Page 259 - Showsight December 2020

DEFINING THE STANDARD SCHNAUZER
CORRECT STRUCTURE EQUALS EFFICIENT MOVEMENT EQUALS LESS ENERGY REQUIRED. IN SHORT, A SCHNAUZER SHOULD BE ‘ENERGY EFFICIENT.’
permissible, and an older dog may be forgiven for a bit of graying around the muzzle.
The pepper and salt-colored coat is less understood. It may look grey from a distance, but the overall color is determined by the color bands on the hairs of the topcoat, each hair having alternating bands of black and white. The shade of the topcoat, light or dark, is determined by the width
Feet converge to center of gravity as speed of gate increases.
“moderately high” tail set as opposed to a high, com- pletely vertical tail set or, less desirable, a tail that is angled to the front. The slope of the croup helps the dog get his rear legs under his body to cover ground more efficiently and to pivot and turn, a useful skill when herding livestock.
Standard Schnauzers, like many other Working breeds, tend to track in when moving at a brisk trot, the feet converging toward the dog’s center of grav- ity as the pace picks up. Regardless of how fast he is trotting, you should be able to visualize a straight line from point of shoulder to foot in front, and from point of rump to foot behind. Correct structure equals effi- cient movement equals less energy required. In short, a Schnauzer should be “energy efficient.”
The Schnauzer’s wiry coat is one thing they have in common with some Terriers. The top hairs are coarse and straight, and stand up slightly off the back. The undercoat, the Schnauzer’s thermal underwear, is soft. Color in black Schnauzers is simply black-on-black; a wiry black topcoat over a softer black undercoat. A white mark on the chest no larger than a quarter is
pictured above, top: Schnauzers are good tracking dogs. Coat is lighter and color looks grey, but topcoat has banded hairs and correct, wiry texture;
above: Correct side movement
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2020 | 257