NAVIGATING THE VIZSLA DISQUALIFICATIONS
White created by aging is acceptable and never penalized.
“ANYONE JUDGING THE BREED SHOULD TAKE THESE DISQUALIFICATIONS SERIOUSLY.”
Anyone judging the breed should take these disqualifications seriously. The Vizsla Club of America holds two national field events annually; the VCA National Field Trial and the VCA National Gun Dog Championship. A requirement for any dog competing in these national events is that the dog must have passed a “Qualifying On The Line” examination by an approved AKC conformation judge, ensuring that the dog does not have any disqualifying conformation features. The VCA is one of only a few national parent clubs to take such measures to ensure that dogs are being bred appropriately and to the Breed Stan- dard. We ask that judges in the show ring apply the same diligence relative to breed disqualifications that we do in the field. Anyone needing more clarification or assistance in understanding these breed disqualifications, and how to properly locate and determine the boundaries, should contact the Vizsla Club of America Judges Education and read more at: http:// www.vcaweb.org/download/VCA_Illustrat- ed_Standard.pdf
The other boundary of white on the chest deals with the horizontal boundary. White cannot extend onto the shoulders. This is where close attention needs to be paid to the prepositions used in the Standard. “On” defines that any white reaching the shoulder or neck is a disqualification. This requires any person examining the dog to have a full under- standing of the canine shoulder anatomy and be able to accurately locate bone structure when determining the white boundary. Being able to take your hand and feel where the shoulder bone is, and seeing if white extends to that boundary, is critical to determining if a dog has a disqualification. The illustrations throughtout this article are visuals to help you identify the various disqualifications in the breed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tad Walden has been involved with Vizslas for nearly two decades. He is approved to judge Vizslas conformationally and in the field. He is an AKC Breeder of Merit. Tad has trained and handled his dogs in the show ring and in the field, earning Best of Breed at national events and eight AKC Master Hunter Titles. He has also trained and shown the only Weimaraner in US history to achieve an AKC Best in Show and an AKC Master Hunter title. Tad is a Board Member of the Vizsla Club of America and has chaired the breed’s Illustrated Standard Committee. He is also President of the Vizsla Club of Colorado, President of Evergreen Colorado Kennel Club, and President and Show Chair of Roaring Fork Kennel Club. Tad is the founder and Chairman of FidoTV Channel, a cable television network dedicated to canine programming, reaching more than 65 million people.
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2021 | 323
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