Page 265 - Showsight March 2013

distance between the eyes. That tells you
that down faces, long muzzles, narrow
lower jaws aren’t to be rewarded, nor are
short or upturned muzzles.
Eyes: Must be round (no corners and
no eye white), medium sized, very dark in
color and set in the middle of the head.
Nose: Should have nice big open nos-
trils, blunt and always be black.
Lower Lip Line: should be obvious
and appear to be a padded upside-down
u-shape.
Okay, stand back—look directly at the
face straight on and ask yourself if it looks
like a monkey. Now look at the others in
the class and compare them to each other.
Determine which has the best head.
Size
I want Toy dogs to be toy-sized. The
Affen standard allows for a huge range in
size—without DQs or ideals.
It’s 9½"-11½" for either sex. This is a
huge difference. It is extremely difficult
to keep the breed small yet sturdy, while
retaining leg length and far too easy to get
them on the big and bigger and beyond
size. Again look at the class and access
accordingly.
Proportion
Proportion should be square. Though
we do allow for bitches to be slightly lon-
ger, measure from forechest to ischium
and from withers to ground. Body depth
should be just to the top of the elbow on
adults—most puppies aren’t there yet.
Please don’t reward the spindly looking
ones with no bone or the short legged ones
that look like their legs have been cut off
at the knees. They should not be delicate
in any way. Neck is short and thick. Hind
legs do not extend beyond the butt. Now
look at the dogs in the class: which pos-
sesses the best proportion?
Temperament
Everything about having an Affen in
your ring should be comical and enjoy-
able. Yes, it must be trained well enough
to stand on the table for exam, walk easily
and freely around the ring, yet this breed
should not be mechanical. They are impul-
sive. That’s typical and okay. Many will
spend time on their hindquarters playing
around much to their handler’s dismay. No
big deal.
If the behavior makes you smile and
even chuckle a bit, it’s correct and should
be rewarded. Now look at the dogs in
the class: which exudes the most attitude
and character?
Movement
The action should be light, free, sound
and confident.
Topline: Must remain level, not slop-
ing downward from withers to set on of
tail—not low in shoulder or high in rear,
not arched over loin. Not hackneyed or
high action.
Now look at your class and add the car-
riage of the head and the tail. The neck is
to be short so don’t expect an exaggerated
high head carriage. When natural, the tail
should be carried curved slightly over the
back when in motion. Tails that curve over
the back or touch the side of the quarters
in addition to poker straight tails and tails
pointing to 2 o’clock are equally faulty.
They destroy the outline. Docked tails,
though seldom seen these days, are per-
fectly acceptable. Again, determine who
is best.
Coat & color
This is the least of my concerns for the
breed—yes, it’s good to have rough harsh
coats, but be aware, the standard speaks
to allowing for longer and softer hair on
the head, neck, chest, stomach and legs.
That’s most of the dog. Some present day
naysayers of the Affenpinschers shown
today wrongly believe that the harder the
coat the better wanting very little furnish-
ings—and prefer little to no trimming.
Others believe the presentation on most
affens shown today have gone way too
far and have sculpted the dogs to look
a-typical. I concur. The proper amount
of coat and the trim must allow the judge
to see the outline of the dog, its face and
its expression, and still allow for a shaggy
look. That’s a near oxymoron and not
easily achieved.
Color is not material. Judge them all
the same and remember points on the
black and tan are not spoken about in our
standard so what would be a mismarked
black and tan if a different breed is okay
for an Affen. Again look at your class and
select the trim that pleases you.
Now it’s time to really choose. You’ve
judged them all—none of them are perfect
and some excel in areas that others don’t
and lack in others excel in. You assessed
breed type if you have followed the above
six points.
Remember: don’t fault judge. Put up
the best overall type. This will be the one
that most screams monkey-like terrier.
“Put up the best overall type.
THIs wIll bE THE ONE THAT mOsT sCREAms
‘mONKEY-lIKE TERRIER’.”
“They should not be delicate in any way.
NECK Is sHORT ANd THICK.”
S howS ight Magazine, M arch 2013 • 265