Page 295 - ShowSight - July 2019

Judging the Miniature Schnauzer BY WYOMA CLOUSS continued
“ALERT, SPIRITED, YET OBEDIENT TO COMMAND... FRIENDLY, INTELLIGENT AND WILLING TO PLEASE...
never over aggressive or timid.”
back slightly but not so much that the ster- num (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 coasters. Read carefully the breed standard on Tail: “Set high and carried erect. It (tail) is docked only long enough to be clearly visible over the backline of the body when 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 Min- iature Schnauzer Club is NOT one that says ‘whatever’ when it comes to tails. This is breed type, this is recognizing our breed. AKC expects judges to move and examine every entry—“This includes breeds that according to their breed standard tradition- ally have been cropped and/or docked and dogs entered which may have deviations from the breed standard.” So after moving and examining that dog with a deviation such as an undocked tail, we expect you to respect important attributes of breed type as written in our AKC breed standard. An undocked tail should be considered a seri- ous enough fault as to effectively remove that dog from conformation competition at an AKC show. We’re serious.
Disqualify: Dogs or bitches under 12 inches or over 14 inches. (any age or sex), but also keep in mind, there is no preferred size, anything within that range is correct as long as you don’t see toyishness, ranginess or coarseness. Please measure if you have any question. It can be very difficult to visu- ally discern a critical 1/4 inches. It is much better to be certain rather than making the mistake of putting that perhaps oversize but otherwise lovely dog at the end of the line. Size is a DQ 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 oth- er Terriers, it doesn’t matter whether the
exhibitor has “stage stripped” or “rolled” the coat, the most important thing about coat is that texture on the day should be hard & 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, and bottom will be clip- pered; leg furnishings, beard, eyebrows will be scissored. Coat length is not stipulated, must be able to determine correct texture.
Colors: Allowed colors are salt and pep- per, black and silver, solid black. black is the only solid color allowed; a small white spot on the chest, occasional white body hairs are permissible. The salt and pepper coat consists of a mixture of solid black, solid white, and banded hairs, varying from light to dark, tan shading permitted. The black and silver coat is the same bi-color pattern, except solid black where the salt & pepper would be, and with the difference that the underbody furnishings below the chest & ribcage should be dark. Judging: Watch for any white, even a narrow blaze, in colored area mid-forechest between the silvery white “bow tie” and lighter area of the throat—it’s a DQ.
Judge movement at the trot. Look for the good reach and drive of a square-built dog. No mincing, no prancing, no chin tap- ping front or high kicking rear. True double tracking coming and going. At a full trot, there will be a slight inward inclination beginning at the shoulder in front, the hip in the rear, but no excuse for moving too close or crossing over.
Temperament: “alert, spirited, yet obedi- ent to command... friendly, intelligent and willing to please... never over aggressive or timid.” Sparring (bringing dogs together to look at each other, pull themselves togeth- er) usually works best with the Specials class. Puppies and bitches may just look at each other since Miniature Schnauzers often live together peacefully at home. But show a Miniature Schnauzer a rat or other varmint and their Terrier function is alive and deadly!
Show grooming: Coats are either stage stripped out starting 8—10 wks prior to the first shows on a circuit, or rolled, worked constantly. Specials dogs usually have a rolled coat so they can stay in the ring, but the pattern of banding and texture quality may affect whether rolling coat works for an individual dog. Stripped out dogs are shown for maybe 6-10 weeks, the coat gradually “blows”, the tight Terrier jacket is lost, the dog goes home for several months to start all over again on coat work. It makes no sense for a judge to say something like ‘this coat is a little short, bring him back when he has more coat’. First, just check texture, as there is no minimum length required, and second, it’s doubtful you’ll see that dog again on that particular coat.
Prior to the shows, the exhibitor will do the finish work—scissor furnishings, clipper throat, cheeks, ears, bottom, and tummy. Show day, the exhibitor will bathe the beard and furnishings, chalk the fur- nishings on salt and peppers and black and silvers, use a mousse or gel on the furnish- ings of the blacks, then brush out and blow dry, followed by a light hair spray. Groom- ing should be done with a relatively light touch—no cloud of flying chalk when the dog does the big shake. Show grooming of furnishings is a presentation issue—Min- iature Schnauzer exhibitors tend to be per- fectionists, wanting to bring you a dog with every hair in place in a tailored tuxedo look.
Then it’s up to you—keep in mind: Square, sturdy outline
Short, deep body
Straight backline, declines slightly Flat croup with a Docked erect tail Rectangular head, clean cheeks, scissors bite
Ears cropped or not
Hard wiry coat in Allowed colors only *DQ
Nose must be solid black *DQ Size 12 inches—14 inches *DQ Correct reach and drive
Alert temperament
ShowSight Magazine, July 2019 • 289