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THE
AUSTRALIAN SILKY TERRIER
Home
The Only
Australian Toy Dog
Council Notes;
Published in Queensland Dog World. 1.8.2001
From the CONFORMATION SUB-COMMITTEE:
NOTES.
At this time, I would like to thank all the people who give their
time to the education of our trainee judges, whether it be
co-coordinator, breeders, speakers or the exhibitors who bring their
dogs along, without complaint, for lectures and of course to the
exhibitors at Open Shows. If trainees cannot get the hands on
experience, what then happens? we end up with fewer judges!
AUSTRALIAN-SILKY-TERRIER-FOR TRAINEES.
The Silky is not an exaggerated dog in
any way. It is a well balanced type of dog who should display
an intelligent alert look and move around the show ring in an agile
manner. It must be well groomed, glamorous little dog with refined
bone. The body coat length should balance the overall dog.
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
The dog is compact, moderately low set,
of medium length with a refined structure but of sufficient
substance to suggest the ability to hunt and kill domestic rodents.
The parted, straight silky hair presents a well-groomed appearance.
( EXPLANATION IN BLUE NEXT! ! ! )
Regarding the silky general appearance, I
find the words MODERATE,
MEDIUM
and
REFINED
are the key to
structure and appearance. MODERATE being its low set appearance.
MEDIUM being its length of body. REFINED being its overall bone
structure.
The correct silky type in appearance should not be that
of a long coated Australian Terrier or an oversized Yorkshire
Terrier.
As the standard specifically requests, " A well groomed appearance.
The preparation and grooming of the Silky is most important.
CHARACTERISTICS-TEMPERAMENT:
It
should display Terrier characteristics, embodying keen alertness,
activity and soundness.
It
must be remembered that the Silky Terrier is a TOY DOG with
Terrier characteristics, not a Terrier with toy
characteristics.
Aggressive type behaviour is not
desirable. Keen, friendly and alert type behaviour is preferable.
A characteristic we often see in Silkys is when they hold one front
foot up, looking alert and ready to pounce on something.
[Maybe a
mouse] !!
HEAD AND SKULL:
Of moderate
length, slightly shorter from the tip of the nose to between the
eyes than from the same position o the occiput.
The head must be
strong and of Terrier character, being moderately broad between the
ears; he skull flat and without fullness between
eyes, with
fine silky top-knot, not falling over the eyes,
[ a long fall of hair on the foreface or cheeks is very
objectionable ]. Nose Black.
( EXPLANATION IN BLUE NEXT! ! ! )
In
proportion a
Silky head should be two parts muzzle, three parts skull. The
top-knot should be groomed in such manner that the eyes be visible.
Dogs often "domed" in the skull, are too narrow between the ears.
The length of hair on the cheeks and foreface should be shorter than
of the surrounding neck and fall.
EYES:
Shall be small
round, not prominent, dark as possible
in colour
with a keen intelligent expression. /
"NEW
SILKY STANDARD May 2004 "
&
May 2009
(
EXPLANATION IN BLUE NEXT! ! ! )
Eyes are pretty
good in silkys. Occasionally you will come across a light eye. This
should be penalized as it takes away from the keen, intelligent
expression that is projected from a very dark eye. Prominent eyes
are usually set wide apart and go with a shorter muzzle.
This is
also quite incorrect.
EARS:
Should be small,
V- shaped
with fine leather, set high on skull, pricked and entirely free from
long hair.
V-SHAPED, SET HIGH ON THE SKULL:
The set is most important to gain
that keen alertness required for the breed. Leafy type,
round ended type and too low set type
are incorrect.
The ears are tan all over the back, but you will find some are tan
around the base only. This is quite acceptable. Pups may have
their ears down up to the age of 7 months, but should not be shown
after 6 months if ears have not come up. Set wide, large and flaring
not correct!
Too large and round not correct! Large with tips pointing to the
side,
not
correct!
NOSE:
Any other
colour than black should not be tolerated. The butterfly nose
should be faulted.
MOUTH:
Strong jaws,
teeth even and not cramped. The upper incisors fitting closely over
the lower [scissor bite]. Lips tight and clean.
There should
be six incisor in both top and bottom of the scissor bite.
Overshot: not correct!
Undershot: not correct!
NECK:
Medium length, refined and
slightly crested, fitting gracefully into the shoulders. Well
covered with long silky hair.
Here again
appear the words MEDIUM and REFINED.
A neck that is too short will appear thick set and gives a cramped
appearance not giving a graceful and refined appearance.
