<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> The Standard Head - Camerata Reg'd Kennel
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Highlights:

· Coat

· Colour

· Head

· Neck

· Forequarters

· Hindquarters

· Gait

· Presentation


 

"Narrow, but deep and rounded. Shorter in skull and longer in jaw. Covered with a profuse topknot, which is lighter than the colour of the body, highest at the crown and tapering gradually to just back of the nose.

Muzzle - there must be no stop and the unbroken line from crown to nose end reveals a slender head without cheekiness or snippiness. Strong muzzle well filled up with bone beneath the eye.

Nose - nostrils large and well defined. Blues and blue and tans have black noses. Liver, liver and tans, sandies and sandy and tans have brown noses.

Mouth - jaws long and tapering. Close-fitting lips, no flews.

Teeth - large, strong and white. Level or scissors bite. Lower canines clasp the outer surface of the upper gum just in front of the upper canines. Upper premolars and molars lie outside those of the lower jaws.

Eyes - almond shaped, small, bright and well sunk with no tendency to tear or water. Set is oblique and fairly high on the head. Blues have dark eyes; blue and tans, less dark with amber lights; sandies, sandy and tans, light hazel; liver, liver and tans, slightly darker. Eye rims are black in the blues and blue and tans, brown in all other solid and bicolours.

Ears - filbert shaped, triangular with rounded tips. Set on low and hanging flat to the cheek in front with a slight projection at the base. Point of greatest width approximately 3 in. (8 cm). Ear tips reach the corners of the mouth. Thin and velvety in texture, covered with fine hair forming a small silky tassel at the tip."

     There seems to be a habit in giving extreme importance to the head. We agree it is important, but not the one and only thing that defines the quality of a dog. Often we hear the criticism of a particular dog to be "too wide in the skull." In many cases, we believe the fault not to be a wide skull, but too narrow a muzzle with no fill. If the muzzle were better filled up, perhaps then the skull would not appear too wide. We like to think that the dog should have enough room in the skull for its brain! One of the most common faults we see is that the muzzle is not long enough. The standard requires it to be longer than the skull, and strong.

     "Well filled up with bone beneath the eye" ... do you know what that means? Ask yourself the question if you've ever felt a muzzle that was well filled up beneath the eye. This is another of those points that needs hands-on experience to appreciate. After having seen and felt a muzzle that is properly filled, indicating a feeling of substance and power that cannot be described as coarse, only then will we appreciate what is required.

     In North America, the craze seems to be for the "narrowest" head possible. The Standard never said, "head as narrow as possible." The narrower the skull, the narrower the muzzle and therefore the weaker it is.

     Justification for proper muzzle length and fill: Simply go back to the origin and purpose of the breed. It is plain to see why a powerful muzzle of greater length than skull is called for, as this kind of equipment makes a formidable working terrier. In addition, narrow muzzles can lead to teeth placement problems. Our standard calls for large teeth, trying to fit a full compliment of large teeth with a scissors bite into a thin and too short muzzle ... well, good luck.

     Faults often seen: Muzzle and skull of equal length. Muzzles not well filled up beneath the eye. Muzzles of weakness and over-refinement. Why? Perhaps because there is a craze on to get the narrowest possible head as it is eye-catching and may meet with more success in the show ring.

     A good rule of thumb ... the front teeth should be set squarely, not curved around the front of the jaw. While a curved set is not a fault, it is sometimes a sign of a muzzle that is not as well filled up as it could be.

     Also important yet invisible to the naked eye is the definition of the occiput. It should be clearly defined and must be felt for.
 

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