Judging the Wheatens

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

Judging the Wheatens

When AJ asked if I would write this article for Show-Sight Magazine, he said he had no instructions other than, “I want you to talk about what you think every judge should know when they walk into a ring full of Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers.”

My first thought was that not many judges get to see a ring full of the breed. I have been actively breeding and showing since 1984, and outside of the National and Regional Specialties and a few areas in California and on the East Coast, very seldom are there full rings of our wonderful breed—at least in the classes.

My second thought was that I would obviously need to reference the standard. I didn’t want to repeat the classic, “How to judge X breed” article going over the standard in a detailed fashion and opining on the meaning of what “well-boned” or describing a “tail set on high” as they might apply to the SCWT. (See the National’s Judges Education CD found on scwtca.org for a very detailed overview of the standard complete with all of the appropriate pictures.)

I decided to take you into a ring full of SCWTs (or at least one with a few good ones) and tell you what I look for when judging. When I breed, I want to improve (or at least not hurt) the dogs I am breeding, so in choosing breeding stock, I will be very critical of individual traits. But in this article, I hope to convey how I use the standard as a judge of the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, a judge who happens to be a breeder and exhibitor. I do admit that on occasion, a breeder bias may influence how I weigh the individual traits of an entry, but I consciously try to ignore them when judging.

So, I walk into a ring full (or maybe not so full) of SCWTs—where to begin? How about with the entire standard!? It is very easy for a judge to memorize the characteristics outlined in the standard, to break down into sections and then subsections those characteristics, letting those be the stand-alone deciding factors, good or bad. It is a lot more difficult to see all of the individual characteristics (good and bad) as a whole and evaluate the overall quality of the dog.

For me, there are two descriptions of SCWTs in the very first section of the Breed Standard (General Appearance) that for me form the basic frame in which I begin to observe and evaluate my entries. As I view each of the dogs, watch them move, and examine them individually, I want to see and feel a “medium-sized, hardy, well-balanced sporting terrier, square in outline” that presents “the overall appearance of an alert and happy animal, graceful, strong and well-coordinated.”

With those two descriptions, I can generally evaluate the overall quality of the dogs in the first moments after they enter the ring—during the initial lineup as they stand and during the first go around. To be more descriptive: what I am hopefully seeing and beginning to sketch in my frame is the essence of the breed: the coat, the silhouette, the head, and the attitude. I, like most judges, stand back and look at the entire lineup. Immediately, assuming the individual entries have been trimmed to “show a terrier outline,” meaning a “square,” “sporting terrier outline,” I should be able to see clearly the balance, length of leg, and proportions of each entry. A sporting terrier outline for a SCWT is square, if the length of the dog as measured from the chest to the rump (or for the pedantic: the prosternum to the ischium) is equal to the height of the dog as measured from the top of the withers to the ground. The exhibit is not a well-balanced sporting terrier if the length of the leg from the floor to the elbow and the elbow to the top of the withers is not equal and the length of the neck to the length of the head to the length of the back. No tape measure is required—I know it when I see it. However, I am also aware that until I see the dogs move and put my hands on each, what I am seeing may also be misleading.

There are other qualities that begin to stand out as I walk the line and look at each exhibit, and they take their place in my framework. Are the “legs straight” and parallel, and do the stifles appear well bent? Does the dog have some width in the rear as it stands? I get a better feel for this when I have the dog free stack after the down and back and I walk around the rear of the dog. Does the head seem to be well balanced and in proportion to the body? Are the ears “small to medium in size” and do they appear to break even with the skull?

And, using the frame in which I am making my observations: is the dog “alert” and “happy”? Does it appear to be self-confident in its attitude and expression?

Again, the standard describes the requisite temperament to include a dog that is not only alert, but one that also “exhibits interest” in his surroundings. I observe the coat and start to get a feel for size (I know where 18 and 19 inches are on my leg), and although I am not necessarily at that point “measuring” the dogs, it is still a characteristic of which I am conscious.

I then move the dogs around together. I continue to frame my observations: is the gait “free, graceful and lively with good reach in front and strong drive behind?”

Temperament quality becomes more defined: “The Wheaten is a happy, steady dog and shows himself gaily with an air of self-confidence” and with tail erect. At this time I can begin to fill in another important detail: is the dog maintaining the outline of a Sporting Terrier even on the move?

The standard reads that the neck should be “carried proudly”—if read in conjunction with the more specific directive that the neck length is “medium,” that clearly means while moving, the profile must be maintained.

In addition, maintaining its profile on the move is consistent with the “compact” body that is “relatively short-coupled.” However, if the moving entry is consistently dropping its head and begins to appear streamlined, it is most often too long.

And the profile must continue to be balanced while on the move: does the neck disappear into the shoulders on the move? Is the back “level” as the dog moves and is it “strong” without flexing or hard up-and-down movement? Hard pounding does not make for stamina or, more precisely, a sound dog.

And to repeat, these observations are being placed in my frame: is the dog “alert and happy” and is it “graceful, strong and well-coordinated”?

A little history that is the material from which I have constructed my frame—although the breed is a 20th-century addition to the sport of dog showing and its Irish history lost in the mists of time, the breed has been known for over 200 years. SCWTs were not only used as an all-purpose farm dog that could rid its territory of vermin, but they were also capable gun dogs—most likely for a poacher—while being equally at home herding its owner’s livestock. In my opinion, that history dictates a “hardy” dog that should be capable of powerfully covering ground effortlessly and with stamina.

