2010 Westminster Harrier 'Best of Breed' Winner Q&A

Petside talked to Coda's owner about living with a championCh. Downhome Family Tradition (Coda for short) took the prize as top dog for the Harrier breed on day one of the Westminster dog show.

Petside talked to Susan Lowder, Coda's owner, about living with a champion.

Owners' Names: Dr. & Mrs. William Truesdale & Susan Lowder Handler's Name: Kim Pastella-Calvacca Dog Name: Ch. Downhome Family Tradition (Coda) Dog Breed: Harrier Dog Age: 5 Dog Show Titles: 29 All Breed Bests in Show, 3 Hound Show Bests in Show, National Specialty Winner, and 151 Hound Group Firsts.

Q: What made Coda stand out from the other competitors to win Best of Breed?

Sue: Coda is the epitome of his breed standard's type. He is the top-winning harrier in breed history.

Q: How was Coda in the ring?

Sue: Coda is always a good showman and a bit of a show-off.

Q: How is Group judging different from Breed judging?

Sue: For the breed, the judge compares all of the entries to the same breed standard. For the group, the judge compares the dog to his own breed standard and then decides which of all the entries most closely resembles their standard.

Q: Were you nervous or excited?

Coda has been home, working at being a therapy dog and just enjoying retirement for the past year. I was nervous because I wondered if he'd want to show at dog shows any more after having family life 24/7 for so long.

Q: How long did it take to prepare for Westminster and what kind of grooming?

Sue: Coda stays in condition playing with his family (human and canine) and we watch his diet. Like any family pet, we keep him clean and his nails trimmed. Otherwise, he is pretty easy to maintain.

Q: What are Coda's favorite things to do besides competing?

Sue: Coda loves to chase chipmunks in our yard, play with his father and his son ... and a few other of our hounds ... but he also enjoys his work as a therapy dog for our Autistic daughter (Jennifer). He gets read stories, supervises art projects, gets dressed in some of her clothes, and helps her finish off the crusts of her sandwich and pizza.

Q: How are you celebrating his win?

Sue: Mostly I am sharing the news of this being his 3rd Consecutive Best of Breed at Westminster with family and friends via the internet. Our family watched he and Kim on TV, staying up past the girls' bedtime, with some popcorn and a nice fire in our fireplace on a cold night.

Q: Tell us something about the breed that most people don't know.

Sue: The harrier is the ancestor to BOTH beagles and foxhounds. One breed was bred up, the other down. When comparing them, a harrier should look like a smaller version of the English Foxhound, BUT in actuality, the English Foxhound is a larger version of the Harrier.

Q: Harriers are a rarer breed. What made them your choice?

Sue: I saw the very beautiful Ch. Brentcliffe Jill, the top-winning harrier in history BEFORE Coda came along, 30 years ago and wanted one but couldn't find one. After my college years passed, I decided to go find some harriers and see what they were like. I chose hounds for my breeding program, as it happens, that are descendents of Jill and also the pack of hounds from which her parents came in the U.K.

Q: Susan, you're a community leader on iVillage.com. Do you discuss your dogs on iVillage?

Sue: Yes, I discuss several of my hounds weekly. Nothing is off-limits on the Hounds message board. I have answered questions about whelping puppies, house-breaking, training and behavioral issues.

But my co-Community Leader Donna and I also have done costume & caption contests where we take pictures of our dogs in outfits or doing something off-the-wall and our members jump in and say whatever they want.

We discuss things like immunizations and micro-chipping, pet health insurance, how to get your hound to accept the baby you just found out you're expecting, ... just about anything.

We also share cleaning product finds, recipes, jokes/comics, and just a whole lot about life. We are a bunch of women with the common bond of at least one hound in our household. I find my iVillage experience very rewarding and I look forward to participation.