Dorianblue OES, PONs & Briards

02/06/2024

The first champ show went really well and we were so well supported by sponsors, exhibitors and friends ❤️

02/06/2024

Delighted that Polish hunting dogs have now been recognised by the KC, they are a lovely breed

20/04/2024

How fascinating is this? Lovely looking dog and interesting to see the amount of inbreeding required to keep the revival of the breed going

13/01/2024

Love the movement on this female - balanced angulation, solid topline

13/01/2024

All too often the ‘different’ dog is the correct one, judges need to recognise it and reward it or breed type disappears, it’s not ‘doing something different’ it’s judging to breed conformation and type

23/12/2023

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy 2024 x

09/11/2023

Small minded breeders do much damage by driving good people out of the breed

02/09/2023

Completely balanced with the correct breed outline and proportions- no stacking required!

23/03/2023

Well done FCI! We need the word ‘registered’ to stand for quality in this country!

28/12/2022

20/11/2022

A briard with human feet 😂🤦‍♀️

16/11/2022

Crufts 2023 schedules are out - finally get to see my name in print as the judge for my beloved PONs - 30+ years in the breed, all thanks to my mother and the support of my sister x

14/11/2022

The APONC 2022 BIS and BOS

14/11/2022

Lovely pictures of the Spring Briard pups enjoying their lives ❤️

17/09/2022

Teddy bear alert 😂

16/09/2022

Flashback Friday - the club show in Poland 2008 and Sweden 2019, off to the USA next week to the APONC national.

16/09/2022

Jazz with Ula in Poland, no idea how long ago this was?

20/03/2022

Fabulous day for us at Crufts - Lollie (Ponadto Gossip Girl to Dorianblue) won her 3rd CC and crown, owned by Mary Newton and Helen judged a lovely entry of 100+ bobtails! Yesterday Evee graced us with 3 Briard puppies :)

07/03/2022

A good judge must be:
Honest,
Must be fearless,
Must have a complete knowledge of the anatomy and standard of their breed.
Must be possessed of a calm enough temperament and of sound enough judgement to put into practice what they know, during the hurly-burly of a big show.
Must have a flair which recognizes quality, style, symmetry and balance, at a glance.
Finally, must conform to a certain technique of judging which enables him/ her to reach the correct conclusions themselves - and to do so in such a way that the exhibitors and spectators understand what he/she is doing
If the wrong dogs are put up consistently they are liable to be chosen for breeding which is likely to have a harmful effect on the breed concerned. So it is very important that a high level of judging be maintained, (especially at breed club and general championship shows), for unless this happens, the general standard of the dogs will almost certainly deteriorate."

Excerpt - written in 1950 by the great Bull Terrier breeder/expert, Raymond H Oppenheimer (CBE)

22/02/2022

The Briard pups are now 2 years old!!!

11/01/2022

Here's me and Abbie winning our class at WKC in 1985 - I have no recollection of that jumper!!!! 0.59s and 2.30s, she was my heart bobtail and I said I would never have another when we lost her, I was with her at home when she crossed.

https://youtu.be/Ulx_rArromQ

A blast from the past being an interview between Gill Harwood and Desmond Morris on the traits of the Old English Sheepdog - filmed for a Sunday Afternoon Pr...

23/12/2021

Merry Christmas to all our friends across the world, have a safe Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year xx

03/11/2021

Where it all started :) Igor z Zeriby and Naspa z Kordegardy, sire and dam of the first litter born in the UK

12/10/2021

Ch Dobrany Dorianblue Grzmot at Chrevle JW, Crufts BOB, the only UK bred dog to win his Polish Ch title to date, including 1 x CWC at the club specialty

07/10/2021

Bobtail memories from my teenage years :)

15/09/2021

PON heads - just love that big nose!

06/09/2021

Simply love this photo of Margot :)

02/09/2021

There's no need to alter breed type - Poland doesn't - 1970's & 2020's - they are totally beautiful as Poland intended them to be

01/09/2021

“Quality is rare and is therefore highly prized. It is the outward sign of the fine heritage we strive so hard to establish in all pedigreed stock. Every once in a while, in the midst of the usual run of the mill, an animal appears with this splendid thing we call true quality.

It is so fine and strong and clear that it is like a sudden bright light. It is a combination of true type, refinement and power, a symmetry of line with no modish exaggeration, encompassing the whole animal with special emphasis nowhere. Once seen in any living thing it is not forgotten, whether in man or beast.”

-- Elizabeth Choate, Sealyham breeder, 1943

See it recognise it . Make it your blue print and you will be on the right road

31/08/2021

THE IMPORTANCE OF BALANCE
One of the essential attributes in any great dog is correct breed-specific balance; proportions that are exactly what is called for in the relevant Breed Standard.
Balance is a contributing factor to Breed Type and, no matter how beautiful a head a dog may have, if it is short on leg, long in back or incorrectly angulated at either end it will never have true balance.
When photographs of dogs appear which draw you to the overall picture, the whole package, rather than one exaggerated feature, then the chances are that the subject is perfectly balanced.
Oftentimes breeds suffer when a lack of balance becomes widespread and incorrect proportions are then accepted by exhibitors and judges alike. When this happens a breed will head for a downward spiral unless judges recognise the trend and place greater emphasis on the basics, the most important of which is BALANCE.

Insightful words from Andrew Brace, always spot on.