quality graphics enhanced the presentation

At the Shih Tzu seminar on 17th November we were treated to an incredibly professional (and amusing|) presentation on the general shape and style of the breed by Gerald and Kath Mitchell that made me resolve to throw my Overhead Projector away. It has served me well for twenty years and the slides generated on my Apple Mac have been more than adequate – until now.

I have ordered one of those projectors that you attach to a computer so that you can project a power point presentation onto a large screen. I have been using Powerpoint for some years but the files have either been for small presentations where two or three people can look at the screen of a lap top or, when they have been for a large audience, the organisers have provided a projector and all I have had to do is take along the disk. Oh how the world has changed!

If this is the way in which judges are going to be trained in the future I am all for it. The quality of the drawings and pictures and the graphics that were used to highlight the specific points being made were nothing short of excellent. But that was not all. Several innovative techniques were used during the day that really helped us better understand the Shih Tzu. For instance, the history and background of the breed was explained by Tom Richardson who used a Tibetan Spaniel, a Lhasa Apso, a Pekingese as well as a Shih Tzu to make the differences clear. I have always said that if, when you looked at breed, there was something about it that reminded you of another breed then there was almost certainly something wrong with it. These comparisons really highlighted the differences – and in such a way that our understanding of Shih Tzus was greatly enhanced.

Glynis Dolphin ‘homed in’ on the detailed characteristics and movement extraordinarily precisely. She was gallantly supported by Sue Crossley and a dozen handlers and their dogs and there was a superb slide show of top winning dogs from the past forty years as a finale. We were then to get our hands on some champions it was terrific.

At least one hundred and twenty people were present and I suspect that they all learned a great deal – I certainly did. A CD of the whole presentation is available for £10 from Gerald and Kath at 397 Worksop Road, Mastin Moor, Chesterfield, S43 3DH. You have to have a computer and the Powerpoint programme and it will not have the impact of the commentary but it is well worth adding to your library.

report & photos by David Cavill

Gerald Mitchell

It’s all about balance!