The Conformation Conversation

Let's Normalize Advocating for our Dogs

Anyone who advocates for the well being of their dog deserves respect and grace and should never had to face pressure or judgement. 

 

 

Reading of the AKC Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Breed Standard

Official Standard of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
General Appearance: The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is an active, graceful, well-balanced toy spaniel, very gay and free in action; fearless and sporting in character, yet at the same time gentle and affectionate. It is this typical gay temperament, combined with true elegance and royal appearance which are of paramount importance in the breed. Natural appearance with no trimming, sculpting or artificial alteration is essential to breed type.
Size, Proportion, Substance: Size- Height 12 to 13 inches at the withers; weight proportionate to height, between 13 and 18 pounds. A small, well balanced dog within these weights is desirable, but these are ideal heights and weights and slight variations are permissible.
Proportion- The body approaches squareness, yet if measured from point of shoulder to point of buttock, is slightly longer than the height at the withers. The height from the withers to the elbow is approximately equal to the height from the elbow to the ground. Substance- Bone moderate in proportion to size. Weedy and coarse specimens are to be equally penalized.
Head: Proportionate to size of dog, appearing neither too large nor too small for the body.
Expression- The sweet, gentle, melting expression is an important breed characteristic. Eyes-
Large, round, but not prominent and set well apart; color a warm, very dark brown; giving a lustrous, limpid look. Rims dark. There should be cushioning under the eyes which contributes to the soft expression. Faults- small, almond-shaped, prominent, or light eyes; white surrounding ring. Ears- Set high, but not close, on top of head. Leather long with plenty of feathering and wide enough so that when the dog is alert, the ears fan slightly forward to frame the face. Skull-
Slightly rounded, but without dome or peak; it should appear flat because of the high placement of the ears. Stop is moderate, neither filled nor deep. Muzzle- Full muzzle slightly tapered. Length from base of stop to tip of nose about 1½ inches. Face well filled below eyes. Any tendency towards snipiness undesirable. Nose pigment uniformly black without flesh marks and nostrils well developed. Lips well developed but not pendulous giving a clean finish. Faults- Sharp or pointed muzzles. Bite- A perfect, regular and complete scissors bite is preferred, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square into the jaws. Faults- undershot bite, weak or crooked teeth, crooked jaws.
Neck, Topline, Body: Neck- Fairly long, without throatiness, well enough muscled to form a slight arch at the crest. Set smoothly into nicely sloping shoulders to give an elegant look.
Topline- Level both when moving and standing. Body- Short-coupled with ribs well sprung but not barrelled. Chest moderately deep, extending to elbows allowing ample heart room. Slightly
less body at the flank than at the last rib, but with no tucked-up appearance. Tail- Well set on, carried happily but never much above the level of the back, and in constant characteristic motion when the dog is in action. Docking is optional. If docked, no more than one third is to be removed.
Forequarters: Shoulders well laid back. Forelegs straight and well under the dog with elbows close to the sides. Pasterns strong and feet compact with well-cushioned pads. Dewclaws may be removed.
Hindquarters: The hindquarters construction should come down from a good broad pelvis, moderately muscled; stifles well turned and hocks well let down. The hindlegs when viewed from the rear should parallel each other from hock to heel. Faults- Cow or sickle hocks.
Coat: Of moderate length, silky, free from curl. Slight wave permissible. Feathering on ears, chest, legs and tails should be long, and the feathering on the feet is a feature of the breed.  No trimming of the dog is permitted. Specimens where the coat has been altered by trimming, clipping, or by artificial means shall be so severely penalized as to be effectively eliminated from competition. Hair growing between the pads on the underside of the feet may be trimmed.
Color: There shall be four allowed colors for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Blenheim- Rich chestnut markings well broken up on a clear, pearly white ground. The ears must be chestnut and the color evenly spaced on the head and surrounding both eyes, with a white blaze between the eyes and ears, in the center of which may be the lozenge or “Blenheim spot.” The lozenge is a unique and desirable, though not essential, characteristic of the Blenheim. Tricolor- Jet black
markings well broken up on a clear, pearly white ground. The ears must be black and the color evenly spaced on the head and surrounding both eyes, with a white blaze between the eyes. Rich tan markings over the eyes, on cheeks, inside ears and on the underside of tail. Ruby- Whole- colored rich red. Black and Tan- Jet black with rich, bright tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs, and on underside of the tail. Faults- Heavy ticking on Blenheims or Tricolors, white marks on Rubies or Black and Tans. Dogs not of an allowed color shall be
disqualified.
Gait: Free moving and elegant in action, with good reach in front and sound, driving rear action. When viewed from the side, the movement exhibits a good length of stride, and viewed from front and rear it is straight and true, resulting from straight-boned fronts and properly made and muscled hindquarters.
Temperament: Gay, friendly, non-aggressive with no tendency towards nervousness or shyness.

Bad temper, shyness, and meanness are not to be tolerated and are to be severely penalized as to effectively remove the specimen from competition.

Disqualifications:
Dogs not of an allowed color.

Approved January 10, 2023
Effective March 29, 2023

Whelping a Litter

Vicki discusses ways to help prepare you for whelping a litter of puppies.

Why Don't I Win More?

Vicki discusses reasons why a person may experience periods of not winning in the show ring.

Other Sports During a Break with Conformation

Vicki discusses how dabbling in other sports can benefit a show dog during breaks in showing or along with being active in the show ring.

Focusing on YOUR performance in the ring

Vicki talks about ways to improve your performance by adjusting your own body language and behavior in the ring.

