JUDGING THE BRUSSELS GRIFFON by BRADLEY JENKINS
B russels Griffons are one of my favorite breeds and I have lived with them in the past. They are wonderful and love their people. STRUCTURE & HEAD First thing you look at is the profile. They should be a square breed with lots of bone and a large head. From the side you should see a round forehead, the nose is large, dark and pushed back into the face and the underjaw protrudes like a pout. When looking straight on to the head, you should see a round head, large, dark round eyes. A turned up underjaw, with no teeth or tongue showing. A hanging tongue and over shot bite are a disquali- fication. You should see and almost human-like expression, which is rather unique to this breed. Dudley nose is another DQ. I almost forgot, they have big round feet too.
“YOU SHOULD SEE AND ALMOST HUMAN-LIKE EXPRESSION, WHICH IS RATHER UNIQUE TO THIS BREED.”
COAT & COLORS The coat is smooth or rough. For some reason it is harder to find as good a head on a smooth-coated speci- men than on a rough-coated one. I am assuming the beard on the rough has the advantage. You must put you fingers in the nose area to see if it is hair or the real thing and to see if the under jaw is what it is suppose to be. Several years ago there was an outstanding smooth male being shown. Recently, there has been an outstanding Smooth bitch and an owner-handled bitch being exhib- ited to resounding success. So, if you see a good smooth, please reward it. The rough coat is stripped like Terriers. It has an under coat and should have a hard texture. Some have
great profuse feathering on their legs, but don’t be fooled. A sparely coated, almost hard texture on the legs will have a better coat. The sleek firm coat of the smooth can also be profuse, espe- cially in the males. Colors in both coats are red, black, black and tan and beige. They are a fun breed to judge. Enjoy the great Brussels Griffon! ABOUT THE AUTHOR My name is Bradley Jenkins. I have been showing and breeding dog since 1975 and have been judging since 1998. I judge the Toy, Non-Sporting, a majority of the Sporting group, six Hounds and eight Terriers. I retired from 35 years as a Nurse in May 2016. Retirement is the best thing
invented! I share my life with Man- chester Terriers, a couple Chihua- huas, two Yorkies and two Mastiffs. My wonderful husband of 43 years is my saint!
T op N otch T oys , M arch 2017 • 65
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