The slight
crest well covered with long silky hair adds to the glamorous
refined look of a good specimen.
The correct neck will display
elegance and a degree of good breeding.
FOREQUARTERS:
Shoulders fine and well laid
back, fitting well angulated upper arms snugly to the
ribs.
Elbows turned neither in nor out. The forelegs have refined, round
bone and are straight and well set under the body with NO weakness
in the pasterns.
Narrow chest, not correct. Crooked
bone,
not correct. Weak pasterns and toeing in or out, not
correct.
Again the
emphasis is on REFINED bone. Heavy coarse bone is most unacceptable
in silky. This is leaning towards the bone type in AUSTRALIAN
TERRIERS. Please remember the standard calls for fine shoulders and
refined, round bone in the forelegs. Straightness in upper arm will
sometimes go with too straight in shoulder. The dog with straight
shoulders will have faulty front movement, as he throws the front
leg in a circular movement with each step or moves with a "HACKNEY"
gait. This can give the impression of no reach in front when moving
or the front legs can even have a swinging or paddling motion. There
are some exceptionally good fronts, but they are few and far
between. CHECK: LOOSE SHOULDERS, OUT AT ELBOWS, STRAIGHT SHOULDER:
Correct Shoulder Angulations [90*] deg. WEAK PASTERNS,
BOWED LEGS, A " HACKNEY" GAIT, STRAIGHT STIFLE, LONG STRAIGHT
HOCK, are not correct!
BODY:
Should be moderately long in
proportion to the height of the dog. Level top line,
well sprung ribs extending back to strong loins.
Chest of
moderate depth and breadth. A top line showing a roach
or dip is a serious fault.
Here we find the
use of the word MODERATE, the dog appearing slightly longer
from the point of shoulder to the set on tail,
than it is in height
[Approx. 1/5 to 1/6 longer than the height of the dog].
Level top line lengths of the body correctly measured from the
withers to set on of tail. I cannot emphasize enough how
important a level top-line is for this breed. Remember the
standard says, "A TOP LINE SHOWING A ROACH OR A DIP IS A
SERIOUS FAULT ".
A level top line should not be discounted in
preference to a glamorous coat. Always judge the top line
when the dog is gaiting around the ring.
When viewing the body, always check for a moderately
long body in proportion to the dog's height, about
28 to 29 centimeters long.
HINDQUARTERS:
The thighs must be well
developed and the stifles should be well turned and the hocks well
bent.
When viewed from behind the hocks should be well let down and
parallel with each other.
Silky's with
straight stifles will tend to appear high in the rear. The hocks
should be parallel. If turning in they are cow-hocked.
This fault
will quite often go with a down in pastern problem and not have
sufficient drive to create that strong propelling power
required for
good movement. Check: Cow-hocks, not correct ,
Straight stifles, not correct, No drive in
hindquarters, not correct.
TAIL:
Preferably not docked, [in Australia] and carried erect [not
over-gay]. Blue on tail to be dark. A slightly gay tail
rather than a tail down or between
the back legs.
Tail carried erect, ONE O' clock.
is the correct position.
 Click on
NEW STANDARD!! 2009
URGENT!
It has come to attention
that bills are being passed in the Queensland State
Government banning tail docking in this State.
The Minister for Primary Industries department has
informed the Secretary that the ban comes into
effect from 25 October 2003 All States. 2006 |
|
FEET:
Small well padded, CAT-like
with closely knit toes, the toenails must be black or very dark.
Feet are not a major problem unless
the nails are kept too long. This can tend to give them the
appearance of wideness like a splayed foot,
as the toes tend to
spread rather than the required CAT- like look.
GAIT AND MOVEMENT:
The movement should be free and
true without slackness at shoulder or elbows. There should be no
turning in nor out of the feet or pasterns. The hindquarters should
have strong propelling power with ample flexibility at stifles and
hocks. Viewed from behind the movement should be
neither too close nor too wide.
A silky should be
fluid in movement, showing drive in rear and reach in front.
If there are problems in the forequarters, you will sometimes see a
stilted,
swinging or almost hackney type
movement when coming towards you. Problems in Hindquarters can also
produce uneven movement, such as swinging type rear, or lack of
drive causing the dog to look as if its feet were kicking towards
its stomach.
The movement should appear light, free and true, from both front and
back. When the dog is moving, this is the time to ALSO judge the top
line.
