Showsight - June 2018

says WHAT’S THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT YOUR BREED?

That Shetland Sheepdogs will herd sheep. Some will herd well enough to pass AKC’s simple herding tests, but most Shelties are afraid of sheep. They don’t do badly on ducks, however. —Sylvia Calderwood Shibas are a “primative” breed. While Shibas exhibit many behaviors of feral dogs today the one thing that truly sets them apart is the “Shiba Scream”. This trait alone would com- pletely remove them from the wild dog gene pool. Without wolves in Japan for thousands and thousands of years the Japanese dog breeders must have picked Shibas to breed with this loud expression for some bizarre reason I have yet to uncover. Wolves and wild dogs do not make such loud noises as it is done when stressed and seen by pack members as a noise pray would make. Any wild dog to make this noise would quickly be turned on and killed by other pack mem- bers as it is detrimental to the safety of the pack. The trait would be extinguished immediately by pack culling within all wild packs so this trait must be a man made influence since domestication. Since the Shiba is such an old breed and the Shiba Scream is so common among modern Shibas it is very well ingrained in the breed. I am unaware of the other Japanese breeds making this screaming noise. Although the Shibas is still known for his ruthless hunting skills and his occasional ferocious dog on dog aggression he doesn’t make the Shiba scream during hunting or fighting. As a long time breeder of these dogs it always amazes me how much the Shiba can take during a dog fight and how little it takes to make him scream during human/Shiba interactions which make him the slightest bit apprehensive but that gets into his trust issues—a whole nother story. —Cheri Fellinger My breed is Shetland Sheepdogs. I believe the biggest misconception about this breed is that it’s difficult to judge. Knowledgeable judges have absolutely no difficulty judging it and I believe it’s because they understand the detail for which the standard asks and that detail determines type in a Sheltie. Over the years, as I’ve watch ‘all-arounders’ judge Shelties, it’s been painfully obvious many of them don’t understand the detail asked for in the standard and those are the judg- es who usually reward the generic dogs that the successful breeders don’t use in their breeding programs. Although it’s brief, the standard describes the balance of body height to length and especially describes the desired head detail. When a judge finds the proper balance of body height to length as well as proper head detail on one dog as opposed to poor body balance and poor head detail on the second dog—those two dogs will easily separate themselves on those points. Many times we see a judge only giving a cur- sory look at the head—then a pat on the head before putting brief hands on the body and those are the judges who aren’t using heads as input into their judging decisions. I’ve always found that the more input I have on a dog, the easier it is to separate their quality. Of course we must judge the whole dog including structure and movement. But when an impor- tant part of a breed is ignored by the judge, that judge isn’t judging the whole dog! We see many different types of Shel- ties in the ring and many of those different types have poor head detail. Proper head detail can only be found with close examination which can’t be found without using the hands

to find it. Because of talented groomers, hands must be used to confirm or deny what the judge is seeing is actually what is there and judging the ‘whole dog’ will make the Sheltie easy to judge. —David Calderwood Pointer. That its just a “Head and a Tail” breed. Its a hard driving gundog which must have correct structure to do its job. A pointer with just a pretty head mincing around the ring on cat feet will not do its job in the field. —Nancy Tuthill My breed is the Wirehaired Vizsla and the biggest miscon- ception is that people think they are the same as a Vizsla with a different coat. —Kathy Lormis Portuguese Podengo Pequenos. People think it is a Terrier and it is truely a Hound. Proportions are important. Only 20% longer than tall. —Anonymous Bulldog. That they’re all unhealthy and don’t live very long. No true at all. Breeders have been working hard to breed healthy dogs. There are bulldogs that compete success- fully in agility and love a long walk. There’s a FB group called the Oldest Bulldogs in the World, there are many on there 12-18 years old and some even older. —Anonymous

Our Norwich are not lap dogs. —Anonymous

The Azawakh has two main misconceptions. The first mis- conception is that as it is a Sighthound, therefore it should be stacked like other Sighthounds. The Azawakh is a Sighthound and a livestock and village guardian dog. Its natural stance is actually under the dog or even in the rear, than stacked out like a Whippet or Greyhound. The dog should be higher in the rear, or even, with the withers, in a natural stance. The second misconception is that this breed should also have the temperament of the Greyhound or Whippet as well and should be inviting to the judge’s touch. It is in fact, in their breed standard that this breed is aloof or reserved with strangers and that backing up or moving slightly away from the stranger is their nature. These cause quite a problem when judges want to see them stacked out and expect them to be stranger friendly and misread aloof or reserved for shy and therefore do not award due to either misconception. —Anonymous

That Westies are good with small children. —Anonymous

The biggest misconception about Norwich Terriers is that their legs are supposed to be short. —Anonymous

That Vizslas do not shed. Yes, they do shed, but it’s very manageable with weekly brushing. —Anonymous

I’ve been owned by Basenjis for almost 30 years, and there are two big misconceptions: “barkless” does not mean “mute;” and short-haired with minimal shedding does not mean “hypoallergenic.” Basenjis do not bark like other breeds, that’s true. However, they make a panoply of sounds that can be lounder, stranger and even more annoying (on occasion!) than a repetitive bark. And while it is true that

190 • S how S ight M agazine , J une 2018

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