“PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE IS NO PREFERRED SIZE IN OUR STANDARD NOR IS THERE ANY SIZE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SEXES.”
outdoor show, do your exhibitors a favor and let them turn their Shelties away from the wind so that ears won’t blow straight up! Note that while the standard does not specifically call for full dentition, missing teeth are a fault. You may often find a premolar missing, but we are also seeing dogs with many missing teeth, haphazardly crooked teeth, tiny teeth, wry mouths and other serious problems which should not be encouraged. While you are examining the dog on the table, you may find you have a ques- tion as to its size. Please keep in mind that there is no preferred size in our standard nor is there any size difference between the sexes. Thus, a 16" bitch, if she is feminine, is just as correct as a smaller one, and a 14" dog, if masculine, is just as correct as a 15 ½ " dog. In fact, it is more difficult to get a good headed and well made small Sheltie and such a one can be a valuable asset to the breed—the great majority of the Shel- ties in the ring are 14 ½ " and up. If you have any reason to think a dog may not be in size—and almost without excep- tion this will be a question of the upper size limit—do not hesitate to measure! Do not simply ignore the dog—measure it, and if it is in size, place it as far up as you like commensurate with its qual- ity. Sheltie exhibitors quickly learn who will measure, and if you get that repu- tation you will find few oversize dogs are shown to you, which will make your judging easier. The Sheltie’s structure is well described in the standard. Please take the time to boldly go into the hair to determine the true underlying struc- ture! Profuse coats and artful grooming can camouflage many inadequacies— shallow chests, slab sides or barrel ribs, long loins, thin thighs, long hocks and more. Lack of artful grooming can hide a quite adequate neck or make a per- fectly nice topline look rumpy.
What of substance? Some Shelties in the ring today have too much sub- stance and are heavy boned, cloddy, cumbersome looking dogs. It is true that the standard faults light bone, but nowhere does it require heavy bone. When the standard was written, light bone was seemingly perceived as a common problem—not so today. Moreover, Shelties now are generally much more heavily coated, on top of which the current fashion is to groom legs to look fat and fluffy. You will have to feel the legs, front and rear, to determine bone. Sheltie movement is a natural result of correct structure. Again, you can think of it on the same continuum between the gait of the Belgians and that of the German Shepherd. We want efficient and easy motion, adequate reach and drive with good rear follow through, and feet traveling close to the ground. The head is naturally carried somewhat forward, not up in the air or pitched back. The topline is firm and level. Tail carriage in motion is level or slightly raised. The macho male may at times raise the tail almost straight up when posturing, but tails should nev- er curl toward the head or back. The Sheltie is preferably moved on a loose lead at a nice trot—you need not con- done racing! The correct Sheltie coat is a low maintenance, weather resistant one. The outer coat is described as “harsh” but should not be wiry, and at its best the hair feels lively, clean and supple to the touch. The undercoat is soft and lighter in color. The quality of the coat is of greater importance than sheer abundance and does vary seasonably. Bitches frequently carry less. Remember that it is possible to have too much coat, which not only obscures the outline of the dog, but could be a hindrance in a working Sheltie. Exhibitors have become very
clever at thinning and barbering body coat, a practice which is not condoned by the parent club, and you may penal- ize it. Excessive head trimming is also not to be encouraged and as for col- oring, or gooey, glued together or stiff starch coats, there is no need to tolerate them. Markings are not important unless they are faulty, such as prominent body spots or more than 50 % white. A full white collar is handsome but no more preferred than no collar or half a collar, and the same goes for white legs or col- ored legs, blazes or plain faces or “split” faces on blues and bi-color blues. Here I would suggest that in blues especially, or other colors where distribution of markings may mislead the eye, look at the dog from both sides, both the head in profile and the entire dog. This is sim- ple to do when the dog returns from its gaiting pattern. Shelties should not be expected to show on the table or to show non-stop on the ground. If you make a small noise to attract the dog’s attention, the Sheltie may ignore you or even look away—you are a stranger and haven’t been intro- duced! When assessing expression— which should be done when the dog is on the ground, not the table—the best angle may be from slightly behind the exhibitor’s shoulder so that you can see the dog’s face as it responds to its handler. Unlike Toy breeds, Shelties were for many years always examined on the ground. Over time, and to the general relief of judges and exhibitors, using the table for examination became fairly standard procedure. It allows the judge to gain an eye-level perspective of the Sheltie’s overall balance and propor- tion—but once again, please remem- ber that you should not try to evaluate expression on the table, nor encourage exhibitors to bait or show their dogs while on the table.
S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J UNE 2017 • 285
Powered by FlippingBook