Beefs this week (OK again, still):
What is with the judges rewarding Havanese with their heads sculpted in. It used to be backcombing and spraying, now it is razoring the hair in from the eyes back over the head. If you hav a dog that has 8 inches of coat on it's tail and body, it's just amazing that the head hair is 1 to 3 inches long and just miraculously lays back, "That ain't right!" It might look cool with some of the different colors of hair, and yeah, it's easier to show a Havanese when you don't have to worry about the hair falling into their face. But if you are going to show a dog...no matter what breed...DO IT RIGHT.
We all know how I feel about corded coats, and even if I don't like it, it is in the standard, but groom to the standard, that is what it is there for. There was a 'white' (and I use the color loosely) corded specials dog in Hutchinson, and I think Dave said it was in Mason City also. Not corded on parts of the head. Three different people asked me "What's wrong with that dog?" and all noticed that it was matted (their words, not mine that time) everywhere except for part of the muzzel, chin, and head.
FROM THE HAVANESE STANDARD:
Regarding trimming:
"and covered with a profuse mantle of untrimmed long, silky, wavy hair."
"In either coat, minimal trimming of the hair at the inside corner of the eye is allowed for hygienic purposes only, not in an attempt to resculpt the planes of the head. Minimal trimming around the anal and genital areas, for hygienic purposes only, is permissible but should not be noticeable on presentation. The hair on the feet and between the pads should be neatly trimmed for the express purpose of a tidy presentation. Any other trimming or sculpting of the coat is to be so severely penalized as to preclude placement." Judges that have had their own coated dogs should be able to recognize this in at least one top black and white dog that is lacking pigment around one eye. But either they don't know or don't care that it is incorrect. How come those same judges always notice when one of mine has scratched out something or licked a foot red?
Regarding Cords:
"Corded coats will naturally separate into wavy sections in young dogs and will in time develop into cords. Adult corded dogs will be completely covered with a full coat of tassle-like cords."
JUDGES - PLEASE JUDGE TO THE STANDARD, that's all we ask.
What is with the judges rewarding Havanese with their heads sculpted in. It used to be backcombing and spraying, now it is razoring the hair in from the eyes back over the head. If you hav a dog that has 8 inches of coat on it's tail and body, it's just amazing that the head hair is 1 to 3 inches long and just miraculously lays back, "That ain't right!" It might look cool with some of the different colors of hair, and yeah, it's easier to show a Havanese when you don't have to worry about the hair falling into their face. But if you are going to show a dog...no matter what breed...DO IT RIGHT.
We all know how I feel about corded coats, and even if I don't like it, it is in the standard, but groom to the standard, that is what it is there for. There was a 'white' (and I use the color loosely) corded specials dog in Hutchinson, and I think Dave said it was in Mason City also. Not corded on parts of the head. Three different people asked me "What's wrong with that dog?" and all noticed that it was matted (their words, not mine that time) everywhere except for part of the muzzel, chin, and head.
Regarding trimming:
"and covered with a profuse mantle of untrimmed long, silky, wavy hair."
"In either coat, minimal trimming of the hair at the inside corner of the eye is allowed for hygienic purposes only, not in an attempt to resculpt the planes of the head. Minimal trimming around the anal and genital areas, for hygienic purposes only, is permissible but should not be noticeable on presentation. The hair on the feet and between the pads should be neatly trimmed for the express purpose of a tidy presentation. Any other trimming or sculpting of the coat is to be so severely penalized as to preclude placement." Judges that have had their own coated dogs should be able to recognize this in at least one top black and white dog that is lacking pigment around one eye. But either they don't know or don't care that it is incorrect. How come those same judges always notice when one of mine has scratched out something or licked a foot red?
Regarding Cords:
"Corded coats will naturally separate into wavy sections in young dogs and will in time develop into cords. Adult corded dogs will be completely covered with a full coat of tassle-like cords."
JUDGES - PLEASE JUDGE TO THE STANDARD, that's all we ask.
