[Karen]

Dont really have enough info to comment on this other than to say, ask this person why the dog is so thin if you have seen it at a few shows. I hate seeing thin Whippets, I dont like them lardy either, there is an optimum weight, sometimes the dog slips either side of this because of seasons/ bitches in season or some such but if the dog is always thin thats not good.

Why did the judge put it up? Perhaps the exhibitor apologised for its lack of condition due to bitches in season or something, the judge would not know it was always like that. One lady has been under me several times and always says she is sorry about her dogs lack of condition for this reason, shes been saying it for YEARS, she gets nothing off me, they cant always be in season. :angry:

 

[fable]

Thanks for your replies - I also feel that there is a big difference between a lean ,fit whippet and one that is seriously underweight - and I do sympathise with the problem as I have a lurcher that I always struggle to get any weight on. As a newcomer to showing dogs I was just surprised that some judges don't seem to consider it unacceptable.

 

[jools]

A deperately thin whippet was shown locally last year - it was never placed until one show where he won a class unopposed - then got BOB over some really nice (healthy) dogs - we couldn't believe it. A few of us did try and suggest he was very underweight and could do with a health check - but the owner wasn't interested. A few weeks later he appeared with a new owner, looking much better. She said she had wormed him and he was full of tape worm - she had mentioned this to the other woman who said that she never wormed them after puppyhood - they didn't need it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The previous owner was new to whippets, but was a well known exhibitor and judge in another breed (beardies) I don't know what condition they must be in, hard to tell under all that coat.

Sadly, the "new" owner turned up at ringcraft and when I asked her how the dog was .....she had swapped him for a brindle bitch and £100!! I couldn't believe what I heard, there was more money to be made from bitches - she had already mated the new bitch to her It. Grey. and had people lined up for these puppies at £500 each. She turned out to be someone I had heard about for some time, she "invents new breeds" and flogs them off to any idiot who will pay for these "rarities" the poor whippet dog, we thought he had fallen on his feet when she got him, it was more a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. I hope both these owners rot in hell.

 

[kris]

ive owned stud dog and breeding bitches.my opinion was you never took your dog to a show when it was out of condition.i know how males can lose weight rapidly when a bitch is in season,but its not really an excuse.imho noone should see your dog if its not in prime condition.after all there will always be another show and if you show your dog when its not looking its best you arent doing them any favours.only take your dog to a show when it looks in tip top condition.that way youll get a reputation for showing dogs that always look superb and folk will know you only go out to win cos you wont show your dog if it isnt looking its best. :thumbsup:

 

[Ridgesetter]

Whilst I'm not saying the dog was thin (skeletal), we all see condition differently. I work for a pet food company and have learnt to hold my tongue as on several occasions I have recommended a weight loss low calorie food to an owner for their dog only to be severely admonished that their dog is not fat!!

On the other hand, I regularly receive enquiries from owners (exhibitors generally) wishing to put weight on their young dogs as they feel they don't look mature and 'finished' enough in the ring. My advice is always that if the dog is eating well and is the vet says they are healthy, they may take longer to mature. :thumbsup:

Through work, I sometimes accompany Australia's most popular vet who often states obesity is the greatest and most common problem facing dogs today.

One of my own whippets, Piper, who is 18 months old, is too lean for my personal taste. I've shown her and then kept her at home for a while thinking she was too thin and then put her back in and had a win. We feed her as much as she wants to eat and her coat is glossy, her eyes bright and she is extremely active.

Piper became ill last week. Some diarrhoea and we got home from work to find her quite dehydrated. Anyway, a call to the vet and off we went. 1½ hours surgey for blockages through her small and large intestines. We're not really sure what she ate but it appears as though she might have eaten a heat brick left over in the spit from our Christmas lunch. Piper only came home yesterday and let me assure you if I thought she was thin before that was nothing compared to how she looks now. I cry even thinking about how she looks now. She's happy and eating well and we have a lot of work to get condition back on her.

So please, unless a dog is being obviously ill treated or neglected, don't blame the owners. Maybe they have a little bundle of dynamite like I do. Nor be hard on judges for their decisions. When you judge dogs, you know if there's a problem. The coat feels dry and rough and you can tell if an animal isn't happy.

I guess it's like many problems in life. It's difficult to understand a problem until you've experienced it personally.

 

[JAX]

Sorry to hear about Piper , :luck: Good luck for a speedy recovery

I know what you mean about Obesity . I saw my Montees litter brother last Oct , and I could have cried when I saw him Ive NEVER seen a whippet so fat :rant: Believe me I really gave his owner an insight as to what he was doing to his/my dog :rant: Ian was under no illusion that he was fat , after all we were at a whippet show , so he could see what Punto SHOULD look like , The worst of it was , hed been for his booster a coulpe of weeks before and his vet said NOTHING about his weight :rant: , If he had been fawn you would have thought he was an over weight Lab :angry: On enquiring about his diet , he was feeding him enough for a full grown GSD ! Now that wasnt the diet sheet he took from me.

Now I have India and Harvee who are manic around house , garden and fields , :- " but as you so rightly said , if they have a good coat , glint in their eye and eat ok then they will body up later ( :thumbsup: > mine to are too busy playing to eat most of the time though

 

[malin]

Poor, poor Piper! Hope she has a speedy recovery!!!!! :luck: :luck: :luck:

About show condition... A whippet should look a lean, mean, super well muscled killing machine with a head and expression all softness and float around a ring when moving. What gets to me is the increasing number of whippets who look like labs - just dripping with fat! Repeat after me: a fat whippet is not a well conditioned dog!!! Just as a judge will recognize a malnutritioned dog, he or she who knows his/her stuff will recognize obesity and not mistake it for body and smooth, flowing lines.

I know of a vet in Finland who is like a army sergeant - when he is presented with an obese dog it is signed up on the spot for his weight loss program with weekly visits and diet plans and weighing food and counting calories. The owners get a real talking to LOL! A great man IMO!!!

 

[05whippet]

Fat whippets???? How do you get one of those?????????? :- "

Ours never stay still long enough to get overweight (w00t)

Sorry to hear about Piper all the best for a speedy recovery :thumbsup:

 

[doris]

get well soon Piper! :luck:

your story perfectly sums up what Jan (and most people) said earlier, you can see the difference between a thin, undernourished miserable dog and a thin, healthy, happy, fit dog :thumbsup:

just hope that if I ever get a show dog, I manage to get it right! :- "