Judging the English Toy Spaniel

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, November 2013 issue.

Judging the English Toy Spaniel

It is a great pleasure to have been invited to write about judging the English Toy Spaniel (ETS), one of our rather rare but truly beautiful and delightful Toy breeds. I think it is wonderful that ShowSight Magazine devotes the space it does to breed-specific features, which is a real service to the dog show community. My main focus will be toward people who judge the breed or are studying to judge the breed, but I hope that my comments will be useful to all fanciers as well.

I have been judging the breed since 1996 and greatly enjoy it when I have an entry in ETS. They make me smile when they walk into the ring… and what is it that makes me smile? That beautiful head and expression! ETS are one of those breeds that we think of as a “head breed,” and rightfully so, as without the unique headpiece, we do not have a typical ETS.

Of course, to be a really excellent representative of the breed, the rest of the dog must be wonderful too, but without the correct head, it is just another cute little dog. So I look for the beautiful plush face with a full, rounded skull and a muzzle and underjaw that are broad, full, and padded enough to balance with the skull.

Almost no nose and enough “layback” give the “figure 8” side profile. The ETS shares this with the Japanese Chin, but the Chin is not as full in the muzzle and has a larger skull in relation to the muzzle. The ETS is a Spaniel, so it must have the beautiful, full, rounded eyes that give us the soft, melting expression we love. With properly low-set ears to frame the face, we have a picture that is unique and beautiful.

This is a slow-maturing breed, so the puppies and young dogs, even the best ones, will not be at their best until at least 2 to 3 years old. The heads broaden and fill out as they mature. I have included a couple of old photos of beautiful heads that I had in my files.

The breed has improved greatly in body, soundness, and movement since I started judging them in the 1990s. I judged a big entry of the breed (over 100) while I was provisional. I was on the panel of a cluster of shows in southern California where the National was held that year and was very fortunate to be assigned the breed the day before the National. I would say that only about 20 to 25% of that entry had the overall look that we want with a pretty head along with sound structure, good substance, and nice movement.

This year I was honored to judge the National Specialty, and the majority of the dogs were of high quality overall. Congratulations to the dedicated breeders who have made such wonderful improvements in overall quality!

In my opinion, the biggest challenge now is to get the correct body proportions well established. We want a cobby, essentially square dog, and many of them today are too long in back and/or loin, presenting a rectangular profile. There are also many dogs that lack the straight bone in the front legs that we want. There are lots of curves under the coat.

Now I would like to give a few tips on the proper examination of the breed. When I examine the head on most Toy dogs, I use both hands to “cup” the head with my hands and gently stroke the head with my fingers to feel the structure under the coat. This relaxes the dog and allows you to move or turn the head to take a look at the profile while you are in control of the head.

I use my thumbs to feel for the canine teeth without opening the mouth. I can gently evaluate the bite and check for a wry mouth in this manner. If something doesn’t seem quite right, then I will gently lift the lips to take a closer look, or ask the handler to do it if the dog is stressed.

I examine the rest of the dog after I step to the side. I place my right hand on the back and feel for the withers. With my left hand, I feel for the point of shoulder and the elbow. This gives me an accurate view of the front angulation. I then run my hands down the front legs, feeling for shape, bone, and substance. Then, I run my hands back along the body to the rear legs and check them similarly, along with topline, tailset, and coat. I try to keep my hands on the dog the entire time, which steadies the dog and lets him know I am in charge.

Do it all with a light, gentle touch and give the dog a good experience.

In-ring temperament and showmanship have also improved a great deal over the years that I have judged this breed. It is rare these days to have an ETS that doesn’t want to move and is scared of the environment. New puppies may hesitate a bit, but the majority of exhibits will move out for you to properly evaluate movement. I prefer to see them on a semi-loose lead if possible.

In making my placements, I use a method that I employ for most of the breeds I judge. I pick out the “pretty ones” and then find the soundest within that pretty group. So I emphasize breed-specific type features first and then look for soundness within that subset. This emphasis changes a bit in the other direction for the Herding dogs that I judge, but even there, if they aren’t typical for their breed, they are just another generic, sound dog.

I truly enjoy judging this wonderful breed and hope that you will find my input useful when evaluating the ETS.