I
am going to present to the reader
my thought process and points
of greatest concern in judging
Great Pyrenees. As with any
judging, others may have differ-
ing opinions.
When Great Pyrenees walk into your
ring, you should be looking for a rectangu-
lar dog only slightly longer than tall. This
dog should have a noticeable level, strong
back line. He will be white or principally
white and can have head markings and/or
body coloring up to ⅓ of its body. You will
be looking for a large, strong, lithe dog-
not one that appears heavy and ponderous
or wispy and shelly.
There are three areas of concern in
judging the breed: head, front end assem-
bly and temperament. I will go through
my thought process about each of these
important areas in judging the breed.
The Great Pyrenees is a head breed
that is hard to understand since the cor-
rect head with “The Look” is seldom seen.
“
The Look” as I call the correct melding
of pigment, muzzle length, eye color and
shape, ear size and placement, and lack of
an apparent stop does occur, but is rarely
seen. You will have the best opportunity to
see “The Look” at a national specialty, but
even then it can be elusive.
Approach the Great Pyrenees either
straight on or at a three-quarter angle. Cup
the head under the jaws and observe the
shape of the head. It is wedge-shaped from
above and from the side. The bite is a close
scissors bite with an even bite being accept-
able. Two issues with teeth occur on occa-
sion. In some mature dogs and bitches the
central incisors may appear to recede; this
is not an important judging issue.
Now I put on my veterinary cap –on
occasion in mature dogs mostly (rarely
bitches), you may observe what appears
to be lower incisors and even canine teeth
that appear worn down so as only “nub-
bins” appear above the gum-line. This con-
dition is called gingival hyperplasia and
actually is due to a proliferation of gum
(
gingival) tissue growth that covers most
or all of normal incisor teeth. The upper
and lower teeth are aligned normally, but
if the condition causes you concern, you
should penalize the situation to the point
that you feel is warranted. The condition is
only factored minimally into my judging
of the breed.
At this point you will become aware of
the length of the Pyr’s muzzle. The accept-
able length should approximate the length
of the back skull and not less than 40%
of the back skull. There are specimens
shown with extremely short muzzles- they
are cute, like teddy bears, but incorrect, as
this is not enough muzzle length to aid in
doing battle with a predator. The correct
muzzle length helps to insure that the head
will have tight, black pigmented lips. This
should not be a drooling breed.
Breed pigmentation is black beginning
with the nose, lips, and eye rims. On occa-
sion in all white Pyrs, the nose pigment
may fade in the winter time- snow nose.
The only penalty is whether the condi-
tion detracts from “The Look” that the
dog portrays. To me, there is usually some
detraction. Occasionally, Dudley noses
are seen with distinct pink and black area
present. Dudley noses can also be associ-
ated with incomplete pigmented eye rims.
The eye color of Great Pyrenees is dark
brown and the eye lid shape is almond.
The eye color can range from almost yel-
low to almost black. The color that you
accept in judging is the color that com-
pliments “The Look”. In Pyrs that have
short muzzles and/or too much stop, there
is a tendency for round eyes and increased
tear stain on the white hair at the inner
corner of the eyes.
The Great Pyrenees ear is from small to
medium in size and set on at the level of
the outer corner of the eyelid. A line of
hair can be followed from the outer cor-
ner of the eye to the root of the ear set. If
the ear set is too high, the line does not
meet the root of the ear. Ears set on too
high or are too large detract from “The
Look”. In rare instances low set, houndy
ears may be found.
The most difficult concept pertaining
to the Great Pyrenees head is the term
“
no apparent stop”. There are very few
Pyrs being shown that can be described
with “no apparent stop”, but it is the ulti-
mate goal to strive for in the quest for
“
The Look”.
There is a gradual, barely perceptible
rise from the muzzle to the top skull that
occurs at the level of the eyes. If you run
your hand over the muzzle with your fin-
gers pointed toward the top skull you can
best determine the degree of stop present.
On occasion, there may be well developed
superciliary ridges of bone above each eye
which can make the head appear to have
more stop than it actually has.
JUDGING GREAT PYRENEES
By Robert M. Brown, D.V.M.
“
ThE GREAT
PYRENEES
is a head breed...”
S
how
S
ight
M
agazine
,
N
ovember
2012 • 281