|
Question:
Head and Skull How wide do
you think the skull of a Papillon should be? The current UK Standard, for
instance, is not specific although a previous version stated ‘Head and
Skull - Small and characteristically proportionate to the body" Muzzles
should be fine, how does the equate with some of the broader more wedge
like muzzles seen??
Answer: When
considering the Papillon is a “toy size dog” we must consider the overall
size of the dog when observing the skull. If a dog is heavy in bone than
the dogs head is probably also heavy in skull with a wide width of skull
and a coarse muzzle to match.
A correct head should be
in alignment with the Papillon general description.
“Dainty
well balanced little dog. An alert bearing and intelligent expression”
A Dainty dog should have a proportioned
“dainty head” The top skull from the eyes to the ears when viewed from
the side should be neither flat nor completely round in appearance. A
gradual curve between the ears when viewed from the front is correct. A
stop should be distinct enough feel when examining the head. A sloping
stop down to the nose should be a fault. A difference of the length of
muzzle and length of skull should be easily visible without measuring.
Question:
Eyes Shape and size of
eyes differs in three of the four standards (the Australian and UK
standards being similarly worded) Is this helpful??? The colour in all
standards is given as dark, often one sees red and whites and paler
colours being accepted with eyes lighter than would be allowed on a black
and white or tri colour. Why is this and is it wrong????
Answer: I
would prefer to see additional description of the Papillon eye shape.
Rounded in the shape of an almond is a better description. Eye shape
faults; bulging eyes or too small of eyes that are lacking proportion from
the overall head size.
Light colored eye’s that
is not a deep dark black/brown is a fault for any coat color variety.
Question:Ears
How important do you feel that the shape,
size and set of ears are. Apart from the Australian Standard the remaining
standards all give a set of 45 degrees, given the importance of ears to
the bred why do we see stock winning with either low or high set ears. How
do you feel this affects the overall appearance and expression. Do you
think any of the standards, with the possible exception of the FCI, given
sufficient detail for ear set and carriage for the Phalene??? Should these
be altered and if so what should they say???
Answer: Most Papillon standards do not give equal billing when
describing the traits of the two ear varieties. The difference in the
dropped ear & set of the Phalčne and the erect eared Papillon also needs
to be described in more detail. In many cases a breeder will opt for a
Papillon ear set that is too high rather than a Papillon ear set low on
the sides of the head. However there is no fault for a low ear set. When
describing the ear of both types, there needs to be more description given
as well as faulting too high and too low of ear sets. Consideration
should be given in the overall feel and look of the ear leather on the
Papillon and Phalčne. As well as description of faults for weak ears or
ears that are half erect.
Standardization of the ear fringe also needs to be addressed.
“AKC Ears - well fringed, with the inside
covered with silken hair of medium length.”
“Australian -heavily fringed”
“UK - heavily fringed”
What exactly is
heavily fringed ? Are large round ears with fringes coming from the back
of the ear correct ? Are fringes starting at the top edge of the ear
correct? Should there be allowable differances for fringes on Red &
White, Sable & White, Black White & Tan and Black & White? Some breeders
will excuse lack of profuse fringe on Red colored Papillons.
Question:
Mouth.
Given the difficulty of maintaining teeth on toy dogs, particularly the
smaller ones, how important is a full set of dentition.
Answer:
All Standards require a scissor bite. As long as the canines scissor
a full dentition should not be a requirement.
Question:
Neck How do you define a
'medium' neck as called for in the US, UK and Australian Standards or as
in the case of the FCI Standard a neck of moderate length.
Answer:
Medium and Moderate are exchangeable terms. A neck of a Papillon
should not be set directly on the shoulders nor should it be overly
elongated to make a Papillon appear out of balance.
Question:
Forequarters What effect
do you think poor shoulders has on movement.
Answer:
There are different shoulder faults. All shoulder faults negatively
effect movement.
Question:
Body How do you interpret
the UK/Aust Standard’s wording over length of body in the Papillon? Do you
think the dog should be square but look longer, or that it should be
slightly longer than high anyway? What does the "topline" section in the
FCI actually mean, when it says the topline should not be roached, should
not dip but should not be perfectly flat either. Does it refer to the next
bit, which says there should be a slight arch over the loin?
Answer:
Ideally a Papillon should have a level topline. The top line should
neither dip at the shoulders nor drop off at the tail set. A Papillon
should be slightly longer when measured from the front to back and the
floor to the top of the shoulder blade. Even though some Papillons may
appear square upon measuring most of them are actually longer than high.
Question:
Hindquarters The
Australian, UK and US Standards call for good angulation (well turned
stifle etc) the FCI Standard says "Hockjoint : Normally angulated".
