03 Breed Notes – Manchester 2024

Our judge for Manchester was David Cavill (who last judged us at SKC in 2021) he was doing four utility breeds and Keesies were second in the ring after 16 Shar Pei’s. With 37 Keesies entered and only 2 absentees, apart from both Special Beginners classes which had no entries, there were some well filled classes with Open Bitch having 8 girls present. Judging started around 1030am and was over and done with by 12.30pm.

Winning his second CC from Limit was Sue Lindsay’s Mezanda Mystic Starman (Ednaaron Moonlight x Mezanda Melys Sparkle) with the RDCC going to the winner of Open, Mel Harris’ Ch Kichigai Boy Is Back In Town For Watchkees JW (Watchkees (Ch Neradmik All About The Boy for Watchkees x Kichigai Lilac Wine)

Also winning her second CC with Best of Breed was Jane Ring’s Neradmik Tantrums ‘N’ Tiaras (Ch Samkees With Love to Neradmik (imp Mlt) x Ch Neradmik Grace Kelly (Imp Can)) with the RBCC going to second in Open, Mark Redler & David Wheatley’s Ch Keitakees You Are My World (Ch Neradmik Family Affair with Lekkerbek x Byquy Kinky Boots at Keitakees)

Best Puppy was Gill Brunt’s Zandvoort Grace’s Secret (Divnyi Drug Dar (Imp Rus) x Almaznyi Istochnik Tropicheskaya Noch (Imp Rus))

No-one can help it if their dog is suddenly and unexpectedly ill (from either end) in a public place. For an exhibitor whose dog is sick on and in front of another exhibitor’s bench, whose idea of clearing it up is by throwing a bowl of water over the mess, (spreading it everywhere) and then going off, leaving it for someone else to deal with is, as far as I’m concerned, just not good enough.

Accidents can and do happen, it’s how one deals with the situation which matters. Hopefully it was just the stress of being at the show and not a GI bug which caused the dog to be ill. But whatever the reason, leaving the mess doesn’t show the breed in a particularly good light, especially as the Keesie benches lined the main thoroughfare through the annexes. All credit to the two young (group?) stewards who having seen it, went to the nearest ring, returned with a mop and bucket and cleaned up all around the benching area.

Most of you will have heard by now of the Kennel Club’s decision to stop funding the Canine Genetics Centre at Cambridge University, despite it bearing the Kennel Club’s name. Sad and disconcerting news to hear, but unfortunately not really that surprising. Apart from a (very) small handful of people working at the Kennel Club (often with their hands tied), health has never been a major concern for the KC. Health only came to the forefront as a knee jerk reaction to PDE and the KC have let it slowly dwindle away ever since.

The Kennel Club have missed so many opportunities where a real difference could have been made into the health and future of pedigree dogs, it’s hard to see how the KC can been seen as a voice representing healthy pedigree dogs. The majority of the progress and inroads made into Canine Health have been made by dedicated people like Cathryn and her team and the BHC’s, often with very little or no practical support from the KC – done despite them, not because of them.

Hopefully the money donated by both breed clubs for research into PHPT and Epilepsy will not have been in vain, as there are various ‘rescue plans’ in the pipe line. What Cathryn and her team need is a sustainable and reliable source of funding, not the random ad hoc method which they have had to rely on so far.

And finally a date for your diary; the next Yorkshire Keesie walk is going to be held on Saturday 3rd February at Temple Newsome, LS15 0AD
Meeting up in the Go Ape car park (same as before) at 11.00am with tea and cake afterwards. All Keesies and their families are welcome

Anji Marfleet