This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, January 2016 issue.
There are many factors within conformation that enhance or hamper function. The function of the Cirneco dell’Etna is hunting small mammals, primarily rabbits, and fowl. The terrain upon which the Cirneco survived by virtue of its hunting prowess is not that of open land as far as the eye can see. Rocky slopes and small agricultural plots do not reward a canine that is large or built for speed with sustenance for survival.
Size is crucial to the Cirneco’s ability to enter and work within tight areas — thickets and rocky crevices. For this reason, the breed standard has well-defined boundaries for size, which include disqualifications. Disqualifications in size, while not common, are not a novelty for breeds where function is affected. The Whippet, a well-known breed within the same Hound Group, also has a size maximum and minimum.
For the Cirneco, disqualifications arise for dogs outside the range of 17½–20½ inches and for bitches outside the range of 16–19½ inches. This is easy to apply if time is taken to evaluate the exemplars individually rather than seeking uniformity, or lack thereof, within the whole of the exhibitors. Unfortunately, this breed suffers more than most from often having the least uniform exemplar in the ring be the most compliant with the Breed Standard.
Then comes the atypical portion of the evaluation of size necessary if we are truly to protect function: The breed standard has a “tolerance.” The actual breed standard allows for dogs to measure 18–19½ inches, and bitches must fall within the range of 16½–18 inches. There is only a one-and-a-half-inch range for a Cirneco to be in standard.
When the standard was presented for approval to the Kennel Club (Great Britain), it contained the standard, tolerances, and disqualifications. What was approved for implementation by the Kennel Club had been stripped of the tolerances. Since the tolerances are not within “the standard,” they were not accepted as a buffer to disqualification. We are hopeful that our AKC judges can understand and apply the nuances properly and not elevate exemplars out of standard above those that are more compliant in all respects.
The Cirneco breed standard contains a hierarchy of tools for evaluation: “Disqualifications,” “Severely Penalized,” “Undesirable,” and “Less Desirable.” The only trait labeled as “undesirable” (not “disqualification” or “severely penalized”) is “Gait: Tendency to throw feet sideways or hackney action.”
Obviously, movement is important, but what is the movement? In our culture of “reach, drive, and extension,” this breed would not exist. “Springy trot” is the expression used to describe the action imposed by a short forearm, necessary for sure-footed climbing and working on rocky slopes. Hackney action or throwing of feet sideways is not the most efficient of actions and, for this reason, is “undesirable,” but it also is not a characteristic that impedes function as size does. Size impedes the ability to access prey, eat, and survive.
New breed, new frontier. We are here to help traverse it.
