“Put up the best overall type. THIS WILL BE THE ONE THAT MOST SCREAMS ‘MONKEY-LIKE TERRIER’.”
Temperament Everything about having an A ff en in your ring should be comical and enjoy- able. Yes, it must be trained well enough to stand on the table for exam, walk easily and freely around the ring, yet this breed should not be mechanical. Th ey are impul- sive. Th at’s typical and okay. Many will spend time on their hindquarters playing around much to their handler’s dismay. No big deal. If the behavior makes you smile and even chuckle a bit, it’s correct and should be rewarded. Now look at the dogs in the class: which exudes the most attitude and character? Movement Th e action should be light, free, sound and confident. Topline: Must remain level, not slop- ing downward from withers to set on of tail—not low in shoulder or high in rear, not arched over loin. Not hackneyed or high action. Now look at your class and add the car- riage of the head and the tail. Th e neck is to be short so don’t expect an exaggerated high head carriage. When natural, the tail should be carried curved slightly over the back when in motion. Tails that curve over the back or touch the side of the quarters in addition to poker straight tails and tails pointing to 2 o’clock are equally faulty. Th ey destroy the outline. Docked tails, though seldom seen these days, are per- fectly acceptable. Again, determine who is best.
Coat & color Th is is the least of my concerns for the breed—yes, it’s good to have rough harsh coats, but be aware, the standard speaks to allowing for longer and softer hair on the head, neck, chest, stomach and legs. Th at’s most of the dog. Some present day naysayers of the A ff enpinschers shown today wrongly believe that the harder the coat the better wanting very little furnish- ings—and prefer little to no trimming. Others believe the presentation on most a ff ens shown today have gone way too far and have sculpted the dogs to look a-typical. I concur. Th e proper amount of coat and the trim must allow the judge to see the outline of the dog, its face and its expression, and still allow for a shaggy look. Th at’s a near oxymoron and not easily achieved. Color is not material. Judge them all the same and remember points on the black and tan are not spoken about in our standard so what would be a mismarked black and tan if a di ff erent breed is okay for an A ff en. Again look at your class and select the trim that pleases you. Now it’s time to really choose. You’ve judged them all—none of them are perfect and some excel in areas that others don’t and lack in others excel in. You assessed breed type if you have followed the above six points. Remember: don’t fault judge. Put up the best overall type. Th is will be the one that most screams monkey-like terrier.
distance between the eyes. Th at tells you that down faces, long muzzles, narrow lower jaws aren’t to be rewarded, nor are short or upturned muzzles. Eyes: Must be round (no corners and no eye white), medium sized, very dark in color and set in the middle of the head. Nose: Should have nice big open nos- trils, blunt and always be black. Lower Lip Line: should be obvious and appear to be a padded upside-down u-shape. Okay, stand back—look directly at the face straight on and ask yourself if it looks like a monkey. Now look at the others in the class and compare them to each other. Determine which has the best head. Size I want Toy dogs to be toy-sized. Th e A ff en standard allows for a huge range in size—without DQs or ideals. It’s 9 ½ "-11 ½ " for either sex. Th is is a huge di ff erence. It is extremely di ffi cult to keep the breed small yet sturdy, while retaining leg length and far too easy to get them on the big and bigger and beyond size. Again look at the class and access accordingly. Proportion Proportion should be square. Th ough we do allow for bitches to be slightly lon- ger, measure from forechest to ischium and from withers to ground. Body depth should be just to the top of the elbow on adults—most puppies aren’t there yet. Please don’t reward the spindly looking ones with no bone or the short legged ones that look like their legs have been cut o ff at the knees. Th ey should not be delicate in any way. Neck is short and thick. Hind legs do not extend beyond the butt. Now look at the dogs in the class: which pos- sesses the best proportion?
“They should not be delicate in any way. NECK IS SHORT AND THICK.”
4 )08 4 *()5 . "(";*/& . "3$) t
Powered by FlippingBook