As the dog moves, I also consider what many believe to be the defining characteristic of the dog, but which the standard twice describes as “a distinguishing characteristic.” I mentioned it earlier as part of the essence of the breed. It often causes the most angst among non-breeder judges: the coat.

During movement, I hopefully see coats that exhibit a “soft, silky and gently waving nature” that have “sufficient length to flow” as the dog goes around. I always remember the standard directive that states, “Dogs that are overly trimmed shall be severely penalized.”

Without spending a considerable amount of time, judges of our breed should be aware, as am I, that the standard also states, “In both puppies and adolescents, the mature wavy coat is generally not yet evident.” Under color, it reads: “Any shade of wheaten.”

The vast majority of entries in the classes are either young adolescents that are of a lighter color or puppies that are oftentimes darker. Adult coats are really not fully evident until 3-4 years of age, and although some Specials may sport the full adult coat, many judges may never see the soft, silky and gently waving coat that is prized.

When that coat is displayed, it is most often of varying shades of wheat. The adult coat is very seldom a solid color and may even carry some black guard hairs. Although there is nothing wrong with placing puppies in the ribbons—even BOB if it truly exudes breed essence—do not ignore the adult with the mature coat because it appears to be the odd man out in a ring full of puppies and adolescents.

Although the finer nuances of coat type could be the subject of a more extensive article, suffice it to say that my approach is that the dog under the coat is the more important part of the package I am judging.

From a breeder’s perspective, improving the coat of a SCWT is far easier than improving a front or rear end assembly. Given two, three or four exhibits of equal quality (and I mean equal quality overall), then the coat, a component of the breed’s essence, may be a deciding factor—emphasis on the “may be.”

Finally, the individual examination: I can now almost complete the picture I have been painting in my frame, filling in the details and highlights and perhaps find the perfect SCWT—not!

I can now see that the profiles that were held by the entries with the good reach and drive I saw on the go-around are consistent with the short backs and relatively short loins I am now feeling, and perhaps confirm that the drop in the head of another is consistent with the long back and/or long loin.

I feel the “well laid back” and “well knit” shoulders that are clean and smooth, and because they are supported by a dog with a deep chest and well sprung ribs—the clean movement I observe when the dog comes back to me is totally expected. Wow, this entry may be somewhat loaded in the shoulders, but there is absolutely no break in the transition from neck to back at all. The bend of the stifles is there. It is not an illusion created by a skilled groomer, as was the length of neck and blending of neck to back on another well-conditioned and athletic entry that also seemed to have good reach and drive on the move. The hocks are parallel and the feet are round and compact.

This feminine bitch has good substance and bone—not fat, but if you were to lift her, she would seem to weigh more than you would expect of a bitch her size. You feel it in the bone and muscle; she is hardy and could survive the harshness of the Irish life that requires her to free whelp in barns and haystacks, to go after a badger for her owner, and then rest peacefully by the fire in the evening.

This one has the gorgeous shiny and more open adult coat of the land of origin that drops every bit of dirt or mud by the end of day—without being brushed—and that one has a soft, wavy, abundant coat with a deep wheaten color.

I put my hands on heads that appeared well proportioned on observation and I begin to find the head planes: a “skull flat and clean between the ears” equal with the “foreface” with a “defined stop” and “no suggestion of snippiness.” The entry has a “powerful and strong” muzzle, is “well filled below the eyes” with “cheekbones not prominent.” There is a scissor bite (level on another is acceptable) with clean, white, large teeth. Oh, and look at those “dark reddish brown or brown” eyes that are “almond-shaped” and which were only “indicated” in the trim of the head before I pulled the fall back to fully expose them.

And lastly size… I can now more accurately estimate the size (at the withers) of the individual dogs. I keep in mind that under General Appearance it states that “the breed requires moderation both in structure and presentation, and any exaggerations are to be shunned.” Although size need only be penalized according to severity—if it is excessive it can result in the loss of breed type.

I have one final tool: sparring. I do it. But I keep in mind that sparring is all or nothing, win or lose. If a dog fails to proudly stand its ground with confidence, remaining alert to the presence of the other dog(s) while defending if necessary or even expanding its territory, it will lose in my ring. If it seems to become an aggressor, I will need to decide on the basis of other information whether I believe it is “overly aggressive,” a major fault. Although a SCWT “exhibits less aggressiveness” than other terriers, they are nonetheless a terrier, and a display of timidity is also a major fault.

I have decided the BOB because of the spar—some gaining the ribbon and some losing. Bitches can be sparred, but I don’t expect them to do much more than ignore the others, but that doesn’t mean that any one of them should be intimidated or shy either, and I won’t be surprised if one Alpha bitch decides to chase off another who invades her “territory.”

Now the fun part. I have a ring full of Specials or Class Winners that all have many good breed characteristics and that all have one or two minor problems that could be improved. I get to decide which of these will get the ribbons today. Which ones have been presented to exude the essence of the breed? Which ones have consistently displayed a “take on the world attitude” either by standing aloof and self-confident as they alertly observed their fellow entries or perhaps have displayed exuberance for life as a whole as they watched other rings and dogs with interest?

Which dogs/bitches not only carry their balanced sporting terrier profile as they gracefully move around the ring, but also do so with a regal self-confidence or an adventurous “let’s go” attitude? Which ones with the requisite good reach and drive do so effortlessly and with a hint of untapped power as their coats flowed while carrying their tails fully “upright 90° from the back?”

Decision time.