Canton Pomeranians

Going  almost yearly to the American Pomeranian Club Nationals is a real treat for anyone who loves Pomeranians.  It is a way of getting a feel of what competition is; what dogs you can possibly breed to; meeting new friends and being able to talk to breeders about their breeding experiences and bloodline combinations;…and when opportunity presents, being able to bring your own show dog to showcase your breeding efforts.

This year, I brought Bravestar again for one last try…something like a last swan song.  He has been retired since last December 2008, having been awarded as the Number 1 Pomeranian  and Number 3 All Breed in the Philippines 2009.  I had earlier pre-arranged with Chris Heartz to trim Bravestar again – and so, no trimming has been done since then because I wanted to see just how Chris Heartz would do it, without any limitations.  She gave him a fabulous haircut which I just love……but I was quite shocked when she trimmed off more than one inch of his tail plumage.  The rationale for this, is that it will keep his tail fixed, immaculately neat and styled whilst he strutted the ring.  This is one of the big difference in the grooming between the American and the English Pomeranians. 

Pictured above:  (1) Eng Ch Derronill Maxamillion with an English haircut; (2)  Bravestar with his  APC 2008 haircut by Chris Heartz with less trimming;  (3) Bravestar in his 2009 APC haircut by Chris Heartz with heavier trimming; (4) APC Logo depicting the American trim

Unlike last year where there were more than 60 entries, this year, it was down to more than 40.  There were a lot of beautiful entries.  Perhaps noteworthy of mention was the numerous entries from Thailand.  With an entry of my own, it was quite difficult to stay focused on the competition.  However, one of the poms that I really liked was Ch Tokie the Legend Continues(Dutchy), who I learned later would be going with Chris Heartz back to Canada on lease.  Like Dutchy, Bravestar passed the first cut but both did not make it for the second cut and the Award of Merit/Best of Breed.  Though he did not make the ultimate win, I was quite happy with his performance and his presentation…which to me, is the most important thing in showing a pom. 

Bravestar gained a lot of attention and compliments from luminaries like Charlotte Creed(Southland), Tony Cabrera(Starfire), Jane Lehtinen(JanLe), Fred Bassett(All Judge and Head of Pomeranian Judge Education), among many others too many to mention.

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Though there were many beautiful entries, my main disappointment(like in the previous years) was the movement.  Many of my initial choices, like last year, had crab movements…they could not walk in a straight line but instead walked in a diagonal line.  This is also very true with many of the show poms in our own local ring today.

I suppose, the next question would be, what makes them move the way they do?  I believe, it is one or a combination of two reasons:

   1.  The  lack of rear angulation…or quite a straight hind legs, disallows the dog to move in a straight line.

   2.  The body of the dog is so short(in proportion to the legs) that as the dog gaits, the front and rear legs causes a dis-equilibrium in movement…making his steps to be tilted.

All this boils down to one point.  In their desire to make the pomeranian short…shorter than short(but what I saw in the ring was not!), they have created a Pomeranian who not only side-wines but one which is prone to loose patellas.  I will talk more about this in a future blog called “Pomeranian:  A Man- Made Breed.”

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I suppose, the another excitement to my trip was the Pomeranians that I brought home(pictured below:  Lindt, and Raisinette) and those that will be coming home sometime in the future. All these are exciting new  additions to my chocolate breeding program.  And that means …. I will be producing more chocolates!

March 24, 2009