Page 299 - ShowSight - December 2019

As one peruses the sundry of vendors set up at our favor- ite dog show, it is not uncommon to encounter a mixed bag of items for sale that display our beloved breed. This can range from towels, figurines, handbags, key chains, and the list goes on and on. When it comes to purchasing one of these treasures, dog show junkies are particularly fastidious about how their breed looks in the chosen procurement. Both con- sumers and manufacturers seem to agree on this point. A respected artist, whose chosen medium was chainsaw art, will actually refuse a request to do any breed of dog. He reasoned that people were far too caught up in the exact detail of carving and insisted that it be done very breed-specific with infinitesimal detail.
So where are we going with this exercise? While judging in California recently, the opportunity arose to provide some educa- tional experience to a group of Cardigan aficionados after the breed judging had ended. A long-time breeder was milling about proudly displaying his favorite Corgi T-shirt. Pointing to the dog on the artwork allowed a unique opportunity to discuss some finer breed characteristics. A small crowd formed and the unique outline of the dog displayed on the shirt was deliberated. The approved breed education program teaches judges that for most breeds, you should be able to discern it via its silhouette from as far away as the other side of a football field. This provided the opportunity to digress into a lengthy dissertation about the outline of our breed, just as important the tail set and carriage that definitely adds to the proper silhouette. This has been a cause of disagreement amongst exhibi- tors for a number of years and one that you won’t see going away any time soon.
Just to break this down a little further, there are many who argue over the way a Cardigan carries its tail in motion or for that mat- ter how it holds it while standing. As always encouraged by good breed educators, let’s take a look at what the official standard says about this feature. “Tail—set fairly low on body line and reaching well below the hock. Carried low when standing or moving slowly, streaming out parallel to ground when at a dead run, lifted when excited, but never curled over the back. High tail set is a serious fault” More often than not, you will find that most who argue this
“The approved breed education program teaches judges
that for most breeds, you should be able to discern it via its silhouette from as far away as the other side of a football field.”
THAT
DOESN’T LOOK LIKE MY
DOG
BY DAVID L. ANTHONY
ShowSight Magazine, DeceMber 2019 • 295