Page 40 - ShowSight Presents The Miniature Schnauzer

Judging the
MINIATURE SCHNAUZER
The Miniature Schnauzer is one of just a few Ter- riers which did not origi- nate from the British Isles. Developed in the Bavar- ian region of Germany
in the late 1800s, the Miniature Schnauzer appears to be a cross from smaller Standard Schnauzers and the “Monkey Pinschers” (today’s Affenpinscher) common in that area. As with the British Terriers, the mul- tipurpose Miniature Schnauzer was bred to be a ratter, with the bonus of being a watch- dog and great family companion.
The statement of General Appearance describes both his function and his general appearance: “The Miniature Schnauzer is a robust, active dog of terrier type, resembling his larger cousin, the Standard Schnauzer, in general appearance and of an alert, active disposition”. Note that our breed standard describes a general resemblance, not a min- iature copy of the Standard Schnauzer. The three Schnauzers are three distinct breeds with three distinct breed standards.
Watching Miniature Schnauzers walk into your ring, you should see distinc- tive dogs with hard wiry coats in one of three accepted colors. Look for the square, sturdy outline, rectangular head with clean cheeks, ears cropped or uncropped, short deep body, straight backline that declines slightly to a flat croup with a docked, erect tail, hard wiry coat. Get a first impression of size, whether each dog is within the size range of 12" to 14" regardless of age or sex.
Let the dogs move around the ring to loosen up and start your examinations on the table to check. A quick word to the dog to make sure that he is paying attention, then a hand under his chin. You are looking for the head to be strong and rectangular with flat, clean cheeks. With the short-faced “Mon- key Pinscher”/Affenpinscher in our history, our standard carefully states that the muzzle is “at least as long as the topskull” which is “flat and fairly long”, ending in a “moderately 222 • SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JULY 2014
blunt manner”. In practice, that means the muzzle should be approximately the same length as the topskull—neither shorter, nor exaggerated and too long. Balanced. Over- all impression rectangular, strong but not blocky, nor too narrow. Parallel planes.
Lift the eyebrows to make sure eyes are small, dark, oval and deep-set. Think of dark walnut for color. Nose color must be solid black regardless of coat color, DQ if not. Teeth—scissors bite only. To check incisors, hold down the center of the beard below the teeth with your left hand and with your right, use your forefinger and thumb on each side of the incisors to slide up the upper lip. Our breed standard offers the option of ears cropped or not. If cropped, the ears should be balanced and set high, with the inside edges carried perpendicularly. If uncropped, the ears are small and V-shaped, folding close to the skull, the tip pointing to the out- side corner of the eye. Look for the “use of ears” on the ground, not on the table. The Schnauzer’s characteristic “down the nose” expression is emphasized by trimming the eyebrows into a sharp triangle. The beard, “whiskers”, will be shaped to emphasize the rectangular shape of the head.
Overall body outline is square, measured from the forechest to buttocks, withers to the ground. Look for robust and sturdy, the bris- ket extends at least to the elbows, ribs well sprung and deep, short loin.
Forequarters should be straight and par- allel. Strong pasterns. Good bone. Neck strong and well arched, blending into the shoulders. Sloping shoulders well laid back. Viewed from the side the forelegs should be set back slightly but not so much that the sternum (or chest bone) obviously protrudes. Short round (cat) feet. Hindquarters have strong muscled thighs... never overbuilt or higher than shoulders”. There should be ‘dog behind the tail’, a little ‘shelf.’
The backline is straight, sloping slightly to the base of the tail, flat croup—no roller coaster toplines. Read our breed standard
By Wyoma Clouss
carefully on Tail—“set high and carried erect. It is docked only long enough to be clearly visible over the backline of the body when the dog is in proper length of coat. A properly presented Miniature Schnauzer will have a docked tail as described; all others should be severely penalized.” The American Miniature Schnauzer Club is NOT one that says ‘whatever’ when it comes to tails. The breed standard says the Tail Is Docked and describes how long the tail should be. Period. An undocked tail should be considered a seri- ous enough fault as to effectively remove that dog from conformation competition.
Disqualify
Dogs or bitches under 12 inches or over 14 inches. (any age, either sex) and also keep in mind, there is no preferred size for either sex, anything within that range is correct as long as you don’t see toyishness, ranginess or coarseness. Please PLEASE measure if you have any question. It can be very difficult to visually discern a critical 1⁄4". It is much better to be certain rather than making the mistake of just putting that lovely dog or bitch that you think might be oversize at the end of the line. Size is a DQ—one that maintains our individuality from the Standard Schnauzer and we need your support in the ring.
Coat
Double coat—hard wiry outer coat, close undercoat. Texture is the most important thing. As with some of the other Terriers, it doesn’t matter whether the exhibitor has “stage stripped” or “rolled” the coat, the most impor- tant thing about coat is that texture on the day should be hard and wiry. To extend the coat in show condition, varying amounts of undercoat may have been raked out. Coat on the head, neck, chest, tail, body must be plucked; the throat & cheeks, butt, across lower chest and under belly will be clippered; leg furnishings, beard, eyebrows will be scissored. Coat length is not as important as long as the judge can determine proper hard, wiry texture.