Westminster Dog Show

Correct me if I am wrong, but there are no NAVHDA standards. Standards are set by the breed clubs in orgs. such as AKC, CKC, FCI etc. They drive conformation. A breeder might choose not to belong to one of these orgs. and breed according to what they feel a standard should be and yet be a part of NAVHDA. As far as I know, many NAVHDA breeders attempt to produce dual dogs that can hunt and do well in conformation shows.

It would be the breed clubs who require both field and conformation to be eligible for breeding. So whatever versatile breed you run in NAVHDA probably had to conform to a conformation standard. Not sure that applies to all versatile breeds though.

[QUOTE=welsh;958836]The problem arises when what is considered "correct conformation" diverges from a working standard. .................................................. ......



"working standard " is a much better term than the one I used.

Don't think trials or tests have working standards for physical appearance, only performance which a how it should be really.

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Originally Posted by welsh

It's really only detrimental to a working breed when the breed club is dominated by people (a) who have no interest in or experience with the breed's working qualities, and (b) when the breed club allows the standard to drift by pursuing an exaggerated ideal (pugs being the worst example of this).

In the absence of those problems, a dog with excellent conformation should make at least a good working dog.

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My limited experience leads me to believe that the "breed club" people aren't working dog types. The AKC/CKC I suspect doesn't have much respect from sporting dog associations. When I went to the CKC to register my AKC pup the person I dealt with was clearly biased against hunters. At that point much to her amazement I picked up my papers ( and money) and politely told her I had changed my mind and couldn't see much value in what the CKC offered. Not sure if she was more stunned than pizzed.

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Originally Posted by spinster

Correct me if I am wrong, but there are no NAVHDA standards. Standards are set by the breed clubs in orgs. such as AKC, CKC, FCI etc. They drive conformation. A breeder might choose not to belong to one of these orgs. and breed according to what they feel a standard should be and yet be a part of NAVHDA. As far as I know, many NAVHDA breeders attempt to produce dual dogs that can hunt and do well in conformation shows.

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Spinster is correct, the individual breed clubs set confirmation standards, they are not set by NAVHDA.

NAVHDA DO NOT qualify the dog to the breed standard, the judges inspect the dog for the coat density, and harshness. They confirm testicles on males, the bite, the teeth for extras, or missing, and finally the eye lids for being ectropic or entropic. They ask if the dog has had a hip x-ray , and if yes a copy of the x-ray report is submitted with the test application. They assess the temperament of the dog during various activities of the test. At one time they assessed a dog for being cow hocked, but this has been removed from the evaluation card , but if seen can be noted.


Dick