Cropped tails and other show disqualifications - Page 1

NOT that I have an aspirations to show a dog in a conformation venue .......... I am a fan of workinglines and their conformation is not selected for, even though I think they are more balanced looking dogs. Why is it that missing teeth or cropped tails are disqualifications? I assume that applies to honorably inflicted injuries .... I can see where a dog with part of its tail *could* be suspect as being a tail chaser with nerve issues but there are also documentable injuries that could result in a partial amputation. Same thing with teeth - I have heard of quite a few dogs break canines in bitwwork - is it a DQ if a sound tooth is injuried and repaired / replaced? For that matter nowadays you can have a dog with a genetically poor bite and have it fixed with braces (and do people do that for the show ring) Just curious - - - -

Teeth that are broken and pulled are not necessarily a disqualifier if one can prove they were once present and sufficient through evidence presented by an earlier radiograph. I have seen young dogs at a Sieger show with tails, ears, and muzzles that were severly damaged and scarred from fights with older dogs and have heard the judge mention that he could tell the issue was due to an injury and he would overlook it during his critique. Again, the owner could supply proof that the dog was once "correct" and intact. But, I would never expect any dog with noticeable cosmetic blemishes to make the final cut in the VA or low V group, as the conformation Sieger show is also a beauty pageant. Regards, Bob-O

Unless things have changed drastically and I missed reading about it, cropped tails are not a disqualification as long as it from injury and properly documented. My male injured his tail severely and had to have the last couple of inches surgically removed as it would not heal properly - I had this documented by the vet doing the surgery, and, if I recall correctly, had to send the documentation ahd his USA registration in to USA office - info was typed on his pedigree and never was a problem - he received the "V" rating more than once, including V 4 at the 2000 Canadian Sieger show, and was KKl 1 for life. By the way, he was a gray working line male - same for teeth - if they are broken and it can be proven by x-ray and/or vet documentation, it will be recorded on the dog's paperwork.

I see the cropped tail is an AKC/UKC disqualification - but the SV standard says missing canine is DQ ----of course most broken canines are not *missing* rather capped................. Just curious.

Nancy, Missing teeth and injured teeth are two separate issues. The German standard is very specific and strict on missing teeth. It can bump your dog down from a KKl1 to a 2 or even prevent them from getting a rating depending on the number and kind of teeth missing. Missing teeth are a genetic issue and just a fyi for those who have dogs with extra teeth - chances are that is a dog that carries the missing teeth gene(seen it # of times). It's like the template isn't quite right in terms of number of teeth and it can go either way - too many or too few. Missing teeth often skip a number of generations and then sneak out and catch you unawares. Injury to teeth is another issue and as noted above there are mechanisms for dealing with this. One not mentioned is once you dog has their adult teeth take them to a koer and ask/and pay for a "tooth notation". The koer judge will examine the mouth and teeth and note (I'm not sure if its in the scorebook or on the pedigree) with the date that the teeth were all present and accounted for. Thus in case of injury the record is already there.

Nancy, if you read the STANDARD a lot of your quest;ions will be answered. ecs

e c street - I did read the standard(s) -- that is why I asked the questions