Mr. Vincent P. Chianese

Vincent P. Chianese was raised in Northeastern Ohio. His family always owned a dog; from a Scottish Terrier, his first dog at five years old, to a Miniature Dachshund, with several mixed breed companions in between, as they loved all dogs. When he got married, he bought a German Shepherd Dog as a family companion and as a guard dog for his business and home. In 1978, while living in Sarasota, Florida, he bought his next dog, a Siberian Husk;, she was his entrance into the dog show world. When he moved to Texas in 1979, he became involved with the Siberian Husky Club of DFW. This is where he learned the definition of “being used to build a Major.” He learned and moved forward, as his next Siberian was a far better dog. In 1982, he was at a show in Oklahoma City and, while watching the Group, saw this lovely large white dog, a Great Pyrenees, and that was the end, so to speak. He searched for reputable breeders and soon found his first Great Pyrenees. Not intending to make the same mistakes once again, he spent time ringside and stayed to watch the Groups many times. He found mentors that took him under their wings. He was afforded the opportunity to have nicer dogs, and asked for and received advice towards his limited breeding program when the time came. He did finish all his show dogs as owner-handled; from the first point to the last, along with many Group placements and Best in Specialties, with one exception. One dog that was shown and finished by him traveled with a handler for about six weeks because he could not travel due to work. He won multiple Groups over that six-week period and, as a result, that Siberian Husky ranked seventh in Siberians that year. He obtained his AKC judge’s license in 1992 with his original breed being Great Pyrenees and then, once approved for the Working Group (1998), he stopped showing dogs. He became involved with Portuguese Water Dogs, since he and his wife, Sandy, owned a sailboat. They did participate in water trials with “JD” (10/01/2006 - 06/21/2020), a retired champion and multiple Water Title holder. He also was honored to judge the Great Pyrenees National Specialty in 1999 and further honored to be asked to judge again in 2014. He is approved to judge the AKC Working Group, six breeds in the Non-Sporting Group, Best in Show, Miscellaneous (which are the new breeds coming into the AKC), and Juniors. He has judged in South America, China, and Japan. He was invited to be involved in the forming of a new Regional Great Pyrenees club in North Carolina. That club has been formed and is known as the RTP Great Pyrenees Club. He is a past member of the BOD of RTP and a past member of the GPCA BOD. He served on the GPCA Judges Education Committee for eight years.