“Temperament is fantastic. RARELY DO YOU SEE A SHY CRESTED. SOME MAY NOT LIKE THE SHOW RING AND NOT ALWAYS GET THEIR TAIL UP, BUT ALL LOVE PEOPLE!”
I have my own ideas why the tail sec- tion was rewritten when the breed came into the AKC, but I think you can figure it out! You find most bad tails on Powder- puffs, but the occasional Hairless will appear in the ring with a curly or corkscrew tail. It doesn’t help that many pro handlers and some owner handlers, prop or push the tail over on the dog’s back. As a judge, I think, “Hey, thanks! I might have missed that bad tail, if you hadn’t pointed it out to me!” When judging Cresteds, a bad tail is something that should be evaluated like any other fault. Judging the over- all dog, you may find yourself giving that dog points, a major or even the breed, if it is outstanding in other ways. But I find it extremely hard to believe that there wasn’t something better in the Toy Group to give first to—and Best in Show, please! Okay, now to coat. I think most judges realize that there are true Hairless, with sparse furnishings on head, feet and tail, little to no body hair and skin smooth and soft! The so-called hairy Hairless, tend to have body hair to some degree, which is removed for the show ring. The skin on these dogs may not be quite as smooth. But both are perfectly acceptable! Some judges like to run their hands backward over the dogs back (toward the head) checking for stubble. Believe me, all you are catch- ing are the bad groomers! Under “Coat”, concerning the Pow- derpuff, the standard states “The PP variety is completely covered with a double soft and silky coat. Grooming is minimal—consisting of present- ing a clean and neat appearance.”
Concerning both varieties, HL and PP, the standard states, “Hair on the ears and face may be trimmed for neatness in both varieties.” So every time I see a beautiful Powderpuffwith a gosh awful “V” shaved to the skin on its neck, it drives me crazy. No- where in the standard is this allowed or condoned! It is so prevalent, that you rarely see a PP that hasn’t been subjected to this! I even had a newer handler say to me, “But the judges won’t put you up if you don’t do it!” Sorry to break it to you guys, but the judges I have talked to in person about this, hate it as much as I do! Youmay win, but it’s becausemost judges realize it is not a conformation fault, but the groomer/handler’s fault. THE GOOD Movement has improved tremendous- ly since the breed entered the AKC ring. You rarely see a Crested with hackney movement. Not all have great reach and drive, but most trot efficient- ly. Down and back movement is pretty good with the occasional cow-hocked dog. Powderpuffs tend to look closer in the rear as they go away, but this is almost certainly because of the heavy hock coat, in most cases, more profuse than the socks on the Hairless. Top lines are overall good and level. The Hairless can’t hide anything, but artful brushing on the Powderpuff top line can hide dips and rises that shouldn’t be there. The Chinese Crested is rectangu- lar, not square and not off-square! The wording in our standard is mis- leading. It states, “Body length from withers to base of tail is slightly lon- ger than the height at the withers.” Some judges seem to glance at this
and think, ‘Slightly longer than tall.’ No! The measurement is from the withers, not from the front of the dog! You’re talking inches here from the chest to the withers, and this means rectangular, which is also the first word in the standard after “Propor- tions”: rectangular! There aren’t as many square Cresteds as there used to be and I have never seen one I thought was too long. I love that the Crested standard says, “Any color or combination of colors.” Some are definitely flashier than others, but we shouldn’t be swayed by that. Even the Hairless can come in various skin shades and they get darker in the summer sun. Many Powderpuffs change color over their life span. Temperament is fantastic. Rarely do you see a shy Crested. Some may not like the show ring and not always get their tail up, but all love people! THE UGLY I’m sure other Crested people can attest to this. How many times have you tried to explain to someone what a Crested is and you end up saying, “You know, the hairless dog that al- ways wins the Ugly Dog contest?” And the person always goes, “Oh yeah!” They know exactly what you mean! Then youhasten to explain that the breed really isn’t ugly! Will this ever end? ABOUT THE AUTHOR I currently judge four Groups with breeds in the other three groups, plus Rally and Lure Coursing. I am a breed- er-judge of Chinese Cresteds, Whip- pets and Afghan Hounds.
T op N otch T oys , S eptember 2019 • 57
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