See oli meile mõlemale esmakordne külaskäik Eestisse ja esmalt täname Klubi meile ja meie sõbrale Elaine Bondile kasvandusest Trebell osutatud külalislahkuse eest.

Meile kolmele avaldas sügavat muljet Tallinna ilu. Tänu meie tublile giidile Heili Einastole saime palju teada Eesti ajaloo kohta ning võisime oma silmaga näha erinevate valitsejate ja kultuuride mõju. Meid on ärgitatud Eestit külastama suvel ja näha linna ilma paksu lumekatteta, kuigi meile tegi lumi linna veelgi kaunimaks, sest me pole sellises koguses lund harjunud nägema! Tahame tänada kõiki, kes tegid meie viibimise nii põnevaks ja nauditavaks.

Koerte juurde …..

Hindamissüsteem CAC valimiseks on mõnevõrra teistsugune kui see, mida oleme teistes riikides kogenud. Teie süsteem annab esmases järjestuses tahapoole jäänud koerale hiljem uue võimaluse särada, mis tähendas, et me mõlemad saime serdiringis kohti vahetada. Inglismaal on meil minut aega koera vaatamiseks ja me kõik teame, et mõnikord võib see minut olla ärritav. Kõigil on kodus koerad, kes kodustel aasadel näevad vaimustavad välja, kuid kes tujust sõltuvalt võivad näituseringis jubedad välja näha! Oleme ühisel meelel selles osas, et silma jääb vabas olekus, rõõmus ja liputava sabaga koer, kes seisab neli jalga kindlalt maas ja on tasakaalus, tõeliselt kuldse iseloomuga ning looetavasti ka särava kuldse kasukaga.

Meile jäi üldiselt mulje, et iseloomud on väga head ning meil on hea meel näha nii palju rõõmsaid ja tasakaalus koeri, isegi nende seas, kelle kohta hiljem selgus, et nad olid esmakordselt näitusel. Iseloom on meie tõus kõige tähtsam asi ja Eestis on teie koerad kindlalt õigel teel. Palun jätkake iseloomu väärtustamist üle kõige, hinnake vääriliselt neid liputavad sabasid! Kuldseid hinnatakse pere-, töö- ja abikoertena terves maailmas just selle pärast, et neil on stabiilne ja päikseline loomus, millega kaasneb loomuomane töövõime ja soov meeldida – just sellega on nad meie südamed võitnud.

Sellise mitte väga arvuka koerteesinduse kohta oli näitusel näha suuri tüübierinevusi. Pead varieerusid ning meie mõlema arvates jäi paljudel koertel puudu viimistletusest silmade ümber, mis andis neile “ilmetu/ lameda” välimuse. Mõned silmad olid pisut väiksed; tume avatud silm peenelt viistletud kolju- ja koonustruktuuriga annab pehme ja lahke ilme, mida me kõik soovime. Oli üsna piiripealseid hambumisi (ülemised hambad katsid vaevu alumisi) ning mõned valehambumised, eriti emaste hulgas. Seda tuleb aretuses jälgida, sest hambumisvead on kindlalt päritavad. Torkas silma ka mõningane pigmendivähesus.

Viga, mis meile ohtralt silma torkas, oli lühike õlavars või õige pikkusega õlavars, millel puudus vajalik nurk, et asetada esijalad kenasti kere alla. Lühike õlavars paneb koera eest liikudes jäsemeid sissepoole keerama. Mõnedel koertel jäi puudu eesrinna ja rinnakorvi sügavusest, mis andis neile eest liiga laia mulje. Kuigi sellistel koertel on esijalad enamasti sirged, jätavad nad mulje, et nad pööravad küünarnukki liikudes väljapoole. Viga pole küünarnukis, vaid rinnakorvi vähesuses kere ja jäsemete kokkupuutekohas. Arvestades seda, et kuldne on töötõug, kes peab terve päeva ebatasasel maastikul tööd tegema, on hea rinnakorv ja kopsud väga tähtsad, nagu ka head käpad ja hea asetusega jäsemed. Üldiselt, üksikte eranditega, nägime väga häid, ümaraid kassikäppi, kuid oli mitmeid koeri, kes keerasid esikäppa märgatavalt sisse, mis viitas nõrgale esiosa ehitusele ja nõrkadele kämmaldele. Esijalad peavad olema alati sirged ja tugevad.

Tagajäsemed olid üldjoontes palju paremad, kuigi, kui arvestada, et nad peavad olema tagant vaadates paralleelsed, siis leidus nõrku kandu ja pöida, mis nurga all väljapoole vajusid, nii et mõned koerad olid “lehmajalgsuse” piiril.

Sellele vaatamata, “suurepärase” hinde saanud koerad olid korrektsete jäsemetega ja toeka kehaehitusega nagu on sobilik õigele töötõule. Õige kehaehitusega koer suudab seista ja liikuda vabalt, ilma händleri abita. Selles mõttes on paralleelne esi- ja tagaosa palju olulisem kui nurgistus, sest väikeste nurkadega koerad suudavad enamasti toekalt seista, neli jalga kindlalt maas. Ülenurgistunud koerad seevastu (ja oli ka neid, sageli kaasnes sellega ka ülemäära pikk säär – probleem, mis on levinud terves maailmas) ei suuda toekalt seista ilma händleri abita. Koera kannad peaksid asetsema enam-vähem sabajuure all, kuigi tänapäeval on paljudel koertel kannad tunduvalt tagapool, mistõttu nad on kineetiliselt tasakaalustamata. Saba asetus oli üldiselt hea, kuigi oli koeri, kes tõstsid saba kõrgemale kui seljajoonele.

