Continued from pg. 235
straight, not pendulous and taper to the nostril. Th ey should not give the appear- ance of being snippy. Again the key word is aristocratic. Although it is not mentioned in the standard, any good bird dog needs large nostrils to better enable him to scent birds. Body: Th e back should be moderate in length, set in a straight line, strong and should slope slightly from the withers. Th e chest should be well developed and deep with shoulders well laid back, ribs well sprung and long. Abdomen fi rmly held; moderately tucked-up fl ank. Th e brisket should extend to the elbow. Interpretation: A Weimaraner should not be short-backed; he should have a long rib cage with well sprung ribs, not slab-sid- ed. Th e long rib cage gives the back its mod- erate length. Th e back should be straight (no rise over the loin, no sway) and should slope slightly from the withers to the tail, which is high set, a low set tail being a major fault. Th e chest when viewed from front and sides should be well developed and deep as this is what gives the dog lung room when he is running in the fi eld. Th e well sprung ribs and deep chest also enable the dog to per- form his duties as a retriever. Th e shoulder assembly is comprised of the scapula and humerus. Th e shoulder blade should mold smoothly into the contour of the body and be well laid back. Th e scapula and humor- ous should be of equal length. When viewed from the side, the dog should have a well laid back shoulder blade and equally angu- lated humerus (upper arm); this sets the elbow directly under the tip of the top of the shoulder blade and well under the dog. Th e forelegs should not come straight o ff the front. Elbows should lie close to the body. Th is correct front-end assembly is impor- tant to a dog who must run in the fi eld, as it is the shoulder assembly and pastern that absorbs most of the shock when a dog is moving. Well laid back angles of the shoul- der assembly give the dog the ability to reach and cover more ground with less e ff ort. Coat and Color: Short, smooth and sleek, solid color, in shades of mouse gray to silver-gray, usually blending to lighter shades on the head and ears. A small white marking on the chest is permitted but should be penalized on any other portion of the body. White spots resulting from injury
should not be penalized. A distinctly long coat is a disquali fi cation. A distinctly blue or black coat is a disquali fi cation. Legs and Forelegs: Straight and strong, with measurement from the elbow to the ground approximately equaling the distance from the elbow to the top of the withers. Hindquarters: Well-angulated sti fl es and straight hocks. Musculation well developed. Feet: Firm and compact, webbed, toes well arched, pads closed and thick, nails Interpretation: Th e lighter shades on the head and ears are referred to as the “Grafmar Cap” and tend to become more prominent with age. Th e white mark on the chest may be in the form of a spot or a blaze and should be small. When evaluat- ing length of leg it is important to remem- ber that the dog is also a retriever. Th e dis- tance from elbow to the ground and elbow to the wither should be almost equal. Tail: Docked. At maturity it should measure approximately 6 inches with a tendency to be light rather than heavy and should be carried in a manner expressing con fi dence and sound temperament. A non-docked tail should be penalized. Interpretation: As mentioned previ- ously, the tail set should be high, a low-set tail being a major fault. It should be car- ried up or straight out when the dog is in motion, expressing con fi dence. Gait: Th e gait should be e ff ortless and should indicated smooth coordination. When seen from the rear, the hind feet should be parallel to the front feet. When viewed from the side, the top line should remain strong and level. short and gray or amber in color. Dewclaws: Should be removed. Interpretation: Again, to insure that the Weimaraner can endure a day in the fi eld, his gait should be coordinated and e ff ort- less. If his front angulation is correct and his rear angulation is equal to the front, there should be no wasted motion. Padding, restricted movement, or fast, choppy move- ment is incorrect. A Weimaraner should cover ground with reach in front and drive in rear and this movement should be e ff ort- less and coordinated. If shoulder angulation is correct, the back should remain level in
Dogs measuring less than 24 inches or more than 28 inches and bitches measur- ing less than 22 inches or more than 26 inches shall be disquali fi ed. Interpretation: A Weimaraner should convey the impression of grace and style, a dog who can work in the fi eld all day. He should be of medium size, not too coarse, nor too fi ne as a coarse heavy boned dog or a fi ne boned weedy dog could not endure a day in the fi eld. Medium size with regard to height needs no explanation as it is clearly de fi ned with a disquali fi cation for those who deviate from this size. Head: Moderately long and aristocratic, with moderate stop and slight median line extending back over the forehead. Rather prominent occipital bone and trumpets well set back, beginning at the back of the eye sockets. Measurement from tip of nose to stop equals that from stop to occipital bone. Th e fl ews should be straight, delicate at the nostrils. Skin drawn tightly. Neck clean-cut and moderately long. Expression kind, keen and intelligent. Ears: Long and lobular, slightly folded and set high. Th e ear when drawn snugly alongside the jaw should end approximate- ly 2 inches from the point of the nose. Eyes: In shades of light amber, gray or blue-gray, set well enough apart to indicate good disposition and intelligence. When dilated under excitement, the eyes may appear almost black. Teeth : Well set, strong and even; well developed and proportionate to jaw with correct scissors bite, the upper teeth pro- truding slightly over the lower teeth but not more than 1/16th of an inch. Com- plete dentition is greatly to be desired. Nose: Gray. Lips and Gums: Pinkish fl esh shades. Interpretation: To complete the pic- ture of grace & nobility, the head should be pleasing with a kind, intelligent expression. Th e head is similar to a Pointer head with the exception of the stop, which should be moderate as opposed to the pronounced stop of the Pointer, and the ear set, which should be high rather than at eye level as in the Pointer. Th e trumpets, which are com- parable to temples in man, give the head a chiseled appearance. Th e fl ews should be
Continued on pg. 257
242 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , F EBRUARY 2014
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