SIZE MATTERS by CHRISTIE MARTINEZ
I love watching the Working Group: the powerfully built Saint; the tall, elegant Great Dane; the robust Schnauzer. I do in verity believe that there is no group to compare. Was it my imagination or did I dream it? I know I didn’t have too many brews- kis, but sitting at ringside I’m sure I saw a Samoyed as tall as a Kuvasz and a Great Dane the size of a Doberman Pinscher (the Black Russian was much taller than the Great Dane) and a Stan- dard Schnauzer that could have been in the Toy Group. As I watched these dogs go around I noted that they all appeared to be sound and possess breed type; the very characteristics our tutors and mentors have encouraged us to recognize, but this picture was all wrong. I stood up and moved back to get a better view of the lineup. There were a ternary of dogs in there that were of an unusual size for their breed and two that perhaps should have been disqualified. The group judge, a most estimable woman, seemed to take a bit longer (she may have been considering calling for the wicket) sizing up her dogs than usual and I was encouraged to see that she did not place any of these dogs in her group with whom I had a concern. “When a dog is the incorrect size, whether over or under, the true func- tion is in jeopardy,” says AKC Judge
Honey Glendinning. “I was watching the Nova Scotia Tolling Retrievers at a show a few weeks back and 2 open males and the specials boy were as large as the special Golden Retriever male. In the Hound Group the Deerhound and the Wolfhound had the same problem. Some of the Newfoundland’s were well over 28". Hard to believe the Alaskan Malamute should be the same height as the English Setter.” I realize in watching a Group that some could be dogs and some bitches, or there may be a puppy in there that was fortunate enough to make it into the group. But this was not the case on this particular day. All the breeds I was concerned about were mature dogs. I was definitely flummoxed and felt my senses were distorted. Working and Non-Sporting Group Judge Angela Porpora finds coming from a measurable breed that measur- ing and weighing are ever so important to her, and very much responsibilities that should not be taken lightly. “At one show,” Angela says, “I had two Kuvasz puppies that did not mea- sure in. At another show, a drop dead gorgeous Akita, close to finishing, mea- sured under and I had to DQ her. On a recent showweekend I DQ’d two exhib- its for bad bites. Within a few weeks, one of them finished its Championship and the second took a major. Measure- ments, bad bites--these are things we cannot let slip by. We, as judges, are
here to make it better, not worse. We must always keep our charge in mind.” When I got home I pulled out my standards. I made a list of the breeds in the Working Group and beside each name I put the verbiage used to describe the breed as well as the actual recommended size range. Was I making something out of nothing and was there a greater overlap in size for these breeds than I thought? Faye Strauss, Judge and JEC for the Doberman Pinscher Club of America says, “Today it seems bigger is bet- ter. The Doberman Standard calls for a medium size dog. His heavy bone makes him appear bigger. Historically, he needed to be medium because he needed to be quick and agile and this build was perfect for the German coun- tryside. In the ring today you never see a dog that is too small, under 26 inch- es for a male or under 24 inches for a female. However, many will be well over the standard 28 inches for a male or 26 inches for a female. The Standard says ‘penalize to the extent of the devia- tion.’ Size is not a DQ in our breed, but please know where 26 and 28 inches are and fault accordingly.” This is in no way a scientific study, but just done out of my own curiosity. Of the 30 Working breed standards, 14 were listed as “large”, five as “medium” and then some breeds somewhere in between. For instance the Rottweiler is said to be “medium-large”, Great Danes and Great Pyrs are said to have “great size”, Neapolitan Mastiff are “massive” and the Dogue de Bordeaux is “heavy”. PWDs say “strong” 12 times in their standard and Saints say “powerful” 16 times. Then I reviewed the standards for description of bone and six said “heavy bone”, two say “plenty of bone”, one “substantial bone”, one “sturdy bone” and the Tibetan Mastiff said “much bone”. Finally I listed the top end of the recommended height (where none were listed I asked breeder-judges to approximate, for example Saints give
“...THEY ALL APPEARED TO BE SOUND AND POSSESS BREED TYPE...
BUT THIS PICTURE WAS ALL WRONG.”
202 • S how S ight M agazine , F ebruary 2017
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