COAT:
Must
be flat, fine and glossy and of a silky texture with a length of
coat from 13 to 15 centimeters
[5 to 6 inches] from behind the ears to the set on the tail, but
must not impede the dogs action. The legs from knees and hocks to
feet free from long hair.
In this breed
the texture of the coat is
utmost importance. FLAT, FINE,
GLOSSY AND LIKE SILK are the operative words.
Remember it is a
single coat and should not stand out from the body. It should hang
FLAT.
in no way should it look or feel coarse. We want fine, silky,
shiny, coat, which feels smooth like satin and almost cool to the
touch.
The coat must be straight, never wavy. Also it should
not be a WOOLLY TEXTURE.
COLOUR:
Blue and tan or grey-blue and
tan, the RICHER the COLOUR the better. Blue on the tail to be very
dark, silver or fawn topknot desirable. Distribution of blue and tan
as follows: tan around the base of the ears, muzzle and on
the sides of the cheeks. blue from the base of the skull to the tip
of the tail, running down the forelegs to near the knees and down
the thighs to the hocks; Tan line showing down the stifles and
the knees and hocks to the toes and around the vent.
The body colour must be free from smut or dark shading.
Black colouring is permissible in puppies,
blue must be established by 18 months of age.
/
"NEW
SILKY STANDARD May 2004 "
&
May 2009
One of the
most important aspects of this breed and probably one of the
hardest things to achieve is three complete different colors.
Topknot: silver or fawn topknot desirable. Body: Blue or
Grey-blue. Tan: as per distribution of tan. Almost silver within
areas,
which should be tan, is the most serious fault. Interpretation of "COLOUR " by George Grendon.
I have been a dedicated breeder of Australian Silky Terriers
Since 1957 and was present when the original standard was drawn up
in 1958.
" I feel the word RICHER is being misinterpreted
considerably as to its meaning. My interpretation of rich was
nothing whatsoever to do with darkness or lightness of colour,
because the paragraph is written entirely in PLURAL, therefore it
includes the full colour range between grey-blue
and blue, from pigeon blue to slate blue.
I have an interpretation, which I use when talking with some
authority on this matter, or close Silky- breeder-friends. It is as
follows:" Take two pieces of fabric exactly the same size. One piece
of CALICO and one piece of SILK, The CALICO is dyed a deep shade of
blue and the SILK is dyed a lighter shade of blue.
WHICH FABRIC DO YOU THINK WOULD BE RICHER IN THE COLOUR BLUE ??"
My interpretation, tells me the SILK is the RICHER in spite of it
being the lighter shade of blue.
It has a fine flat and glossy texture making it more attractive to
the eye. The CALICO, no matter how deep a blue colour will still
look DULL and DRAB because of its non reflective heavy
texture." When a dog changes to silver, light blonde on the body
coat-it is too light.
Never lose sight of the fact that a
silky is blue OR grey-blue with tan, NOT grey/silver [because there
is no blue present in that blend].
Grey-blue is with the dark tip on the end of the tail and darker
roots in the coat, particularly along the part."
"In relation to COAT LENGTH, as a serious breeder? I am
adamant that you must see DAYLIGHT below the coat length and the
feet should be visible when the dog is moving. After all why
bother to have rich tan cat-like feet if they are hidden by an over
long coat and are unable to be seen. This breed is the most
definitely not an OVERSIZED Yorkshire Terrier but was originally
bred from full terrier bloodlines for the purpose of hunting
rodents and as such must be
free in movement and not be impeded by an
over length and undesirable coat."
SIZE:
Height: Dogs: Approx. 23-26 centimetres
[Aprox.9-10 inches] at the wither. Bitches slightly
less. Weight: Desirable weight from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 kilograms
[Approx. 8 to 10 Lbs]. /
May 2009
Over many years
overall size of silky's has increased by about an inch, so naturally
this has affected the weight as-well.
Nevertheless a degree of
leniency should be allowed to promote CORRECT TYPE,
remembering not to accept
heavy or course bone, refined bone is what the standard ask for.!
FAULTS:
Any departure from the foregoing points
should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the
fault should be regarded
should be in exact proportion to its
degree. /
May 2009
NOTE:
Male animals should have two apparently
normal testicles full descended into the scrotum.
EDUCATING-NOTE:
Approximately:
Much like:
resembling: to bring near.
Moderately:
Within
reasonable limits.
Desirable:
Having
pleasing.
Moderately Long:
To a moderate
degree without excess.
Please
download
2009
Standard
Supplied by: "AUSILK"
Helmut DRESSLER. Phone:+[61]
7 55 460260
ANKC
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