JUDGING THE WELSH TERRIER
“You can also be certain that a dog with a coat of good texture also has the proper color. Quality of texture and color go together. You won’t find a poor quality coat with correct color.”
find it objectionable for the tail to tend to somewhat come over the back. This should not be confused with a gay tail that curves over the back. A tail with a kink (bend towards either side of the dog) is a major fault to me. FOREQUARTERS The front is straight. The shoulders are long, sloping and well laid back. The legs are straight and muscular with upright and powerful pasterns. The feet are small, round, and catlike. The pads are thick and black. The nails are strong and black; any dewclaws are removed. The standard statement that “the front is straight” refers to the front legs and not to the front assembly. A dog with short, mincing steps is highly objectionable to me. These dogs lack front angulation and often side-wind because their front move- ment cannot keep up with their hind action. When examining a terrier, please take the time to look at the feet. These are one of their primary “tools of their trade” and shouldn’t be over-looked. Weak pas- terns are also hard to over-look. HINDQUARTERS The hindquarters are strong and mus- cular with well-developed second thighs and the stifles well bent. The hocks are moderately straight, parallel and short from joint to ground. The feet should be the same as in the forequarters. Please make special note that our stan- dard calls for a well-developed second thigh—something that is difficult to find. A good “shelf” behind the tail is another desirable trait—it may also be described as “butt behind the tail”. This adds to the appearance of a well set tail and a strong- muscled thigh. COAT The coat is hard, wiry, and dense with a close-fitting thick jacket. There is a short, soft undercoat. Furnishings on muzzle, legs, and quarters are dense and wiry. One of the hallmarks of a terrier is the quality of their coat. A poor quality coat is never acceptable. One of the hallmarks of a terrier judge is their ability to ascer- tain the quality of the coat without maul-
his attitude. A specimen exhibiting an overly aggressive attitude, or shyness, should be penalized. A shy, frantic, crazed, spooky, dis- traught, unsure, distressed, flustered, agi- tated, uneasy dog should never be reward- ed. Disposition is a problem in our breed and rewarding unacceptable behavior only encourages breeders, handlers and exhibi- tors to make excuses for dogs which should not be included in breeding programs. This behavior can be seen in dogs that fail to pay attention to their handlers and are distracted by sounds which most other dogs ignore. They are often constantly “flicking” their ears and appear to be in fear of the “sky falling”. I can’t stress this point enough. I really believe there is no better companion than a Welsh Terrier with a good temperament, and as judges, it is our responsibility to intelligently evalu- ate this characteristic. Some judges spar dogs others don’t. I do so if I believe it will help me evaluate two dogs who might not be using them- selves at their best. Some dogs show just as well for toys or bait. Others will never look as good as with another animal. If you do spar, please do not bring out more than two (or possibly three) dogs at any one time. This will pre- vent you from losing control of your ring, having a dog fight on your hand and not truly being able to see the dog, which is the entire point of this exercise. Make it clear to the handlers that the dogs are supposed to be looking at each other and nothing more—and that you expect them to keep them under control. However, if dogs do “defend their turf” move quickly to have the handlers move the dogs back in line and don’t penalize
ing the dog. There is no need to run your entire hand through the coat to determine the quality. Feel a small patch near the center of the back and lift to check for undercoat. If the dog has a good quality of furnishing, they will likewise have a good quality undercoat. If they have sparse fur- nishings, they will have the same type of undercoat. You can also be certain that a dog with a coat of good texture also has the proper color. Quality of texture and color go together. You won’t find a poor quality coat with correct color. COLOR The jacket is black, spreading up onto the neck, down onto the tail and into the upper thighs. The legs, quarters, and head are clear tan. The tan is a deep reddish col- or, with slightly lighter shades acceptable. A grizzle jacket is also acceptable. Many new terrier judges are very concerned with the natural color of the dogs being exhibited. What should concern you is the texture of the coat and furnishings. I have NEVER seen a dog with good texture and bad color or good (natural) color and bad texture. I really believe if you judge with this in mind you will never make a mistake. So, reward good texture and it will have natu- rally good color. I doubt that this will ever be a deciding factor, but I also greatly prefer clean tan markings. I find black in the tan(a smutty mixture) to be unattractive. On the other side, these dogs tend to have very harsh coats with the best color. GAIT The movement is straight, free and effortless, with good reach in front, strong drive behind, with feet naturally tending to converge toward a median line of travel as speed increases. These are working dogs which need to travel some distance. Restricted, choppy movement should not be rewarded. TEMPERAMENT The Welsh Terrier is a game dog-alert, aware, spirited-but at the same time, is friendly and shows self control. Intelli- gence and desire to please are evident in
the dogs. FAULTS
Any deviation from the foregoing should be considered a fault; the serious- ness of the fault depending upon the extent of the deviation.
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, AUGUST 2021 | 213
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