Fault (dog)

Fault (dog)

In animal breeding, a fault is a characteristic whose state or quality falls outside of the acceptable range for the attribute being judged. This article discusses faults in dogs. (See conformation point for a list of some of the more common areas in which faults can occur.)

There are many faults, which may be said to be major or minor, or may be considered so serious as to merit disqualification. Unfortunately, these delineations differ among the various breed clubs.

Whose fault is it? Interpretation of the standards

There are no hard-and-fast rules when it come to faults; these are decided by individual breed clubs and written into breed standards, so what constitutes a fault may differ from breed to breed. Some breed standards are punctilious in the extreme, spelling out exactly what constitutes a fault in every part of the animal, and the degree to which each fault must be penalized. Some are more loosely written, leaving more open to interpretation by the judge, or not describing a conformation point at all, which leaves the matter up to the individual judge’s taste. A particularly troubling instance is one where the breed standard states that the fault is to be penalized to the degree of the severity of the fault; conformation points which are open to human interpretation cause much ill-will at conformation shows.

For example, most breed standards list a ‘scissor bite’ as the correct one. Dogs with a level bite, an under-bite or an overbite are said to have a ‘fault’. Under many breed standards, the judge must decide the degree of severity of the faulty bite, and therefore how much the dog must be marked down in relation to other dogs. However, some breed clubs find a level bite acceptable; some find it equally acceptable with the scissor bite. The all-breed judge, therefore, would have to know that this dog from this particular breed must not be marked below that dog from that other breed solely on the basis of this dog’s level bite, as the level bite is not a fault in this breed.

Another example is coat colour. A given colour may be acceptable, it may be preferred, it may be the only acceptable colour, it may be a fault, or it may be a disqualification. Sometimes these colours change over time, often after much in-fighting and bitterness. For many years, the only acceptable coat pattern in a Dalmatian was white with black spots, very recently liver spots have been accepted as a variant, but black still appears to be the preference of most. A black German Shepherd Dog is penalized; a white GSD is disqualified. Many GSD fanciers like the white colour and continue to breed for the white coat; some lobby for its acceptance into the breed standard, others argue for the creation of a new breed.

Working dogs

The breed standards for working dogs usually specify that scars, broken teeth or other damage that evidence injuries sustained during a working career (often termed ‘honourable scars and injuries') are not to be penalized in conformation showing. The Australian Cattle Dog is an example of this as are some terriers, where the breed standards specifically state that scars are not to be penalized on the conformation bench.

Conformation points and faults are very divisive in the dog-breeding community and are hotly debated. Fanciers note that such qualities have the capacity to change the breed, and sometimes even minute details are argued over to a degree that would astound the average pet owner.

Often it is the breeders of working dogs who are the most vehement, pointing out that changes in fashion and fancy have led to what they see as a loss in working dog qualities of many breed that have show lines.

ee also

*Dog breeding


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fault — may refer to:*Fault (geology), planar rock fractures which show evidence of relative movement *Fault (technology), an abnormal condition or defect at the component, equipment, or sub system level which may lead to a failure *An asymmetric fault… …   Wikipedia

  • Dog agility — Agility field left side: A competition agility field showing (clockwise from lower left) a tunnel, the dogwalk, the judge standing in front of a winged jump, two additional winged jumps, dog executing the teeter totter with his handler guiding,… …   Wikipedia

  • Dog camp — A dog camp is an alternative to a traditional dog boarding facility known as a kennel. They are a relatively recent phenomenon, emerging in select areas of the United States, Canada and Britain, and are a response to the growing realization that… …   Wikipedia

  • fault — 1. noun 1) he has his faults Syn: defect, failing, imperfection, flaw, blemish, shortcoming, weakness, frailty, foible, vice Ant: merit, strength 2) engineers have located …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • Conformation (dog) — Conformation in dogs refers solely to the externally visible details of a dog s structure and appearance, as defined in detail by each dog breed s written breed standard. A dog that conforms to most of the items of description in its individual… …   Wikipedia

  • Shiloh Shepherd Dog — Infobox Dogbreed image caption = Plush coated Shiloh Shepherd name = Shiloh Shepherd nickname = Shilohs country = United States notrecognized = no standards available note = Recognized by Rare Breed organizations for Showing purposes. The Shiloh… …   Wikipedia

  • Red Dog mine — Infobox Settlement name = Red Dog mine pushpin pushpin label position = left pushpin map caption = Location of the Red Dog mine in Alaska pushpin mapsize = subdivision type = Country subdivision name = United States subdivision type1 = State… …   Wikipedia

  • Dalmatian (dog) — Dalmatian Liver spotted Dalmatian Other names Carriage Dog Spotted Coach Dog Firehouse Dog Plum Pudding Dog. Nicknames Dal, Dally Country of origin Croatia (Dalmatia) …   Wikipedia

  • Nobody's Fault but Mine — is a traditional blues song that has been covered by many musicians since the late 1960s. A gospel song under the title It s Nobody s Fault but Mine is listed in the 1924 Cleveland Library s Index to Negro Spirituals.[1][2] The first known… …   Wikipedia

  • Karakachan Dog — Infobox Dogbreed image caption = Karakachan name = Karakachan Mecho. Owner Semperviva. altname = Karakachansko Kuche country = Bulgaria fcigroup= 2 The Karakachan The Karakachan Dog is a descendant of the dogs of the Thracians the oldest… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”