“you do not want the silky terrier to look like a yorkshire terrier or an australian terrier. THE FEET ARE SMALL AND CATLIKE.”
was made to add the natural tail to the standard, but the membership of the Silky Terrier Club of America voted this down. health ConCerns There are some health problems in the breed, including luxation of the patella and legg-perthes, but for the most part Silky Terriers are very healthy. rIng proCedures Generally, when I judge the Silky Terrier, whether I have one dog or mul- tiple dogs in the ring, I ask the exhibitor to first move the dog or dogs around the ring so I can get my first impressions of the dogs and see how they gait. Then, I have the first dog set up on the table to be examined. Next, I have the dog move up and back on the diagonal and around the ring to the end. The dog’s gait should be free, light-footed, lively and straight-forward. The hindquarters should have strong propelling power. There should not be any crossing over in the front when the dog moves or a hackney gait, which means that the dog has a short upper arm. Also, the hocks should not bow in the rear (cow hocked) or be too close. Toeing in or out is to be faulted. The best time to check for ears is after the dog is gaited, and comes back to you. Some Silky Ter- riers will automatically give you ears, but on those that don’t, you might want to make a small noise of some kind. If there are other dogs in the ring, I repeat the procedure. Generally, in the Win- ners class or in Best of Breed where you have multiple dogs in the ring, I will have them do a triangle. taBle exam The Silky Terrier should be exam- ined on the table to determine if the dog has a correct bite (scissors), wheth- er the eyes are correct (small, dark
and almond-shaped with dark rims), whether the skull (flat, not too wide between the ears and slightly longer than the muzzle) and stop (shallow) are correct, the size and placement of the ears (small, V-shaped, set high and carried erect and should flair obliquely off the skull), and, of course, the nose is black. The Silky Terrier should have a piercingly keen expression. This is not possible without correct eyes. You should check the coat to make sure the texture is correct. The coat should not approach floor length. On matured specimens, the coat falls below and fol- lows the body outline. You should see daylight under the dog. The shoulders should be well laid back and have prop- er angulation at the upper arm. The forelegs must be set under the body, and they must be straight, not crooked or bowed. The neck should fit grace- fully into sloping shoulders, result- ing in an elegant blending of the two. The neck should be medium long. You do not want a neck that is too long or too short. The topline is level. Run your hand down the dog’s back during your exam- ination to make sure the topline feels correct and that nothing is being hid- den by the way the hair is combed over the back. At this point, you should also check for correct tail placement. The tail should be set high. If the dog has a natural tail, I place my hand at the spot where the tail normally ends to check that the placement is correct. The head is strong, wedge-shaped and moderately long. You will rarely see a Silky Terrier in the ring without a black nose. Occa- sionally, you will see a winter nose. You do not want a cloddy or a coarsely-built Silky Terrier. You do not want the Silky Terrier to look like a Yorkshire Terrier or an Aus- tralian Terrier. The feet are small and catlike. The feet point ahead with no
turning in or out. Thighs are well-mus- cled and strong, but not heavy. The sti- fles should be well angulated with low hocks, which are parallel when viewed from behind. aBout the author Diane Nachman attended her first dog show in Philadelphia, Pennsylva- nia, in December 1968 to watch her in-law’s six-month-old Silky Terrier being shown. In the spring of 1969, she bought her first show dog, a Silky Ter- rier, and has been breeding and show- ing dogs ever since. She is currently owned by her Silky Terriers, Tibetan Spaniels and Havanese. She has been a member of the Silky Terrier Club of America for forty-five years. She is also a member of the Silky Terrier Club of Central Florida, the Tibetan Spaniel Club of America, the Orange Blossom Tibetan Span- iel Club of Florida (where she is past President and currently a board mem- ber), the Havanese Club of America (where she is currently Vice President and past Show Events Chair), the Mid Florida Havanese Club (where she is currently Vice President and a past President), the Greater Ocala Dog Club and the Toy Dog Club of Central Florida (where she is currently Presi- dent and Show Chairman). Diane is a member of the Southeast- ern Professional Stewards Association and enjoys stewarding at a number of dog shows each year. She is AKC approved to judge Silky Ter- riers, Tibetan Spaniels, Havanese and Junior Showmanship. Diane is the mother of two grown chil- dren, Neal and Julie, and the grand- mother of three boys. She retired after twenty-five years as an Administra- tive Assistant for a non-profit organi- zation, and is currently a Realtor in Ocala, Florida.
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