Judging the AFFENPINSCHER by Pam Peat
“ T his is a small, sturdy, harsh coated, shaggy looking little dog who is comical, inquisitive and alert.” Taken from the Affenpin- scher Club of America Illustrated Stan- dard introduction, this describes what you need to see as they enter the ring. We do not want heavy, coarse or big dogs; they are square and up on leg, not long in body or low on leg which are “drags on the breed”. Shape, propor- tions and angles are different from oth- er Toy dogs. They have a “short verti- cal neck and moderate angulation front and rear”. This creates movement that is jaunty and light without excessive reach and drive. They need to be able to pounce, jump and twist to capture a rodent—not chase it down. When in the ring they should not be raced, but moved at a speed to show off agility and lightness. They are very determined and alert, but also comical. They will walk and dance on their hind legs to attract attention. They may remind you of Charlie Chaplin as the “little tramp”, comic in appearance but serious in pur- pose. Their gait should be sound on all four legs with no hackney or crossing over even as they tend to converge at increasing speed. Tail carriage must be UP when moving displaying their confident attitude. It may drop when standing but down when moving is VERY incorrect. Our standard specifies the “overall appearance… is more important than any individual characteristic”. Today we see confident, sturdy little dogs moving with a sound gate, but they still show an impish playful attitude. We must keep this in mind because only if the attitude and general demeanor is present will you have an Affenpinscher. Having seen a square, sturdy little dog moving you must now put your hands on him to examine the head, body and coat. Put your fingers into the coat and feel the head shape, round
but not domed. The muzzle is horizon- tal and square with a definite but not indented stop. The length of the muz- zle is equal to the distance between the inside corner of the eyes forming an equilateral triangle with the round dark lustrous eyes. A definite breed characteristic is the prominent broad lower lip forming a pouty expression. This is created by the lower jaw being long, broad and level. There is no lay- back of nose or upsweep of jaw on an Affen. Feel for it! The bite is therefore reverse scissor, undershot or even lev- el if the correct monkey-like expres- sion is preserved. The eyes and pouty lower lip and hair standing away from the face create the impish, intelligent, comical and determined expression of the Affenpinscher. The Affenpinscher standard allows much variation in coat colors, tails, ear shape and carriage. This variety is what contributes to the uniqueness of this breed. Prior to the 1990s it was rare to see natural tail or ears. Now almost all are shown “au naturel”. Our stan- dard is and always was, very specific in allowing tails to be docked or left natural with no bias. Ears are to be sym- metrical and all types are acceptable; cropped, erect, semi-prick or drop. To put it another way—we don’t care about it and neither should you. Shape, coat, head, expression, attitude—look at and judge the whole dog! This is a breed that needs very little work if the coat is correct as stated in our standard. “Harsh and shaggy but neat”, however, can be interpreted by many people in different ways. It is important to remember that Affens have two dis- tinct types of coat. The body (jacket) is harsh and lays flat. The head is softer and stands off to frame the face. On mature dogs you may find hair that is longer from the occiput along the neck to the withers and over the shoulders. This forms a “cape” not to be confused with a “mane” or “ruff”. This does not
mean breeding for profuse softer coat that can be ratted, sprayed, sculpted and teased to create an artificial outline. This causes the presentation to become more important than the overall breed characteristics. A compromise between the English “au naturel” look and the “Terrier type” presentation currently seen should be our goal as breeders and judges. The judges’ challenge is to find the correct dog as opposed to one artificially created. This can only be accomplished by putting your hands on the dog and into the coat and feel for structure, breed specific characteristics and coat texture. The biggest challenge in judging a new breed may be setting priorities. No dog is perfect and all have faults of vary- ing degrees. Each breed and breeder has certain attributes that are essential. Please remember, if we fault judge we will end up with a generic show dog. If you find a dog with faults but also specific breed type and characteristics which are essential to the breed, please reward that exhibit over one with no (or fewer) faults but nothing extraordi- nary towards breed type. The Affenpinscher Club of America Illustrated Standard is an invaluable tool in stating 8 things which are “Priorities of Type”. These are not in any specific order of importance. 1. Monkey-like expression 2. Preferred height 9 ½ " - 11 ½ " 3. Square appearance, bitches may be slightly longer 4. Hind legs set under body 5. Substance must be sturdy 6. Temperament is comical, inquisitive 7. Gait is sound, tracking 4 square converging with speed 8. Coat is harsh, neat but shaggy. Using this 8 step guide, judging the whole dog and not just parts and stay- ing positive you should do justice to our delightful breed. Remember—Affens of quality should make you smile or laugh in the ring.
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