Page 41 - ShowSight Presents - The Keeshond

“Small, pointed ears” is a little bit of a misnomer. Again, the ears appear small on a male in full coat. To determine if the earsize is correct, gently fold the ear down to see if it meets the outside corner of the eye. Large ears are not desired and too small ears can be somewhat peculiar look- ing barely peeking out of the ruff of a dog.
“Lion-like ruff—more profuse in the male” we’ve already discussed, right?
“Trousers” USED TO mean just that—lengthy hair which we USED TO love to watch swaying in the breeze when they were gaited or if the wind blew just so. That was then and now very uncommon to see proper trousers on a Keeshond. Here comes the dreaded “T” word!
As many judges are aware, almost every breed is being beautified by skilled or not-so-skilled grooming methods. If one whacks off the trousers, trims under the tail, trims belly air and trims the top of the tail just so, the dog will appear higher in leg and shorter in body than they, in fact, are. There are many skilled ex-handlers and now judges who appre- ciate the effort to present the dog in the best possible way—groomed to perfec- tion. However, when words like “natural” and sentences like “The Keeshond is to be shown in a natural state with trimming permissible only on feet, pasterns, hocks and--if desired--whiskers. TRIMMING OTHER THAN AS DESCRIBED TO BE SEVERELY PENALIZED.” The really, excellent trimmers and/or groom- ers can get the same result with diligent grooming and the correct coat as those who trim. You do not have time to inspect every hair. We are not the only breed who calls for “natural” presentation and though grooming is admirable, your JOB as a judge is to “SEVERELY PENALIZE” a trimmed dog when it is obvious it has been trimmed. I contend that if judges would penalize each dog that they knew was trimmed, the trimming would stop. To me, that means NO WD/WB, BOB, BOS, any/all Group Placements and cer- tainly not BIS! If the other Keeshonden are truly inferior specimens, it is your preroga- tive to WITHHOLD awards. Oh, they’ll all squawk and pout and stamp their feet but if those who persist in thumbing their 􏰀􏰁􏰂 􏰄 􏰅􏰆􏰇􏰈􏰅􏰉􏰊􏰆􏰋 􏰌􏰍􏰊􏰍􏰎􏰉􏰏􏰐􏰑 􏰅􏰐􏰒􏰋􏰐􏰌􏰓􏰐􏰔 􏰀􏰂􏰕􏰖
noses at their standards would run into judges with fortitude, all this gilding of the lilies would eventually come to a halt. I do this not as an old fuddy-duddy purist (silly me!) but for those who come into the breed, actually read the standard and are dumbfounded when an obviously trimmed dog wins. They do one of two things: (a) Try to learn how to trim as well as those with many decades of experience; leave dog shows and consequently never become breeders. This IS a serious issue, so please take it seriously. The average age of Kees- hond competitors is well north of +50. We are running off our newcomers because they’re told it doesn’t matter or whatever. Where will the Keeshond be if we have no breeders when those of us who are into our Golden Years croak?
The Keeshond is a Spitz breed. The muzzle is of medium length and when viewed from above the entire head is wedge-shaped. “Medium length” means muzzle and backskull are nearly equal in length with a definite stop. A handsome head is one where the muzzle is approxi- mately 90% as long as the backskull. There are many who insist on super short muzzles. These cute little “teddy bear” guys finish in a heartbeat from the puppy classes but with too short a muzzle, and as their age goes forward, their eyes become rounder and rounder rather than almond shaped and set obliquely. As in nearly all breeds, dark eyes are required. Dark pig- mentation on nose, eye rims and pads of feet is a must as well.
The true HALLMARK of our breed may now be shared with a few other breeds besides the Pekingese since the rush of new-to-me and thee breeds have appeared on the horizon. They are the “spectacles.” Believe it or not, and with further study of the Keeshond Standard, spectacles are NOT the light around the eyes which can be trimmed in or appear naturally. The “spectacles” are actually formed by a cow- lick of sorts. The black-tipped hairs come up from the muzzle and down from the head and meet at the outside corner of each eye. IDEAL spectacles go UP toward the outer corner of the ear. It forms the best expression as they truly look like a dog wearing glasses once their dark eyebrows
and dark muzzle complete the picture. They’re charming and remain the defining distinction of our breed and it’s a “Very Serious Fault” to lack these dark lines. Are spectacles on very dark-faced dogs. Believe it or not, they’re there... you’ve just got to get up close and personal.
“Temperament is of primary impor- tance.” These are fun, fabulous family pets and somewhat silly. Their only “job” is to be an alarm-giving watchdog. They’ll bark but the burglar can come in, toss a Kees a cookie and she’ll happily show the bad guy the way to the family jewels. Some people buyadogfortheirkids,Ihadakidformy dogs. Seriously... sort of.
Final Handy Tip #3: When judging a large entry of any breed, especially at inde- pendent or National Specialties pull those dogs who you like from each group of 10-12 dogs that comes in. I once witnessed a famous all-breed judge take his first group of male specials and efficiently pull 4 dogs. Sad to say, that all 12 just happened to be the ones he should be concentrating on. His second group of 12 was bleak; his third group was dismal. It’s always easier to zone in and narrow down from a bunch of good ones than a bunch of mediocre.
I truly hope this helps you and if you find a perfect one, give me a call. I’m still searching; have gotten and seen some NEARLY perfect, but not quite. It’s a great breed and if you learn to love it HALF as much as we do, you’ll enjoy your assignments.
BIO
Robin Stark bought her first Keeshond pup in 1962. She was a road warrior for many years and is responsible for approxi- mately 150 Keeshond champions and per- formance event winners. She celebrated her Golden Anniversary in the breed by judg- ing Best of Breed and Intersex at this year’s National Specialty--a significant honor.
Robin has served on KCA’s original Ethics Committee, the AKC Standard Revision Committee, the AKC Keeshond Video Committee and the KCA Illustrated Standard Committee. She has won several DWAA awards as editor/co-publisher of “The Rottweiler Quarterly.”