Kokkuvõttes võiks nentida, et kvaliteet on väga hea, mõned koerad võiksid vabalt olla edukad igal pool maailmas. Koerte näitamine ja esitamine olid suurepärased ning koerad tundusid olevat heas toonuses ja lihastes. Eesti kuldsed näivad olevat heades kätes, eeldusel, et kasvatajad ei muutu liialt “kommertslikeks” ning peavad jätkuvalt aru, kuidas edasi minna. Oli julgustav näha standardis lubatud iga värviga kuldseid, sest kuldse retriiveri toredus seisnebki tüübi ja värvi varieeruvuses. Pidage meeles, et tõug on alati tähtsam kui võidud ning te ei saa aretustöös väga rappa minna.

Val Tregaskis (Steval)

Kim Ellis (Tenfield)

Veebruar 2011

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Originaal:

It was a first time in Estonia for both of us and to start we have to convey our grateful thanks to the Club for the wonderful hospitality shown not only to ourselves, but to our travelling companion Elaine Bond (Trebell).

The three of us were much impressed by the beautiful city of Tallinn. Thanks to our superb guide Heili Einasto, we were thoroughly educated about the history of Estonia, the combination of many rulers and cultures is evident. We have been encouraged to visit again in the summer months, to see the city again without the covering of thick snow, though to us the snow made the city even more beautiful, as this is something we are not used to seeing in abundance in the UK! We convey our thanks again to all who made our stay so interesting and enjoyable.

To the dogs ….. The judging system to select a CC winner is somewhat different to that we have experienced in other countries. In effect, your system gives a dog previously placed lower down the line, to have a ‘second chance’ to shine later on. This meant that we were both able to reverse previous placings in the line up for the CC. In the UK we have one minute for the dog to look at it’s best and as we all know, sometimes that minute can be exasperating!own. In the UK we have one minute for the dog to look at it’ives a dog previously placed lower y so inter We all have dogs who look superb at home out on the fields, who can dig their heels in and look terrible in the ring, depending upon their mood! We are similarly minded in that a free standing, happy and waggy tailed dog who can stand squarely with a leg at each corner, combined with overall soundness, a true Golden temperament and hopefully a gleaming golden coat, will fill the eye.

Our overall impressions was that temperament was very good and we were pleased to see so many happy and well balanced dogs, even amongst those who we later discovered were attending a show for the very first time. Temperament is the single most important aspect of our breed and in Estonia your dogs are definitely on the right track. Please continue to value your temperament above all else and cherish those waggy tails! Goldens are valued as all round family pets, working dogs and Assistance Dogs the world over for one good reason – their stable and sunny dispositions, coupled with their natural working ability and will to please, the reason they have stolen our hearts.

There was a huge variation in type for such a relatively numerically small entry. Heads were varied, we were agreed that many lacked chiselling around the eyes and therefore gave a ‘plain’ appearance. Some eyes were a little small, a dark open eye along with bone structure on the skull and muzzle gives the soft and kindly expression we all desire. There were several close bites (top teeth only just overlapping the bottom teeth) and some incorrect dentition, particularly in bitches. This needs to be watched in breeding programmes, as mouth faults are definitely inherited. Pigment in some was also not as dark as it could be.

A fault which was consistently found were short upper arms, or upper arms of correct length but without the necessary angulation to place the front legs well under the body. A short upper arm will cause a dog to pin in front when moving, not to be confused with forelegs converging at speed. Some male dogs lacked depth of brisket and forechest which made them appear wide in front. In fact the forelegs were usually straight, but such dogs could be accused of being out at elbow when in fact they are not, the problem is lack of chest where the legs meet the body. Remembering that the Golden is a working breed required to hunt all day on rough terrain, the lungs and chest are of utmost importance, along with good feet and straight limbs. Feet were on the whole very good, round and cat-like with only a few exceptions, but disturbingly, quite a few were turning their front feet out quite noticeably indicating very poor front construction and weak pasterns. Forelegs should always be straight and sturdy.

Hindquarters were in the main much better, though remembering they should be straight when viewed from the rear, there were some weak hocks and hind pasterns sloping in at an angle, some dogs verging on being cow hocked.

However, all of our ‘excellent’ graded dogs did display straight fronts and rears, sound construction in a working dog must always be considered very important. A dog which is correctly constructed in front and rear can stand and move freely, without the assistance of a handler. A straight front and rear is more important in this regard than angulation, under angulated dogs can usually stand pretty well on their own four feet. Over-angulated dogs on the other hand and particularly those over-angulated in the rear (and there were a few of these as well, often accompanied by over long second thighs – a problem seen world wide) are usually unable to stand squarely unaided by their handler. Aim to have the hocks positioned moreorless below the root of the tail, these days many dogs are stretched with their hocks well behind this point, causing kinetic unbalance. Tail sets were generally good with only a few carried higher than the desired level with the back.

Overall, the quality was very good, with a few dogs capable of holding their own anywhere in the world. Handling and presentation was also excellent and all of the dogs appeared very fit and well muscled. The Golden in Estonia appears in very good hands, providing breeders do not become too ‘commercial’ and continue to think carefully about the way forward. It is encouraging that all shades of gold are being exhibited, the glory of the Golden is in the variation of type and colour, all of which are acceptable under the breed standard. Remember the breed is always more important than the winning and you won’t go far wrong.

Val Tregaskis (Steval)

Kim Ellis (Tenfield)

February 2011