JUDGING THE SWEDISH VALLHUND BY CHERYL ROLFE
(A version of this article appeared in the July 2014 edition of SHOWSIGHT.)
GENERAL APPEARANCE Small, powerful, fearless, sturdily built Spitz herding dog • Height to length of body is 2:3 • Wedge-shaped head, prick ears • Close-fitting, hard double coat with characteristic “harness” markings • Tail may be natural (long, stub, or bob) or docked • Balance, outline, temperament, and movement are of overriding importance. SIZE, PROPORTION & SUBSTANCE • Height at withers 12-1/2 inches to 13-1/2 inches for dogs; 11-1/2 inches to 12-1/2 inches for bitches • Proportion height to length, as measured from prosternum to rear of buttocks, should be 2:3 • Substance strong, well boned, well developed, muscular HEAD • Rather long and clean, when viewed from above, an even wedge from skull to nose tip, well filled-in under eyes • Eyes: medium size, oval, dark brown with black rims • Ears: medium size, pointed, prick, firm, smooth-haired, mobile and set at outer edge of skull above a line drawn from the corner of the eye • Skull: broad and almost flat; Stop well defined; top lines of the muzzle and skull parallel • Muzzle: rather square when viewed from side, slightly shorter than skull • Nose: black, on same line as muzzle and not extending beyond forepart of muzzle • Lips: black, tight with no noticeable flews • Teeth: strong, full dentition in a scissors bite. Any deviation is a serious fault. NECK, TOPLINE & BODY • Neck long, strongly muscled with good reach • Topline level when standing or moving • Chest good depth, ribcage long and ribs fairly well sprung. From the front, chest is oval; from side, elliptical. In a mature dog it should reach down two-fifths of the length of the fore- legs; lowest point of chest immediately behind back of foreleg. Prosternum visible and not excessively pronounced • Underline slightly tucked up; Back well muscled; Loin short; Croup broad and slightly sloping • Tail long, stub or bob; natural or docked; all equally acceptable
FOREQUARTERS • Shoulders strongly muscled; Shoulder blades long and well laid-back • Upper arms slightly shorter than the shoulder blades, set at an approximately 90-degree angle, close-fitting to ribs, but mobile. A line perpendicular to the ground can be drawn from the tip of the shoulder blade through the elbow to the ground. • Elbows move parallel to the body, turning neither in nor out • Legs well boned; Pasterns slightly sloping, elastic; Dewclaws may be removed • Feet medium-sized, short, oval, pointing straight forward; Toes tightly knit and well knuckled; Pads thick and strong “Small, powerful, fearless, sturdily built Spitz herding dog”
274 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2023
Powered by FlippingBook