We caution that a particular word found in the standard hints that grooming for this isn't a requirement, but a suggesti...
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“Pleading” the 5th
It's not a word we would associate with a working dog, and if ever there is a dog driven to work via scent or sight, it'...
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What Changes After 100 Years?
Reading breed standards written nearly 100 years apart is insightful because, in part, it reveals what is essential in a...
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The Staffie’s Genius Owner
There are a couple of reasons we write about once-famous people, and one of them is born of curiosity about what interes...
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The Penalty Box
Depending upon the breed's standard, the consequence of having a certain fault in a dog show conformation ring may resul...
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Never the Two Shall Meet
In parallel parking, the idea is to situate the car so that the long side of the parked car is lined up, or parallel, to...
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Don’t Do Dull
"Dullness" as used in this standard is particular interesting because "heaviness without dullness" might seem a contradi...
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“…To Unsnare Time’s Warp”
Honestly, the poem could describe most of our breeds, but the writer had a specific breed in mind, and as they say, "it ...
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Alphabet Lips
Nitpicky? Maybe, but if you were to switch "alphabet lips, you would lose breed type in a big way. These are the little,...
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By a Whisker!
In the dog fancy, which is to say the world of exhibiting and breeding dogs, there is less debate because many breed sta...
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The Man (and the Dog) Behind the Skull
As the lore goes, thirteen rock crystal skulls, said to possess mystical properties, were scattered across the globe, an...
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Skimming the Earth
As he tells the story, the Pyrenean Shepherd breed winner approached him for his individual examination, but first jum...
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The Affenpinscher “This Week”
Dachshunds, Basset Hounds, Bulldogs, and Weimaraners made appearances, and while those popular breeds probably didn't ne...
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George: A Champion of the Irish Terrier
A commitment to maintaining the distinctiveness of a breed can inspire passion, and in William Secord's book, Dog Painti...
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When a “Break” is Dramatic
From head to ear to topline and toe, "break" shows up in breed standards as a descriptive word, but there's one more use...
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You Don’t Tug on Superman’s Cape
The work to be had when encountering a "factoid" during research on a dog breed involves digging into other sources to s...
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Louis Louis, We Gotta Go
The reputation of these dogs as fast, wide ranging hunters grew, not just among sportsmen, but evidently with fanciers b...
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Wall? What Wall?
The breed's most outstanding trait is an otherworldly "cold nose" tracking ability. The breed's nose is so sharp, he can...
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When “Profuse” Isn’t about Coat
As we write (February, 2024), the AKC recognizes 201 dog breeds, and the word, "profuse" appears in the breed standards ...
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The Newfoundland: A Descriptive Ballad
Was the song, set in E-flat major and published in 1843, inspired by a Emily Dickinson's Newf, Carlo? ...
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