GCh.S
Rozebottel’s
Mack At
Grandcru went
Best of Breed
under judge
Doug Johnson
at the Lagotto
Romagnolo
Club of America
National
Specialty.
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but he prepared himself by observing the breed at other
shows, including the World Dog Shows. His comments on
the assignment: “The ‘rustic’ impression with solid body and
bone, up on leg and square outline, were what I was hunting
for. The young dog class was perhaps the most difficult to
judge as the four dogs in the class were all taller and ap-
peared to be close to the top or in the 1 ⁄ 2 inch allowed in the
standard above the recommended height range. I think this
is a dangerous place to be for such young dogs and would
caution breeders to watch size. The standard calls for small-
to medium-sized dogs. My winners in the classes were what
I wanted to find in the end.
“I thought there was good depth in the male specials,
with three outstanding dogs to pick for Best of Breed. I
really focused on the head properties and overall body size
and balance in my final decision. My choice was a strong,
clean-moving dog, who had a large head with great muzzle
and eyes. He is clean in shoulder and backline. My Winners
Bitch and Best of Opposite Sex was my second choice for
Best of Breed. I loved her size, her coat and the perfect
head and expression. She is not as clean on the move as
the male. I was very pleased to know they were bred by the
same person.
“For me, my winners all must have the unique breed-
specific properties that the breed standards call for. They
must be representative of the best of their breed and be
filled with outstanding qualities you would want to use in a
breeding program.”
Doug’s other winners included Rozebottel’s Caramel
Brownie, bred and owned by Katrien Van Gemert, who also
bred the Best of Breed winner. This bitch, co-owned with
Lisa Sobon, was Best of Winners, Best of Opposite Sex and
Best Bred-by-Exhibitor. It was quite a day for this breeder
from the Netherlands. What breeder doesn’t want to have
his or her breeding program affirmed, especially by another
successful breeder?
Winners Dog was Larcan’s Grand Finale, bred and owned
by Robert and Lisa Sobon, co-owners of the Winners Bitch. It
is notable that this dog was sired by Rozebottel’s Big Spend-
er, yet another feather in the cap of Katrien Van Gemert.
Nancy D. Simmons judged Juniors, Obedience and Rally.
Lynn D. Looper judged the sweepstakes and picked a 9
to 12 Puppy Dog as her Best in Sweepstakes: Amore’s Ca-
millo, bred by Marcello Petricciuolo and owned by Linda
Campbell. Best of Opposite in Sweeps was Rozebottel’s
Caramel Brownie.
Whatever our chosen breed(s), we are so alike in many
ways, and we all seem to care about the health of our dogs.
The dinner the night before the show was held at Pearl’s
Dance Hall and Saloon, and the featured speaker was Dr. Day-
na Dreger from the Ostrander laboratory at the National Hu-
man Genome Research Institute/National Institute of Health.
Dr. Dreger’s particular area of interest is the genetic devel-
opment of rare Italian breeds, and her presentation was well
attended and held everyone’s attention. Barbecue, beer, live
country and western music, dancing and molecular genetics
turned out to be a successful, if unconventional, combination,
especially since it all took place in a former brothel.
Coming, as I do, from a breed with an old-fashioned
standard, brief yet succinct, and treasured because of its
historic significance, I found the standard of the Lagotto
particularly fascinating. I work with a standard that refers
to a “rather long neck,” “shoulders set sloping,” “skull, not
too broad,” one that has no disqualifications and is exactly
610 words long.
The standard developed and approved by the Lagotto
Romagnolo Club of America is 2,036 words long and is far
from the Irish Wolfhound standard in both type and tone:
“The skull measured across the area of the zygomatic
arches is wide and equal to the area from the stop to the oc-
cipital crest, both being slightly more than 50 percent of the
total length of the head (56 percent)”; and “shoulder blades
long (30 percent of the height at withers), well laid back
(52 to 55 degrees)”; and “The angle formed between the
shoulder blade and the upper arm should be 110 to 115 de-
grees”; and “Upper thigh—long (35 percent of the height at
withers), with well-defined muscles. The axis of the femur
has a distinct inclination of 80 degrees to the horizontal.
The coxo-femoral angle ranges from 105 to 110 degrees”;
and “the angle of the stifle ranges from 130 to 135 degrees”
and “Second thigh—slightly longer than the upper thigh (36
percent of the height at withers).”
Additionally, there are seven disqualifications: size, eyes,
bite, teeth, dewclaws, coat and color.
Who can say which type of standard serves a breed—any
breed—best, both for the judge and the breeder? I presume
that all standards come out of a collaboration of involved
people, experts in the breed, and the result reflects their
temperament and experiences. But whether we, as keepers
of a breed, work with brief, vague standards or ones that
are long and specific, we all believe that we have the best
pattern for our endeavors. Clearly, those who have chosen
to carry the Lagotto forward in this country believe theirs
will work best. This rugged, cheerful little dog is in good
hands, and it will be interesting to see how the breed chang-
es when it becomes popular, as it surely will. DIR