"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Newfoundland Club of Great Britain for inviting me to judge their breed club show. I was made to feel very welcome and the hospitality was second to none.

I've had Newfoundland’s for over 25 years, judged in several countries around the world and have seen a huge variance of types and quality across the spectrum. It is almost two years since I exhibited or indeed spectated at any shows in the UK so it was very pleasing to see such abundance of quality young exhibits. I was very impressed and privileged to have such lovely entrants and was honoured to be allowed the opportunity to assess so many beautiful dogs. I would also like to thank each and every exhibitor for their sporting acceptance of my decisions on the day.

Always when I judge this breed I place high importance on temperament as this is the Newfoundland’s most important characteristic. So important that the standard begins by describing it - a sweet docile dog that never acts ill or bad tempered. I was impressed to see that all exhibits had typical newfie temperament. I felt that the quality in males and females were certainly on par which is very positive and bodes well for the future of the breed.

After over quarter of a century’s involvement in this wonderful breed I have seen many changes some good some less so. The drive for chocolate box newfies with teddy bear faces and flowing coats has resulted in dogs that are losing size and substance and sadly also the ability to perform the tasks bred for, pretty as a picture but losing form and function. It should never be forgotten that this is a working breed and its strength, stamina and prowess in the water are characteristics to be encouraged not eradicated.

A point I feel necessary to note is the lack of condition of a lot of the exhibits. By condition I don't mean coat or presentation as this in all was excellent. Rather I refer to the lack of muscle tone on the dogs assessed and only a very small number of the dogs were properly muscled.

The Newfoundland is a draught dog described in the standard as the cart horse of the dog world and as such excellent front and rear assembly are of the utmost importance. However there were a few dogs that had poor forequarters with upright fronts and too short in upper arm and incorrect shoulder angulation. In movement the Newfoundland should have great reach in front and powerful drive from the rear, this can and will only be achieved with correct front and rear assemblies. I also noticed a lot of dentition issues creeping in and while I certainly believe in judging the whole dog and not fault judging I feel that is something we need to stay vigilant too. The white and blacks were of a high quality but I was concerned at the amount lacking pigment in the third eyelid. Please keep this in mind in your breeding program. A parrot bite much to my disappointment resulted in one of the best dogs I have ever seen being awarded a lower placing and I felt gutted considering his immense quality. That said I was so very impressed by the quality of the breed in the UK today and I think all those concerned should feel very proud of your dedication and commitment to this wonderful breed."