It’s undeniable that a great dog with a great coat is a tough act to beat in a dog show conformation ring. That said, more often than not, judges are faced with tougher choices than selecting a winner between an obviously great dog and one who is, um, not so much. Sometimes, the choice is between mediocre dogs in fabulous coat, sound dogs with mediocre coats, and everything in between. Ideally, judges are equipped with well written breed standards that help guide them in their evaluations. The Komondor‘s AKC standard is such a guide. “Failure of the coat to cord by two years of age is a disqualification. Short, smooth coat on both head and legs is a disqualification,” and that’s straight from the standard.

Vintage illustration of a Komondor from a 70’s German book by Ginny/plaindealing
This print is available here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/plaindealing