laid-back shoulders and upper arms and rears not so overdone that the hocks fall in another time zone. Ours is supposed to be a moderate, balanced breed. I also like straight tails, though those are hard to come by these days, and natural carriage that preserves the outline along with heads that have parallel planes, including under jaw, and a melting expression. The overemphasis on huge topknots with lots of added hair is also a pet peeve. Do you ever go outside your own lines to use sires, etc.? Over the years we’ve tended to breed by going outside our lines and then coming back in, a practice that has served us well. On occasion we’ve imported studs, the most noteworthy being Am./Danish/South African/International CH. Jouet Second 2 None, who produced well both for us and others. Do you breed any other breeds? We currently have only Standard Poodles but originally my mother and I bred American Cockers and Joel and I have bred a couple of litters of Whippets. Do you ever use a professional handler to show your dogs for you? Who would you say are the key Poodle handlers of the past, the recent past and currently? We have used a number of different professional handlers over the years, often when life events, such as pregnancy, professional commitments, surgeries, etc., meant that we couldn’t get to shows. Key Poodle handlers of the past were Frank Sabella, Ann Rogers Clark, the Forsyths, Wendell Sammet, and Maxine Beam followed by Bobby Peebles, Bud Dickey, Harold Langseth, Diane Artigues, Tim Brazier, Martin Gregory, Alan Chambers, Dana Plonkey, Kaz Housaka, Alan Waterman, Paul Edwards, Dennis McCoy, and Barbara Humphreys. More recent handlers, many of whom are still showing, include Chris Manelopoulos, Kay Palade Peiser, Christine Nethery, Allison Alexander, Allison Hardie, Taffe McFadden, Joseph Vergenetti, Brian Cordoba, Terri Meyers, Jennifer Dege, Gina Weiser, Betty Brown, Lotta Sandel, Ann Rairigh, Shelly Green and Sharon Svoboda. Even newer handlers include Sarah Perchick, Daniel Chavez, Chelsea Grubb, Lindsey Gorder, Paul Clas, Chrystal Murray, Elizabeth Reynolds, Terry Bernier and Olivia Hodgkinson. Tell us, who are the most influential breeders of Poodles in the USA right now and around the world that you feel are doing a good job with their lines? Again, this is a really difficult question to answer as there are so many and this list won’t cover all the breeders of Poodles I’ve admired. Overseas and Canadian names that come to mind are Lotta Sandell of Huffish, Sharon Pine-Haynes of Vicmar, Philip Langdon of Atastar, Arturo Sheppard of Mikasa, Toshinori Omara of Smash, Jo Turnley of Poshnoir, 52 Linda Campbell and Sarah Perchick of Dawin, and Terill Udenberg of Tees. In the USA the list would include Kirk Herrmann of Parfait, Janet Reed of Foxmore, Sharon Svoboda of Harten, Terri Meyers of SWAG, Ray and Sharon Stevens of Sharbelle, Carol Dean of Delapassion, Janet Lange and Daniel Chavez of Reignon/Danfour, Karin and Dan Giles of Karadale, Connie Unger of Stone Run, Chris Manelopolous and Rachael Corbin of Tarquin, and Joseph Vergenetti of Dassin/Hillwood. Which is the BEST dog show in the world? For looking at Poodles and coupled with sheer glamour, no other show is comparable to the Poodle Club of America, though Crufts is also a wonderful show as there you can see Poodles internationally. Do you judge or plan to judge? I’ve judged some open shows in Denmark and England as well as matches in the U.S. I’ve thought about applying for a judging license as I’d enjoy judging Poodles but haven’t yet committed to it. If you could give future (and current) judges one bit of advice when evaluating dogs in the ring, what would it be? I would tell judges to look under the coat to examine structure and to realize that Poodles are not just hair but instead an athletic, squarely built, balanced dog with fore chest and rear issue who move freely with pride, carriage and a tail held up. There seems to be a lot of people using Standard Poodles to mix with many other breeds these days, producing the D oodles we see advertised all over the world for sometimes 3 times the asking price of a pure-bred Standard Poodle. What are your personal thoughts on Doodles and what, if anything, would you like to see done? I abhor the whole Doodle craze and tell people who think about getting a Doodle to instead purchase a Standard Poodle whose parentage and characteristics are verifiable and whom they can clip any way they want if the traditional Poodle clips offend them. My fear is that the AKC will eventually admit some of the Doodles to breed status – in fact, I’ve had nightmares about this – and want PCA to hold very firm in opposing this eventuality. Barrie Drewitt-Barlow Barrie is the Chief Technology Officer at Princeton Consumer Research which he owns with his husband, Tony Drewitt-Barlow. Barrie and his family live in Tampa, Florida, and he breeds under the Piedmont Poodle banner. January-March 2025 • POODLE VARIETY
Poodle Variety Magazine January-March 2025 January – March 2025: Page 52
