JUDGING THE PAPILLON by ARLENE CZECH
T his breed is one of those that can fool the judge into thinking they are perfect. They are perfectly clever since they have the ability to win a judge over by their cuteness. Cute is not a criteria of judging. So how does one go about judging correctly? I will try to lead you step by step through the process. When the dogs enter the ring, you should have them go around the ring once so that you can get a quick assess- ment of what is there. This movement allows Toy dogs to loosen up from the crate they have been in until judging time. It gets the kinks out of the mus- cles. Have the lead dog placed on the table and step back to get a good pro- file image of the dog. Then approach the dog as you would to any large dog. The Toy dog becomes very suspicious of judges who creep up on them. Now you have the first look at the defining characteristic of the Papillon. The head with its butterfly ears is the reason the dog has the name Papillon. Papillon is French for “butterfly” and to make the proper image of a butterfly, the ears are set on a 45-degree angle. First, ask the handler to show the bite. The teeth should have a scissor bite. Do not try to pry the mouth open. This being done
“THEY ARE PERFECTLY CLEVER SINCE THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO WIN A JUDGE OVER BY THEIR CUTENESS.”
first allows the handler to reset the dog for the rest of the table exam. Now place your hands under the front of the muzzle and feel your way up to the top of the head. Lately there have been ears that go straight out from the sides of the head. The ear leather should be firm and the tips are rounded with or with- out fringing. Blacks and tricolors usu- ally have abundant fringes whereas the reds do not. Occasionally the reds are blessed with fringing. However, I found that my reds fringed out after age five when we are through showing them, of course. I have always said that fring- ing is the icing on the cake and if it is scarce, do not fault them. There is also a variety of ear type called the Phalene ( phalene is French for moth). Phalene means folded and the ear is folded to the head and dropped down much like the Spaniel of long ago. The eyes are a nice brown and round, but not like a Chihuahua. The muzzle should be one third of the head
and have a decent stop. All this can be observed in the first hands on the pup’s head. The nose must be black and if it is not then it must be severely penalized. Now, there is more to the dog than just the head. The judge must look beyond the head to the body, legs, etc. The body and legs must be equally sound and correctly proportioned. The standard says, “The proportion should be slightly longer than tall.” However, there are no measurements or direc- tions as to where to measure to or from. It is not a short legged or a cobby dog. There is however a disqualification on height. If measured at the withers over 12 inches is a DQ, but if the dog measures over 11 inches, it is a fault. This is one of the two disqualifications that the breed has. Now place your hands close to the neck and you can feel if the dog has neck. The head does not sit on the shoulders. He should hold his head regally. Once the head has been exam- ined the judge needs to see that there is still more to the dog. The body and legs must be equally sound and cor- rectly proportioned. Next, step to the side of the dog and use your hands to check the topline. This should be per- fectly level. And be sure to lift the tail off the topline so as to really see it. Check the body for soundness such as rib cage, etc. Then we approach the rear structure where we find the tail. The tail is not low set, instead it should be set high and held up in a large arch over the back. Our description is “like a teacup handle”. It should never lie flat on the back nor stand straight up like a flag. That is exactly what we call it, a flag tail. Some puppies get too excited
“THEY ARE LOVABLE, ADORING COMPANIONS AND WILL DO ANYTHING FOR THEIR OWNERS AND HANDLERS.”
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