BRITTANY JUDGING SIMPLIFIED
I am the Judge’s Education Coordinator for the American Brit- tany Club. One of the comments I hear routinely is that the Brittany is a hard breed to judge. When I ask why they think it’s hard, usually they start by listing the differences between Brittanys and the other Sporting breeds: • Scissors Bite—The Brittany is required to have a scissors bite, while most Sporting breeds call for an even or a scissors bite. • Height Standard—The Brittany height standard is 17½ inches to 20½ inches for both males and females. Most of the other Sporting breeds have one height standard for males and one for females. We, generally, explain that you can have a 17½ inch male and a 20½ inch female, and have it be perfectly correct. Anything below 17½ or over 20½ is a DQ. (The only other DQ is black in the nose or coat.) • Movement—The Brittany calls for having an athletic gait that is ground-covering without clumsiness, but we can also have an over- reach. The standard says that the back foot should step into or beyond the print left by the front foot. Most of the other Sporting breeds do not overreach. (Note: Not all Britts will overreach, but note that they should at least step into the print left by the front foot. The “beyond” is the overreach.)
BY DIANA KUBITZ
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, SPRING EDITION | 241
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