JUST A SLIGHT THOUGHT... by Alice Lawrence, The Fuzzy Farm
R egardless of whether it is due to my being old or because I have been showing dogs for nearly 50 years, judges often stop me to ask questions or share an observation about judging Havanese. I appreci- ate all their questions and comments. The same issues about the breed come up over and over. Their ques- tions are your questions. Let me try to address today’s common concerns and perceptions about Havanese in the show ring. Often what I hear is, “This is a hard breed to judge.” While I don’t dis- agree, it saddens me because it is real- ly a reflection of the disparate types of Havanese that are exhibited and the various presentation styles observed in different areas of the country. Re- gardless of what walks into the ring,
presentation aside, Havanese must conform to the Standard. So let’s talk about the Standard and some of the common misunderstandings about it. More and more, I notice that judges are falling into quicksand by tak- ing the easy route and rewarding extremes in the ring. It can be very seductive, regardless of the breed, to applaud extreme qualities rather than taking the time to understand what the breed Standard is actually requir- ing. In the case of judging Havanese, our Standard uses the adjective SLIGHTLY thirteen times! Slightly is the most used adjective in the Stan- dard and we meant it when we wrote the Standard. For example (my pet peeve), regard- ing top lines, we state, “The straight top line rises SLIGHTLY from
withers to the croup.” Seems simple to me, but apparently the toplines be- ing sought by judges and rewarded are toplines that rise too much like dou- ble black diamond ski slopes. Oh dear. That causes the whole front assembly to be incorrect and the movement to be wrong. Look for a SLIGHT rise. Hold a ruler in your hands. One end on your right palm and one on your left. Hold your hands level. Then take one hand and lift it a FRACTION off level, just a SLIGHT bit. While you are doing that, notice that the ruler is straight, not bent in any way. That’s a Havanese top line, straight with a SLIGHT rise. We are a society that idolizes and rewards extremes: the thinnest, the tallest, the richest, the prettiest, etc. Well, for Havanese, we want you to
“WELL, FOR HAVANESE, WE WANT YOU TO
look for, find and reward SLIGHTLY.”
T op N otch T oys , J uly 2018 • 65
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