Topknot row at breed club show after Shih Tzu exhibitor refuses to remove dog’s bow Discussions

Malka · Oct 9, 2014

A SHIH Tzu exhibitor walked out of the ring at a breed club championship show after the judge refused to go over her dog because it was wearing a bow in its topknot rather than an elastic band.

The incident took place at the Shih Tzu Club ch show on Saturday when Michaela Hall took her bitch Jia Lidzhuan for Shenedene – a champion subject to Kennel Club confirmation – into junior bitch under Slovenian Darja Skok Lamut.

Ms Lamut asked Miss Hall to remove the bow and use an elastic band instead and Miss Hall refused. Miss Lamut conferred with club secretary Pat Gregory and returned to the ring to ask again for the bow to be removed. Miss Hall refused again and Ms Lamut said she could not judge her dog.

Miss Hall asked for the incident to be recorded in the incident book and this will now be considered by the KC. It is understood that Miss Hall’s bitch was the only one of 168 dogs at the show to have a bow.

There is no rule stipulating that Shih Tzus should not be shown with a bow, and the Shih Tzu clubs feel the issue needs to be resolved; to that end club representatives are having a meeting with the KC next month to discuss the matter.

Miss Hall told DOG WORLD she felt humiliated and angry.

"I put a lot of time and effort into showing my dogs and I feel that the Shih Tzu Club has victimised me,” she said. "How is the world of dogs supposed to carry on if this is the way breed clubs treat the younger generation, the future of dogs?”

She said that as the judge approached her in the ring she heard her say, ‘Oh no’.

"She asked me to remove the bow and I said no. She asked again, saying it wasn’t acceptable in this country. I refused again.

"She went to talk to Pat Gregory, who came to the side of the ring and shouted, ‘It’s the judge’s decision’.
"The judge asked me to remove it once more and I asked why, as she shows her dogs in bows. She then said she couldn’t judge my dog and walked away. I walked out of the ring.”

Miss Hall spoke to Ms Lamut afterwards and said she told her it had been the club’s decision.

Miss Hall’s father Steve, secretary of Blackpool ch show, said: "If breed clubs carry on in this sort of manner no wonder the numbers are dropping.

"To refuse to judge the dog because of a little bow was an infringement of my daughter’s human rights to choose, she chose to use a bow, as there are no KC rules to exclude bows in the ring in this country.”

Ms Lamut said it was a subject which needed to be addressed.

"It’s getting to be a problem in England,” she said. "On the Continent everyone shows in bows – I don’t agree with it but I show my dogs in bows there because otherwise there would be no point in going.

"I was specifically told that dogs should not be shown in bows at this show – the Shih Tzu Club committee told me beforehand. I thought it would be no big deal for the exhibitor just to remove the bow and then the dog would have been judged the same as all the others. That was what I was told to ask if that happened.

"I feel obliged to follow the rules of the country I am judging in, and if the show has some sort of policy I must do things right.”

Mrs Gregory denied telling Ms Lamut that bows had to be removed.

"I did not advise the judge. But Shih Tzus aren’t exhibited with bows in,” she said. "It is a utility breed, not a toy…
"The judge came over to me and told me she had asked for the bow to be removed. I said ‘fine’ because she is in charge of her own ring. In Europe they have bows in the hair but not in England.

"I didn’t speak to her about it the evening before. One of the reasons we chose this judge is because she had written a good article about bows – which we printed in our newsletter – and we knew she isn’t in favour of them and preferred an elastic band. We knew she was sympathetic with the way we show in Britain.

"She didn’t ask ahead of the show; we spoke about her article and I said how do you feel about it and she agreed she liked to see Shih Tzus shown in an elastic band. We told her we had arranged the meeting at the KC.

"Most exhibitors would have gone back to their bench, taken it out and returned to the ring, but this exhibitor said no and the judge said she wouldn’t judge her. She is in charge of her ring.

"Nothing is written in black and white to say you can’t show with bows, that is why we are having this meeting to discuss it further and come up with decisions.”

A KC spokesman said: "There are no KC regulations in place on the issue and it is down to the judge’s discretion on the day.”
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Article here...

http://www.dogworld.co.uk/product.p...ve_dog_s_bow/58c068bbc794f4627219f512cde2d21f

If it was a KC show and there are no KC regulations on the issue, should it have been left up to the judge to decide?

Topknot row at breed club show after Shih Tzu exhibitor refuses to remove dog’s bow Discussions

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Topknot row at breed club show after Shih Tzu exhibitor refuses to remove dog’s bow

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