How do you feel a less than well turned stifle affects movement and
soundness? Do you feel «normally angulated» adequately describes what you
feel is correct??
Answer:
Proper rear angulation will accentuate a smooth gate at a trot.
However an over angulated rear can cause a Papillon to appear almost
hackney in front and an under angulated rear can cause a front not to
sufficiently reach. Both over and under rear agulation effect movement.
Question:Feet Apart from
the US Standard, which says "fine tufts may appear over toes and grow
beyond them, forming a point." the other three standards indicate that the
tufts of hair on the feet should extend beyond the toes. Given the
foot shape should be hare-like why do some people trim the long tufts from
the feet accentuating a rounder more cat like foot?
Answer:
Ignorance and lack of grooming skills.
Hare as in “rabbit foot”
should be elongated in the overall construction of the Papillon foot. Long
Toe tufts that grow so far that the hair curls to one side or the other
does not make up the overall shape of a hare foot. A neatly trimmed toe
tuft extending beyond the foot does enhance the shape of a hare foot.
Question:
Tail All standards call
for a long tail well fringed, do you feel people confuse fringing with
actual length of tail??? What do you think the incidence of (a) short
tails and (b) kinked tails in the breed? Are either hereditary? Do judges
take much notice of short tails, do you think, especially when the dog is
fully coated and plumed? Is there a high incidence of naturally short
tails in this breed? (from the point of view of both Judge and breeder).
Is it an inherited characteristic? does it occur more in Papillons than in
Phalenes?
Answer:
The AKC Standard does not call for tail fringing; it reads
“Tail is
covered with a long, flowing plume.”
In any case both fringe and plume can also be described as decoration. No
I do not think a long tail and a long plume or well fringed tails are
frequently confused with actual tail length.
(a)
Short tails: There is little incidence of a tail length that the
tip of the tail does not arch over to reach the back.
(b)
Kinked tails: A kinked tail and a cork screw tail are different.
A tail that turns similar to a cork screw is hereditary. I have not
observed many cork screw tails in Papillons. A kink also described as a
bend in the tail is not necessarily hereditary and several factors can
influence a bend in the tail. Accidents, a big litter with little space in
the womb are two examples.
Question:
Gait/Movement How do you
interpret "light, flowing" movement? Should the Papillon move with a
sweeping "daisy-cutter" action or should the feet be clearly picked up and
put down again – not high-stepping like the hackney action of the Italian
Greyhound, but with a definite flexing of the pasterns. How do people
interpret movement? Many Papillons and Phalenes weave, in a
single-tracking movement, particularly in front - do Judges penalise this
if it is still a "light" or "flowing" gait? Has anyone ever seen a
Papillon or Phalene with a genuine, high-stepping hackney gait (as is
correct for the Italian Greyhound?) How do you rate the overall standard
of movement in the breed. How important is muscle tone to movement and do
you feel that over crating can (and does??) have an adverse affect on
movement.
Answer: The
Papillon standard does not sufficiently describe movement. This leaves
the fanciers to their own personal interpretations. I have been told by
an AKC Papillon Judge that in regards to an AKC standard that if the
description of movement is vague a judge is supposed to judge by the
generic movement of a herding dog. With that said a dog moving from the
side should appear smooth not bouncing up or down. Reach should not be
overly high or appear hackney. The chest of a mature Papillon should be
well sprung when viewed from the front the movement should not converge
until the dog is almost at a run. Rear movement should push off and back
with the hocks almost vertical. The rear should not converge from double
tracking to single tracking until the Papillon is almost running. In most
cases a Papillon does not move fast enough in a conformation ring to
completely converge into a single track.
Muscle tone plays an
important part in free flowing movement. A dog that is out of shape can
almost appear wobbling or lose in movement.
Other than the ear
description this is one area of the Papillon Standard, world wide, which
could be described with more detail.
Question:
Coat All standards require
a silky coat without undercoat and all state the coat should lie flat,
although the FCI standard states "wavy (not to be confused with curly)".
Given the wonders of modern preparation techniques how easy do you think
it is to hide a coarse or stand off coat. Do you feel there is an increase
in poor coat texture. Why do some dogs that started off with correct coats
develop woolly coats in old age, even if they have not been neutered?
Answer: An
excellent groomer can create an illusion of proper coat texture with or
without grooming products. Grooming products can enhance a coat to
temporarily appear more proper and can make it easier for a groomer to
hide coat faults. A Papillon coat should not stand out, it should drape
or fall naturally. I do not feel there is an increase of poor coat
texture. I feel there is more of an awareness of improper coat.
I don’t think dogs start
off with proper coat and become improper coated. I think improper coated
Papillons are born with the coat fault; it is just not as noticeable on a
younger dog that has not completely matured.
