NARROW UPSIDE DOWN “V” RESTRICTED MOVEMENT STEEP SHOULDER STEEP ANGULATION
WIDE UPSIDE DOWN “V” FULL RANGE OF MOTION LAID BACK SHOULDER
“TRAD” TREMENDOUS REACH AND DRIVE IMPROPER GAIT OFTEN FOOLS JUDGES
UNBALANCED UPSIDE DOWN “V” WEAK REAR DRIVE
90°
90°
REAR KICK
FRONT LIFT
UNBALANCED REACH DRIVE
BALANCED
BALANCED
breeding stock. They also pointed out to us that we needed something better than what we saw in the Po- meranian show ring; that structure and movement would set our dogs apart. As non-professionals, we needed a competitive advantage that would be rewarded under certain judges. Having the “same” type of Pomeranian would require us to hire a handler, winning with judges that would do for them. These mentors evaluated our show Pomeranians for us. Having these evaluations was extremely insightful as to how the judges were judging. The reason I say “irresponsible judging” is because we could see in the show ring judges awarding top awards to Pom- eranians that, on the down and back, would do the “one, two, three, hop” and, on the side gait, cross-canter, with some shaking out their patella. The movement was unbalanced, re- stricted, side winding and, from the rear, some of these Pomeranians rolled from side to side as the dog was swinging its rear legs from the hip rather than moving off its hocks. Frankly, it hurts my eyes to watch these dogs struggle around the ring as they trot towards you, “winging” one front leg or crossing over in the front. Over the past 15 years, every dog show where my husband and I showed, we have had spectators, Pomeranian pet owners, approach us with their pa- tella horror stories; costly and pain- ful for both the owners and their dogs.
I recently got a phone call from a lady looking to buy a pet Pomeranian puppy. In talking with her, she told me that she had purchased her last three Pomeranians from AKC Breeders of Merit. All three of her Pomeranians required patella surgeries at about the age of five years old. She went on to say that people ask herwhy shewould con- tinue to have Pomeranians, and she said it’s because they were the cutest, sweetest little dogs ever.Well, our cut- est, sweetest little dogs deserve better than to continue to breed this painful condition. Truthfully, we should di- rect these pet owners to write to the AKC so that AKC is made aware of what the public is experiencing, that it is a big problem in the Pomeranian breed, and that it is rooted in AKC’s judging [of the breed]. So, how can we get our breed to a rea- sonable number of affected dogs? The majority of the Toy breeds are 7/100 or less for affected dogs. One way is to look to other breeds and how they have made corrections to their breed. At a dog show, I was talking with a breeder from another breed who told me in her breed they had a problem with bad temperament. They were producing dogs that were biting kids and their owners, and their breed was getting a reputation as a nasty breed of dog. Their breed club went to the judges and said they needed to turn this problem around in their breed. They were able to enlist the judges to the fact that—no matter how
beautiful, no matter who is handling the dog, nomatter who owns the dog— if a dog grumbles on the table, the dog is not to be put up. Change is possible and it starts in the show ring with responsible judging and responsible judges’ education. It has to come from the breed club. The judge that swipes over and pats the Pomeranian on the table is not looking at shoulder struc- ture in their evaluation of that dog. Shoulder and structure is “black and white” and is not subjective. So, where do we start? I think one of the first steps we can take is to inform our judges that—no matter how beau- tiful, no matter who is handling the dog, no matter who owns the dog—if a Pomeranian does not have a cor- rect shoulder, that dog should not be awarded in the Toy Group ring and no Best of Breed win (if there is a candidate with better structure). In so doing, Pomeranian breeders will come to understand that you need to breed a dog with correct structure if you are going to special a Pomeranian for top honors. When the profession- al handlers say to the Pomeranian breeders that the judges are just not going award a dog in the Toy Group that doesn’t have a correct shoulder, then we will see improvement in our breeding programs. Always breed for good patellas, but remember that you can reduce the ef- fect of wear and tear on the patellas by breeding a dog with sound shoulders. Pomeranians with good patellas as
28 • T op N otch T oys , J anuary 2021
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