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Learn how to judge Smooth Fox Terriers, focusing on balance, conformation, and breed-specific characteristics.
Bill Potter
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This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, May 2013 issue.
The Standard for Fox Terriers in America was approved at the time the American Fox Terrier Club was formed in 1885. Shortly thereafter, the Standard was amended to include measurements, in addition to weight, to describe the ideal Fox Terrier.
The American Standard for Smooth Fox Terriers has changed little since that time. Reference to the Wire Fox Terrier coat was removed when Smooths and Wires were recognized as separate breeds in 1984. The Standard was later reformatted to meet the American Kennel Club’s request for uniform formatting of all Standards.
The American Fox Terrier Club’s Standard for the Smooth Fox Terrier (SFT) is different than those approved by The Kennel Club (UK) and by the FCI. Their Standards use weight alone to define the size of dogs and bitches.
This is not to say they do not ask for a compact, short-backed Terrier, but their Standards do not set forth measurements on how that goal should be reached. The American Standard does not have any size disqualifications but contains specific measurements for overall height and length, length of back, and length of head.
It then emphasizes that the balance of these parts, and others described within the Standard, is the keystone of the Terrier’s anatomy. It is important that any judge, utilizing the American SFT Standard, be familiar with the relative proportions expressed in the measurements contained within the Size, Proportion, and Substance section.
It is essential to train the eye to see the balance called for, recognize that each dog’s height may vary from the ideal, but ensure that, overall, the dog meets the proportional balance of the parts as specifically defined.
The quicker and more accurately that balance can be assessed, the more time the judge has to appreciate and evaluate the quality of the individual characteristics of the dog.
When an SFT enters the ring, you should start with that assessment for the desired balance:
It is important to confirm your initial assessment of balance on the move. SFTs are often very different in proportions on the move than when stacked by a handler.
For that reason, it is important to move dogs around the ring prior to examining them on the table. This process also aids the examination by relaxing and acclimating the dog to the ring.
The next step in the initial evaluation is asking the question: Does the dog have the requisite substance? The Standard describes the SFT as having the symmetry of a Foxhound (English) and goes on to compare him to a “cleverly made hunter.” One should think of a short-backed Hunter Jumper horse.
Once the dog has been set up on the table, the examination of the dog should start with the head. All the disqualifications contained within the Standard relate to the head—ears, nose, and mouth.
Confirming the absence of disqualifying characteristics is quickly and easily accomplished:
The ears should not be pricked, tulip, or rose.
The nose should not be white, cherry, or spotted with a considerable amount of either color.
The bite should not be much undershot or much overshot.
Ensuring that the head possesses quality is a more difficult task. The head should be examined both from the front and the side. The moderately narrow skull should be flat and parallel to the plane of the muzzle.
While the skull should decrease in width to the eyes and the muzzle from the eyes to the nose, the head should not be a wedge. There should be fill under the eyes, but with chiseling to prevent a straight slope from the skull to the tip of the nose.
The eyes should be dark and as close to round as possible. The muzzle should have strong upper and lower jaws, with teeth in a scissors bite.
Ears should be V-shaped and break above the level of the skull. The ears’ inner edge should lie close to the cheek. The tip of the ear should be near the corner of the eye, not on top of the head.
Do not expect that every dog will display attentive ear carriage while on the table. Dogs will often pull back their ears, turning them to the side while being examined. Simply feel the ears to determine that their leather is of moderate thickness.
Proper ear carriage is much better assessed when the dog is standing on the ground, taking in their surroundings, including other exhibits in the ring.
Once the head has been examined, it is time to ensure that the neck is not “throaty,” the chest is not too broad, and that the dog’s front is filled down to the brisket. You should proceed to the side view of the neck. It should be muscular and blend smoothly into the shoulders and back. As your hand goes down the neck, it should flow easily over the withers, on to a short back, and then to a strong, muscular, slightly arched loin. The movement of the hand should be stopped by a rather high-set tail. Our Standard calls for a tail of good strength that should be docked so that it has about three-quarters of its original length. The carriage should be gay, not over the back or curled. As with ears, tail carriage is best determined while the dog is active on the ground.
Your hand(s) should then proceed to the ribs to ensure that the fore ribs are moderately arched and the back ribs are deep and well sprung.
The examination should go to the forefront, which is, in my opinion, the most misunderstood part of the SFT’s anatomy. I don’t know how many Judges’ Education seminars I have sat through for other breeds that have defined their breed’s front as “not straight like a Fox Terrier’s.” While the SFT’s legs should be straight from any angle, with strong, upright pasterns and small, round feet, the shoulders should not be straight. The upper arm slopes forward but is shortened and not equal in length to the shoulder blade. The shoulder blade is long and sloping, well laid back to the withers. You should feel for and reward correct front assembly.
Proceeding to an examination of the hindquarters, you should find them muscular, starting with a substantial rump behind the tail. The upper and second thighs should be long and powerful. The stifles should be bent. The hocks should be short, well bent, and upright. When viewed from behind, the hindquarters should appear straight. From the side, the SFT’s hindquarters should appear angulated and well up on leg. The hindquarters should never appear to be crouching or drooping.
Before the dog is removed from the table, you should make an assessment of coat quality and coat color. This is a double-coated breed. The outer coat should be hard, flat, and abundant. Quite often, you will be unable to find much undercoat on a dog groomed for show. Most of the undercoat is often removed to ensure that the outer coat lies flat. Cheek, neck, and tail roughs, as well as hindquarter britches, are groomed to enhance the outline of the dog.
Color should be predominately white. Markings on the white coat can be black, black with tan points, or tan. Tan can range from a light blond to a dark brown or mahogany. A tan dog can have black hairs dispersed within the coat and may, or may not, have a dark mask. When groomed, the undercoat areas of the tan-marked dog often appear to be a lighter color than the non-groomed markings. This is natural as tan markings are often lighter-colored near the skin. Brindle, red, or liver markings are objectionable. The black hairs in a tan coat should not be confused with brindle. Brindle is a distinct pattern of black marking or strip patterning in the coat.
As long as the dog is at least 50% white and their markings are of an approved color, there is no such thing as a poorly marked dog. It is easier to see the outline of a white or predominately white dog, but no pattern of markings should be preferred over another. As a judge, you will need to be careful to ensure that you are not deceived in your assessment of conformation, positively or negatively, by the location of a dog’s markings.
Now it is time to return the dog to the ground and evaluate its structure on the move. This is the critical test of the dog’s conformation. Move the dog down and back. An SFT’s front and rear legs should reach straight forward, not converging toward the midline. The front legs should reach forward in a straight column like a pendulum. The rear, which provides propulsion, should flex at the stifle and hock to cause a forward thrust of the dog. The Standard calls for a “snatch” at the hock in a dog exerting the correct thrusting action of the rear. You should then observe side movement to confirm the desired action and ensure that the dog is covering ground in as few steps as possible.
SFT examination is enhanced by sparing. It is an opportunity to evaluate temperament, ear and tail carriage, and overall bearing of the exhibits prior to making your placement. There are a number of good articles already written on the subject. I will not cover the subject here, but I do recommend that sparing take place at the end of your examination of all SFTs in a class. Some SFTs find it hard to get back to the business of moving or being handled after they have developed an attitude about others in the ring.
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