EDUCATION SILKY TERRIER for TRAINEES

THE AUSTRALIAN SILKY TERRIER

The Only Australian Toy Dog

Council Notes; Published in Queensland Dog World. 1.8.2001

From the CONFORMATION SUB-COMMITTEE: NOTES.
At this time, I would like to thank all the people who give their time to the education of our trainee judges, whether it be co-coordinator, breeders, speakers or the exhibitors who bring their dogs along, without complaint, for lectures and of course to the exhibitors

AUSTRALIAN-SILKY-TERRIER-FOR TRAINEES.
The Silky is not an exaggerated dog in any way. It is a well balanced type of dog who should display an intelligent alert look and move around the show ring in an agile manner. It must be well groomed, glamorous little dog with refined bone. The body coat length should balance the overall dog.

At Open Shows. If trainees cannot get the hands on experience, what then happens? we end up with fewer judges!

CHARACTERISTICS-TEMPERAMENT:
It should display Terrier characteristics, embodying keen alertness, activity and soundness.
It must be remembered that the Silky Terrier is a TOY DOG with Terrier characteristics, not a Terrier with toy characteristics. Aggressive type behaviour is not desirable. Keen, friendly and alert type behaviour is preferable. A characteristic we often see in Silkys is when they hold one front foot up, looking alert and ready to pounce on something. [Maybe a mouse] !!

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In proportion a Silky head should be two parts muzzle, three parts skull. The top-knot should be groomed in such manner that the eyes be visible. Dogs often "domed" in the skull, are too narrow between the ears. The length of hair on the cheeks and foreface should be shorter than of the surrounding neck and fall.

EYES:
Shall be small round, not prominent, dark as possible in colour with a keen intelligent expression.

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Eyes are pretty good in silkys. Occasionally you will come across a light eye. This should be penalized as it takes away from the keen, intelligent expression that is projected from a very dark eye. Prominent eyes are usually set wide apart and go with a shorter muzzle. This is also quite incorrect.

V-SHAPED, SET HIGH ON THE SKULL:
The set is most important to gain that keen alertness required for the breed. Leafy type, round ended type and too low set type are incorrect. The ears are tan all over the back, but you will find some are tan around the base only. This is quite acceptable. Pups may have their ears down up to the age of 7 months, but should not be shown after 6 months if ears have not come up. Set wide, large and flaring not correct!
Too large and round not correct! Large with tips pointing to the side, not correct!

NOSE:
Any other colour than black should not be tolerated. The butterfly nose should be faulted.

There should be six incisor in both top and bottom of the scissor bite. Overshot: not correct!
Undershot: not correct!

NECK:
Medium length, refined and slightly crested, fitting gracefully into the shoulders. Well covered with long silky hair.

FOREQUATERS:
Shoulders fine and well laid back, fitting well angulated upper arms snugly to the ribs.
Elbows turned neither in nor out. The forelegs have refined, round bone and are straight and well set under the body with NO weakness in the pasterns.Narrow chest, not correct. Crooked bone,

Again the emphasis is on REFINED bone. Heavy coarse bone is most unacceptable in silky. This is leaning towards the bone type in AUSTRALIAN TERRIERS. Please remember the standard calls for fine shoulders and refined, round bone in the forelegs. Straightness in upper arm will sometimes go with too straight in shoulder. The dog with straight shoulders will have faulty front movement, as he throws the front leg in a circular movement with each step or moves with a "HACKNEY" gait. This can give the impression of no reach in front when moving or the front legs can even have a swinging or paddling motion. There are some exceptionally good fronts, but they are few and far between. CHECK: LOOSE SHOULDERS, OUT AT ELBOWS, STRAIGHT SHOULDER: Correct Shoulder Angulations [90*] deg. WEAK PASTERNS, BOWED LEGS, A " HACKNEY" GAIT, STRAIGHT STIFLE, LONG STRAIGHT HOCK, are not correct!

not correct. Weak pasterns and toeing in or out, not correct.

