Disqualifications Know (and enforce) the WFT Disqual- ifications: 1. Ears prick, tulip or rose 2. Nose white, cherry or spotted to a considerable extent with either of these colors 3. Mouth much undershot, or much overshot Additional Thoughts Don’t be afraid to “mess up” hair to examine the Wires. If the exhibitor gri- maces, that’s too bad. Th at’s why he/she takes a comb into the ring. Please remember that you are judg- ing conformation, not a grooming com- petition or obedience. Th e Wire has ample coat to accommodate the talented groom- er. As one handler remarked to me, “It’s amazing what you can do with a quarter inch of hair!” Th ink of yourself as a Wire breeder, and imagine that you are selecting dogs that will be incorporated into your breeding program. In that case, which would you choose? Do that! Finally, considering all the above, what is a “10”? Is it a typey, sound, well-marked, alert, nicely balanced, good moving, well- put-down Wire with a super head? Maybe. Suppose the head is good but not great, but its movement is superb? Suppose. . . suppose. . . suppose. . . Some say a “10” is a one-piece dog that is a complete package. Some say. . . Hey, wait a minute! What would Th e US Supreme Court say? Perhaps the most often quoted sen- tence ever to emerge from the Court, used (1964) by Justice Potter Steward in an obscenity case to define pornography, can also be used as the absolute bottom line for rating a Wire a “10”: I KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT. Good luck!
too far apart. Th e V-shaped ears should be set at the corners of the head and break (fold) well above the head, drop- ping forward, not carried to the side like an Airedale’s. Th e tip of the ear should fall near the outer corner of the eye. It should be closed but not necessarily touching the skull. Correct ear carriage is absolutely essential for correct expres- sion. Th ere should be fill under the eyes, and the nose should be black. Bony, mus- cled cheeks are not desirable. Neither is a prominent brow or prominent occiput. Th e teeth should be relatively large and meet in a scissors bite. Fifth, does the Wire move properly? Movement and conformation interplay. Are the front legs parallel and the rear legs parallel to each other when station- ary and during movement? When viewed from the side, do its front and rear legs nearly meet at the ground during move- ment? Short, pitter-patter steps can sim- ply ruin the overall impression that the dog projects. Also, temperament can influence movement, although this is often forgotten. A shy or ill-at-ease dog is not likely to move correctly even if it is correctly built. Sixth, Coat and Grooming: Th e Wire’s Coat should be of prime consideration. Th e Wire is double coated, with a hard, intensely colored Wire outer coat and a soft, muted gray undercoat. Th e only color that the coat MUST be is white. An all-white Wire is perfectly correct. Th e Wire coat should be (NOT “must be”) at least 50% white. Although there is no disqualification for color, slatey blue, red, and liver are very objectionable, as is a brindle (i.e., striped) pattern. Brown, black, and ginger are not mentioned in the Wire Standard! Two color types are possible: a tri-colored Wire (i.e., white, black and brown) and a ginger Wire (i.e., ginger and white). Th e ginger color is more tannish than the brown on the tri- Wire. Neither color type is preferred. Sig- nificant brown dispersed within the black markings is not desirable. Please do not allow markings to deceive your honest evaluation of a dog. Forget about mark- ings, but note how markings can “color” your vision.
1ice moYement: reaching out in front feet meet at ground almost touching .
he has bred 54 home-bred Champi- ons, including “Sky” (currently #1, All Breeds) that he co-bred with Betty Seaton. In addition, he has finished over 10 other Wires, including imports from France, Ireland, and Italy. He is approved to judge 25 terrier breeds and has judged terrier specialities in GA, MN, PA, VA, and WA. He has judged Wires at the American Fox Terrier Club (AFTC) National Specialty at Mont- gomery County Kennel Club in 2007 and 2012. Al has awarded Champion- ship Certificates in the UK. Al has served on the Boards of AFTC and The Wire Fox Terrier Club of the Central States (WFTCCS) and as Board member and President of The Greater Atlanta Fox Terrier Club, The Clemson Kennel Club, and The Greenville Kennel Club. In 1989, he was named the AFTC’s Breeder of the Year for Wires. In 1990, he was elected to the WFTCCS’ Hall of Fame and in 1992 was awarded the AFTC’s Governors’ Award for Outstanding Service. In 2009, he received AFTC’s Breeder of the Year Award for Wire Fox Terrier Bitches. In addition to his memberships in AFTC and WFTCCS, Al is a mem- ber of the Fox Terrier Club (UK) and the Reunion Des Amateurs De Fox Terriers (France). Al is a Professor Emeritus of Hor- ticulture at Clemson University, where he was employed in a teaching, research, and extension position for 30 years. His homepage can be found at fyrewyrewft.com.
BIO
Al
Pertuit
(Fyrewyre, AKC Reg. prefix) fin- ished his first home-bred Wire Fox Terrier in 1982. Currently,
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