Breeding to Show or Showing to Breed Roundtable Discussion

SDPS Founder and Lead Instructor, Vicki Ronchette and several other breeders discuss their thoughts and reasons for breeding. 

 

www.showdogprepschool.com

Conversational not Confrontational

In this episode of the podcast, SDPS Founder and Lead Instructor talks to Rebecca Lanier, LMFT about ways to approach difficult conversations. Learn about proven techniques used in marriage and family therapy to help communicate in a healthier way. 

Redefining Winning - A Discussion with Mindset Coach Rebecca Lanier

In this discussion, Show Dog Prep School Founder and Lead Instructor, Vicki Ronchette talks with Mindset Coach, Rebecca Lanier, LMFT about how redefining winning in order to help people cope with performance anxiety and ring stress. 

Reading of the AKC Official French Bulldog Standard

Official Standard of the French Bulldog
General Appearance: The French Bulldog has the appearance of an active, intelligent, muscular dog of heavy bone, smooth coat, compactly built, and of medium or small structure. The hallmarks of the breed are the square head with bat ears and the roach back. Expression alert, curious, and interested. Proportion and Symmetry - All points are well distributed and bear good relation one to the other; no feature being in such prominence from either excess or lack of quality that the animal appears poorly proportioned. Influence of Sex - In comparing specimens of different sex, due allowance is to be made in favor of bitches, which do not bear the characteristics of the breed to the same marked degree as do the dogs.
Size, Proportion, Substance: Weight not to exceed 28 pounds; over 28 pounds is a disqualification. Proportion - Distance from withers to ground in good relation to distance from withers to onset of tail, so that animal appears compact, well balanced and in good proportion. Substance - Muscular, heavy bone.
Head: Head large and square. Eyes dark, brown or approaching black in color, wide apart, set low down in the skull, as far from the ears as possible, round in form, of moderate size, neither sunken nor bulging. Lighter brown colored eyes are acceptable, but not desirable. Blue or green eye(s) or any traces of blue or green are a disqualification. No haw and no white of the eye showing when looking forward. Ears - Known as the bat ear, broad at the base, elongated, with round top, set high on the head but not too close together, and carried erect with the orifice to the front. The leather of the ear fine and soft. Other than bat ears is a disqualification. The top of the skull flat between the ears; the forehead is not flat but slightly rounded. The muzzle broad, deep and well laid back; the muscles of the cheeks well developed. The stop well defined, causing a hollow groove between the eyes with heavy wrinkles forming a soft roll over the extremely short nose; nostrils broad with a well-defined line between them. Nose black. Nose other than black is a disqualification, except in the case of creams or fawns without black masks, where a lighter colored nose is acceptable but not desirable. Flews black, thick and broad, hanging over the lower jaw at the sides, meeting the underlip in front and covering the teeth and tongue, which are not seen when the mouth is closed. The underjaw is deep, square, broad, undershot and well turned up. Wry mouths and any bites other than undershot are serious faults.
Neck, Topline, Body: The neck is thick and well arched with loose skin at the throat. The back is a roach back with a slight fall close behind the shoulders, gradually rising to the loin which is higher than the shoulder, and rounding at the croup. The back is strong and short, broader at the shoulders, and tapering to the rear. The body is short and well rounded. The chest is broad, deep, and full; well ribbed with the belly tucked up. The tail is either straight or screwed (but not curly), short, hung low, thick root and fine tip; carried low in repose.
Forequarters: Forelegs are short, stout, straight, muscular and set wide apart. Dewclaws may be removed. Feet are moderate in size, compact and firmly set. Toes compact, well split up, with high knuckles and short stubby nails.
Hindquarters: Hind legs are strong and muscular, longer than the forelegs, so as to elevate the loins above the shoulders. Hocks well let down. Feet are moderate in size, compact and firmly set. Toes compact, well split up, with high knuckles and short stubby nails; hind feet slightly longer than forefeet.
Coat: Coat is brilliant, short and smooth. Skin is soft and loose, especially at the head and shoulders, forming wrinkles. Coats other than short and smooth are a disqualification.
Color: Acceptable colors: white, cream, fawn (ranging from light fawn to a red fawn), or any combinations of the foregoing. Markings and patterns are: brindle, piebald, black masks, black

shadings, and white markings. Ticking is acceptable but not desired. Brindle ranges from sparse but clearly defined black stripes on a fawn background to such heavy concentration of black striping that the essential fawn background color barely shows through (“black brindle”). Only a trace of the background color is necessary; in a brindle piebald, a trace of the brindle patterning in any patch is sufficient. All other colors, markings or patterns are a disqualification. Disqualifying colors and patterns include, but are not limited to, solid black, black and tan, black and white, white with black, blue, blue fawn, liver, and merle. Black means black without a trace of brindle.

Gait: Correct gait is a “four tracking” foot pattern with the front track wider than the rear track. The movement should have reach and drive and is unrestrained, free and vigorous. Temperament: Well behaved, adaptable, and comfortable companions with an affectionate nature and even disposition; generally active, alert, and playful, but not unduly boisterous. Disqualifications:

• Over 28 pounds in weight.

• Blue or green eye(s) or any traces of blue or green.

• Other than bat ears.

• Nose other than black, except in the case of cream or fawn colored dogs without black

  masks, where a lighter colored nose is acceptable.

• Coats other than short and smooth.

• All coat colors other than those specifically described (e.g.,Solid black, black and tan,

  black and white, white and black, blue, blue fawn, liver, and merle). Black means black without a trace of brindle. All other patterns and markings other than specifically described.

  Approved April 10, 2018 Effective June 5, 2018