Body:
Should be moderately long in proportion to the height of the dog. Level top line, well sprung ribs extending back to strong loins. Chest of moderate depth and breadth. A top line showing a roachor dip is a serious fault.

Here we find the use of the word MODERATE, the dog appearing slightly longer from the point of shoulder to the set on tail, than it is in height [Approx. 1/5 to 1/6 longer than the height of the dog].
Level top line lengths of the body correctly measured from the withers to set on of tail. I cannot emphasize enough how important a level top-line is for this breed. Remember the standard says, "A TOP LINE SHOWING A ROACH OR A DIP IS A SERIOUS FAULT ".
A level top line should not be discounted in preference to a glamorous coat. Always judge the top line when the dog is gaiting around the ring.
When viewing the body, always check for a moderately long body in proportion to the dog's height, about 28 to 29 centimeters long.

HINDQUARTERS:
The thighs must be well developed and the stifles should be well turned and the hocks well bent.
When viewed from behind the hocks should be well let down and parallel with each other.

Silky's with straight stifles will tend to appear high in the rear. The hocks should be parallel. If turning in they are cow-hocked. This fault will quite often go with a down in pastern problem and not have sufficient drive to create that strong propelling power required for good movement. Check: Cow-hocks, not correct , Straight stifles, not correct, No drive in hindquarters, not correct.

Tail:
Docked: Set on high and carried erect, but not over-gay. Should be free of "feathering".
Undocked: The first three vertebrae to be carried erect, the balance to be carried erect or slightly curved, but not over-gay. Must not be curled. The length to give an overall balanced appearance. In accordance with the docked description the undocked tail to be free of feathering. ( "long hair").

Tail carried erect, ONE O' clock. is the correct position. Must not be curled.

  Click on NEW STANDARD!! 2009

Feet:
Small well padded, CAT-like with closely knit toes, the toenails must be black or very dark.

Feet are not a major problem unless the nails are kept too long. This can tend to give them the appearance of wideness like a splayed foot, as the toes tend to spread rather than the required CAT- like look.

GAIT and MOVEMENT:
The movement should be free and true without slackness at shoulder or elbows. There should be no turning in nor out of the feet or pasterns. The hindquarters should have strong propelling power with ample flexibility at stifles and hocks. Viewed from behind the movement should be neither too close nor too wide.

A silky should be fluid in movement, showing drive in rear and reach in front.
If there are problems in the forequarters, you will sometimes see a stilted, swinging or almost hackney type movement when coming towards you. Problems in Hindquarters can also produce uneven movement, such as swinging type rear, or lack of drive causing the dog to look as if its feet were kicking towards its stomach. The movement should appear light, free and true, from both front and back. When the dog is moving, this is the time to ALSO judge the top line.

COAT:
Must be flat, fine and glossy and of a silky texture with a length of coat from 13 to 15 centimeters
[5 to 6 inches] from behind the ears to the set on the tail, but must not impede the dogs action. The legs from knees and hocks to feet free from long hair.

In this breed the texture of the coat is utmost importance. FLAT, FINE, GLOSSY AND LIKE SILK are the operative words.
Remember it is a single coat and should not stand out from the body. It should hang FLAT.
in no way should it look or feel coarse. We want fine, silky, shiny, coat, which feels smooth like satin and almost cool to the touch. The coat must be straight, never wavy. Also it should not be a WOOLLY TEXTURE.

COLOUR:
Blue and tan or grey-blue and tan, the RICHER the COLOUR the better. Blue on the tail to be very dark, silver or fawn topknot desirable. Distribution of blue and tan as follows: tan around the base of the ears, muzzle and on the sides of the cheeks. blue from the base of the skull to the tip of the tail, running down the forelegs to near the knees and down the thighs to the hocks; Tan line showing down the stifles and the knees and hocks to the toes and around the vent. The body colour must be free from smut or dark shading.
Black colouring is permissible in puppies, blue must be established by 18 months of age.

Please download       2009 Standard