May 23rd, 2009 by admin

THE IMPORTANCE OF A BREED STANDARD

An approved standard is the official and ideal description of a St. Bernard. It sums up exactly what the breed should be in terms of physical conformation and temperament. It is a reliable tool that every judge, breeder, exhibitor and pet owner should learn and fully under stand if he decides to evaluate, buy, show or Breed St. Bernard Recognizing and understanding the breed standard will hip you become aware of what faults your dog has, and how you can successfully correct them if you’re interested in taking part in a sound breeding programme.

CLUB TERMINOLOGY

While The Kennel Club standard refers to the St. Bernard coats as Rough and Smooth, the American Kennel Club uses the tgerminology Long and Short.

The breed standard, a written description of the ideal St. Bernard is far from perfect, and everyone usually interprets it somewhat differently. However, it is still the only accepted means available for a judge to determine which St. Bernard deserves the ribbon in the show ring and which dog does not conform to the ideal of the breed.

The standard included in this chapter is the one recognized by the Kennel Club. If you compare the English breed standard to the American Kennel Club(AKC) breed standard, you will notice strong differences. These differences are also apparent when comparing the English-type St. Bernard with the American dog. Regardless of these differences, the breed as a whole is still the charming, powerful working dog that has been cherished worldwide for hundreds of years. You will notice that The Kennel Club standard does not indicate an actual size; the AKC, however, specifies that dogs should be a minimum of 27.5 inches and bitches a minimum of 25.5 inches. The American standard provides more lengthy description for each point in the standard, including such details as dogs with dark masks should never appear ill nature; the roof of the mouth should be black; eyes that are too light are objectionable; the belly should be distinctly set off from the powerful loin are; also, longhaired dogs should not have rolled or curly hair on the tail nor should the hair appear parted or as a flag tail. The AKC standard also enumerates faults including a swayback, a disproportionately long back, hocks bent too much, straight hindquarters, upward growing hair in spaces between the toes, legs that turn out at the elbows, cow hocks and weak patterns