Page 230 - SHOWSIGHT - JULY 2020

JUDGING THE BELGIAN TERVUREN
Masks are an important part of color and type. A face with a complete absence of black is a serious fault. The mask may be muzzle only or it may cover almost the entire head.
Scissors or level bites are acceptable. You do not need to pry open the mouth to check teeth. Have the handler show the bite from the front, then lift the lips on either side to verify premolars. A loss of contact of all the incisors is a disqualifica- tion. Missing teeth are a fault with four or more a serious fault.
Head planes should be parallel and the length of the skull and the muzzle should be close to equal.
The topline should be level from withers to the croup. The body should be moderate in width—not broad, but not narrow. The chest should reach to the elbow. The tail should reach to the hock and be held low at rest. The tail should not curl over the back nor should it be tucked. Ideally, the tail should flow smoothly off the back when in motion though adolescent males and any male around bitches in heat may tend to carry it above the level of the topline. A cropped or stump tail is a disqualification.
Legs should be straight with oval bones. Pasterns should be strong and upright, with tight “cat feet” as the ideal in front and feet slightly longer in the rear. Hocks are slightly bent with metatarsi upright and straight to the ground.
The outer coat should be harsh. A correct coat will dry quickly and be less likely to pick up plant material while working in fields. Density and amount of undercoat will vary greatly with time of year and with heat cycles in bitches. Mature males should have an impres- sive “mane,” but don’t let coat cause you to overlook a quality bitch.
The coat color is described as “rich fawn to russet mahogany with black overlay is ideal and preferred. Predominate color that is pale, washed out, cream or gray is a fault.” If you have two dogs of equal quality, the red dog should be placed higher than the dog with lighter coloring. Blackening of the coat comes with age and is more prominent on the males. “Absence of blackening in mature dogs is a serious fault.”
Masks are an important part of color and type. A face with a complete absence of black is a serious fault. The mask may be muzzle only or it may cover almost the entire head.
Some minor white markings are acceptable—the tips of toes, chin, and muzzle as well as an area of the chest, but not more than three inches higher than the prosternum or reaching either shoulder. Chin “frosting” can appear in dogs as young as 18 months. Excess white, solid liver, or solid black color are all disqualifications.
228 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JULY 2020