Question:
Colour What do you think
about the differences in the four Standards regarding the markings of a
tricolour? Two state specific markings, two allow for any definition of "tricolour".
Given that any colour(s) other than liver are allowed does it matter
whether we have a description in some of the standards as to a tri colour.
Has anyone ever seen a liver and white, or liver, white and tan, Papillon
or Phalene?
Answer: All
Papillon standards require white with another color(s). I consider a
Papillon to be a parti-colored dog. The definition of parti-colored is
“color with different colors” Tri-color means “having three colors”.
Traditionally we describe tri as white, black and tan. However on an AKC
registration there is no color for a Papillon called “Tri”, The AKC does
allow the colors white, black & tan. As I continue to breed I have found
there are more three colored Papillons than just white, black and tan.
There are variations of red where a lighter red pip is noticeable or there
are actually three different hair shafts such as Red, Sable & White. Those
color variations could also be considered as “Tri-colored”.
I do not use the term
“liver” as a coat color. If I were going to consider a coat color of liver
I would describe it as a variable of tan.
Question:
Size
In the Australian, UK and US Standards there is size range allowed of
three inches. Do you feel this is too great a range in such a small breed?
The FCI Standard gives no minimum height, it merely states ‘about 28 cms’
. Do you think papillons are getting taller and heavier and do the
standards ‘encourage’ this??
Answer:
If the goal is to have a breed that has the same look and size
worldwide, then a standard size range of less than three inches may help
to standardize the breed.
The FCI standard
requirement states “about 28 cm” leaves to much for individual
interpretation of allowable size. UK and Australian standard states
“dainty,
balanced little toy dog”
AKC Standard States
“elegant toy
dog of fine-boned structure, light, dainty”
FCI Standard States
“Small
de luxe Toy spaniel ”
The common word in all four standards is “Toy”, In three of the standards
the word “dainty” is used. A Papillon over 11 inches in many cases is no
longer dainty or toy sized. Standards do not encourage taller and heavier
Papillons. Breeders encourage taller and heavier less than toy sized dogs
by breeding and showing their stock that is beyond the height and weight
that is allowed.
Question:
General Questions
Apart from ear
carriage none of the standards indicate any difference in type, size or
anything else between the papillon and phalene. However you quite often
hear that the Phalene is "supposed" to be in some ways different from the
Papillon – that its head can be broader for instance, its body longer ,
its bone heavier, that its tail can legitimately be carried lower, that
the temperament is allowed to be more "retiring". You sometimes hear this
not only from non-Phalene breeders but from Phalene breeders themselves.
What are your opinions?
Answer: In
my opinion a Phalčne must look like a Papillon, act like a Papillon, walk
like a Papillon, and feel like a Papillon. Except! Their ears must be
dropped like a Phalčne.
What do you
think about the differences between the four Standards? Do you think the
four Standards should or could be standardised? If so how would you
rationalise these differences?
Answer: Breed conformation competitors complain consistently
that many judges have trouble finding a properly moving Papillon when
awarding ribbons. Unfortunately, the Papillon standard does not completely
address movement, thus not giving enough information for a judge to
adequately evaluate proper reach, drive, or side gait. This fact leaves a
great deal for the judge to assume as to what is correct. Nor do the
current standards describe whether a Papillon should converge while moving
at a trot. The topic of single tracking and double tracking has been
questioned many times and this inconsistency shows in many specimens shown
in the breed ring.
Head
type needs to be described separately for both ear varieties. The UK,
Australian, AKC standard does not give equal billing when describing the
traits of the two varieties. The difference between the ears and ear sets
of the Phalčne and the Papillon also needs to be described in more detail
like it is in the F.C.I. Standard.
Height
and Coat variations are obviously another difference in different regions
of the world
A World
Wide standardized description would be terrific. Breeders interpret the
the Papillon standard differently in their own countries, it would be a
difficult task to have worldwide unity on making the four standards read
verbatim.
Question:
Health We shall have a section on the Standards and Health. This
does not refer to hereditary disease or congenital abnormality, but to
those parts of the Breed Standard which might be considered to promote
either good health or bad health. For instance, all those parts of the
Standard which indicate that the Papillon should be well balanced and free
from exaggeration can be said to encourage good health. However, the
requirement of the FCI Std for a "large" eye and the requirement in all
Standards for fine bone, could be said to encourage eye problems and bone
breakages. What are your views about the degree to which the Standard
does, or does not, promote a healthy dog?
Answer: The
Papillon is not a breed of exaggerations like some toy sized breeds ie;
the apple dome of the Chihuahua, the large eye of the Pekinese, and the
snub nose breeds such as the Pekinese, Japanese Chin and Pug. For the
most part I do not think any of the four Papillon breed standards are
encouraging an unhealthy breed.
|
