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GZ BREED COLUMNStoystimes a heartbreaking failure. I recall acouple of times, however, when I havesadly given up and then suddenly andunexpectedly, after the little, “lifeless”puppy has been laid aside as totallygone, it makes a feeble little gasp. Youare seeing a miracle, and with lots morehard rubbing, the little guy beginsbreathing! Don’t expect this to alwaysbe the case, but it can happen.Once when we had a dam in thevet’s office for a cesarian, a single babywas very lifeless. The vet used all methodsto revive him, but still there wereno signs of life. She handed him to me,and I worked vigorously, while seeminglyunnecessarily. Then a tiny squeaksounded, and the vet complimented mewith a remark to her staff, “Well, if anyonemight have a chance, Mrs. Bakerwould be the one.”This all may seem elementary, andchances are you’ve been through thesethings. I’m certainly not a magicalexpert, just a little experienced. Again, Ihope all this doesn’t come across as agrade-school type lecture, but rather Ijust hope that you might experiencesuch a happy event at such a time—itfeels so good!Till next time: Smile a lot, and meanit. —Olga Baker, jeribeth1@gmail.com;American Pomeranian Club website:americanpomeranianclub.orgPugsIt’s Winning, But Is ItCorrect?Iwant to preface this column bysaying that what I write is based onobservations and personal opinion,nothing more, but this is a topic beingdiscussed in many breeds.Perhaps it is coincidence, or maybe itsimply has become a popular topic ofconversation, but more and more I findthat we are discussing proper breedtype, style, and what’s winning.Often fashion will dictate what’swinning, even if it is not exactly correctbreed type. Therefore, popular fashionwill dictate what people show and consequentlybreed, eventually changingtype to the detriment of the breed.First, it is important to echo somethingCharlotte Patterson said in arecent judges’ education seminar: “Weneed to distinguish between type andstyle.” Proper breed type should not beopen to interpretation. It is what thestandard addresses. Styles, however, candiffer.We all know that what’s winningaffects fashion. What’s winning getsseen in advertisements as well as in thegroup and Best in Show rings. Thejudges see that and start to put it up,especially if they are not intimatelyfamiliar with our breed. If it is constantlywinning and put up, people whoare more concerned with winning inthe show ring start to show it, andbreed it—and before we know it, ourbreed type is no longer honored andcan even change.This was the topic of a recent conversationI had with another experiencedexhibitor. We were discussing anexhibit. This person pointed out thatthe exhibit was impressively presentedand promoted, that it would stand outin the specials and even more so, thegroup ring. Because many judges aren’texperts in our breed, all too often thisexhibit will win out over more correctsize and breed type. Too many peoplewant to show what will win, period,even if it isn’t exactly correct. I foundthis conclusion to be very discouraging.So, these are a few of my concernsregarding breed type, remembering ofcourse that this is all my opinion only.First, I see so many very young malespecials put up that I feel that the styleis tending towards dogs who lack thatwonderful male “Puggy” appearance infavor of a less mature, more athleticlook. We are seeing fewer of thosewonderful, wrinkled, massive heads sotypical of the great Pug specials of yearspast. There seems to be less bone andsubstance. A male who looks mature atage 4 or 5 is often considered to be“overdone” now. Are our male specialsgetting a bit big? Yes. But we don’t haveto sacrifice bone, head, and substance inthe effort to produce and show asmaller dog. That is not how we shouldbe downsizing.Again, to paraphrase CharlottePatterson’s presentation, she toldprospective judges that you should beable to tell the bitches from the dogsjust by looking at them. You should notneed to look at the armband numberor check “equipment.” A bitch shouldbe feminine, and a dog should be allboy. However, many will often special“doggy” bitches hoping they will standup to the boys in the ring. Judges oftenoverlook the small, typey bitch in favorof the male specials or the doggy bitch.Color is a problem in our breed. Dr.Harry Smith addressed this in hisremarks the year he judged ournational. He told us that we needed topay attention to color. We are losingour pigment by breeding all these pale,pale fawn dogs. He was so right. We areseeing white nails, and light ears andmuzzles that are then “enhanced” inorder to make them black. The darkerfawn is no longer in fashion, but weneed some of these dogs in our breedingprograms in order to preserve pigment.Yet how often have we seen avery light-colored Pug of lesser qualityput up over a structurally correct sounddog who is on the dark side? Too often,and so what happens? People don’tshow the darker dogs or use them intheir breeding programs.Movement is another issue. Nobodyhates seeing a dog plod around the ringmore than I do—in fact I am guilty ofhaving specialed a Pug who flewaround the ring like a setter, and Iadmit that I had a blast doing so. But isthat correct? Pugs racing around thering with big side gait are impressiveand fun to watch. However, when theyare run around the ring at warp speed,they lose that characteristic roll that issuch an important aspect of our breedtype.To conclude, I may be idealistic, but Iwould love to see the pendulum swingback to exhibitors showing what is correctand perhaps old-fashioned ratherthan what is in style—and winning. Wehave to remember that a big factor inwhat is winning is about so much moreA K C G A Z E T T E • 17 • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2