THE CHINESE CRESTED
THE BAD, THE GOOD & THE UGLY!
by Shelley Hennessy
puppies that trotted aroundwith their tails straight out. Pekes, Poms and Havanese carry their tails over their backs—not Cresteds! 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!
THE BAD I often ask other judges, “Would you give 1st in the Hound Group to a Whippet with its tail laying on its back?Would you give 1st in theNon- Sporting Group to a Dalmatian with its tail laying on its back? Or would you give 1st in the Herding Group to a German Shepherd with its tail lay- ing its back?” Then why, why, why are Chinese Cresteds with their tails lay- ing on their backs not only winning Groups, but also Best in Shows? The Chinese Crested standard, un- der tail, states, “When dog is in mo- tion, the tail is carried gaily and may be carried slightly forward over the back.” The dictionary states ‘gaily’ re- fers to, “In a joyous or happy manner.” The standard does not say ‘gay’ tail, which is a completely different thing! And while it says the tail may be car- ried slightly over the back, it does not have to be! And back to the dictionary, slightly means, “to a small degree.” All Crested standards prior to full AKC recognition, stated, “Tail car- ried up or out” or words to that ef- fect. A Crested with its tail carried straight out was perfectly fine and it is interesting to see that some of our older judges seem to remember this! On the other hand, I remember a show years ago, not too long after the breed came into the Toy group, when a judge withheld first place in a puppy class with three beautiful
“WHEN DOG IS IN MOTION, THE TAIL IS CARRIED GAILY AND MAY BE CARRIED SLIGHTLY FORWARD OVER THE BACK.”
52 • T op N otch T oys , F ebruary 2020
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