JUDGING THE MALTESE
by Jacqueline Stacy
Thank you TNT, Bonnie and the AMA for asking me to write this. It is always a pleasure and honor to be invited to write about dogs, particularly the Toy Dogs, where type is defined by many many details.
T he Maltese is clearly once of the most beautiful of the Toy Dogs and also one of the most difficult to breed and show. Judges have little to any input on breeding pro- grams other than by rewarding the dogs presented to them in the show ring. This actually can be a bad thing for breeds because we often must award winners to dogs we really know could and should be better, yet that’s what is there for us to sort. The win- ners may be good, but may be the best of a sad lot because there are no other options. When those become cham- pions, they may be bred together and produce much of the same and the cycle continues. So please be remind- ed, the biggest burden for judging the Maltese correctly lies with the breed- ers who are in charge of the direction of their breed. For we can only judge what you bring to us. When judging, it is rather easy to identify a really wonderful example of the breed, yet it is RARE to have one. The wonderful ones jump out because they will be a true toy dog clothed head to toe with a silky, white coat, and striking beautiful moderate head with round skull, round black eyes with black eye rims and a black nose. They will be fine boned, com- pact in body, ribs well sprung, level in back with its plumed tail carried over the back but with the tip lying to the side. (Not flat on the back). The correct Maltese may appear slightly longer than tall to many, be- cause the standard measures the body as equal from the withers to the ground as to withers to the root of tail. With proper moderate angulation front and rear, to my eye this appears longer than tall.
I am always hoping to see the Maltese presented to allow its lively and playful nature to come through in the ring. I realize it is difficult to keep the coat ly- ing perfectly while allowing the dog to act naturally, but when a Maltese does it on its own and then flows around the ring with little movement on the topline, high head carriage and nice reach and drive it is a sight to behold. The coat must be silky without any undercoat. It must be white, pure white. Even color on the ears is dis- couraged. It must be carried flat and silky over the sides of the body and should be long. The frosting on the cake is when you have all this and the dog has furnishings nearly to the floor and a coat that hangs beyond the floor. With all the “products” that are read- ily available and used today and the use of irons, seldom is the correct coat seen. This undoubtedly comes back to haunt, for there is little incentive to breed for the right coat. These are the details that make up type for the ideal Maltese. As judg- es our challenge is to sort through those that are NOT ideal. Based on my hands on experience with this breed as a breeder for Carol Frances Andersen’s Sand Island Kennels, as Professional Handler of Maltese and as a Toy Dog Judge since 1995; I have determined this list of priorities when judging the Maltese in this order: • Coat Texture and Color • Overall Balance • Topline, Tail • Head, Pigment • Movement • Temperament • Size
BIO Jacqueline Stacy’s involvement began over 50 years ago with a lifetime com- mitment to the sport of purebred dogs as an exhibitor and breeder. Her initial breed was Pomeranians. As a profes- sion handler, her accomplishments were affirmed by her peers when voted the top female professional handler in the USA in 1987. She is credited with the management of the successful breed- ing programs of several of her clients including the Skye Terriers and Mal- tese of Carol Frances Andersen’s, Sand Island Kennels. She purchased Ch. Keoli’s Small Kraft Warning from Jeff Sunde in Washington as Sand Island’s first Special. “Rickie” is well known as the winner of the Toy Group at the AKC Centennial in 1984 over 1000 dogs under the esteemed Melbourne Downey, Jr. She later purchased Ch. Melodylane Lite n’ Lively Luv from Mary and Freeman Purvis from Iowa who became a multiple BIS winner. Just prior to her retirement as a han- dler, they produced, Ch. Sand Island Small Kraft Lite who was piloted to Top Toy Dog in 1991 and Westminster Toy Group in 1992 by Vicki Abbott. Mrs. Stacy began her judging career in 1995. She has judged many National Special- ties, including the AMA and most of the Premier shows in the USA in addition to others in Canada, Europe, Asia, South America, Mexico, Australia, New Zea- land and most recently in Russia. She is approved to judge BIS, all Toy, Non- Sporting, Herding, Hound, Terrier and the key Sporting Dogs. She judged the Non-Sporting Group at Westminster in 2014. Along with her husband, Terry, she maintains a small but highly re- spected breeding program of Affenpin- schers under the Tamarin Prefix.
48 • T op N otch T oys , M ay 2019
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