Breed standard (dogs)
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A breed standard (also called bench standard) in animal fancy and animal husbandry is a set of guidelines which is used to ensure that the animals produced by a breeding facility conform to the specifics of the breed. It is also used in competition to judge a given animal against the hypothetical ideal specimen of that breed. This article refers to breed standards in dogs. For use in other animals, see Breed standard.

Content and purpose

The breed standard for each breed of dog is distinct, giving a detailed "word picture"¹ of an idealized dog of that breed. Breed standards provide detailed information about appearance and often about temperament typical of the breed. Included in the breed standard description are the aspects of appearance and behaviour that are considered the most important for the breed, and those that are considered faults in appearance or temperament. In addition most standards include a historical section, describing the original work done by the breed or its ancestor types. However, breed standards do not include testing requirements for health or requirements for specific types of training or work; breed standards are only intended to describe the breed's appearance and temperament.

Breed standards and conformation shows

The basis of judging in conformation dog shows is breed type, the whole of the characteristics that are typical of a breed. Breed type is outlined in the written breed standard for each breed, and the judge looks at the entered dogs for the ones that most perfectly resemble the judge's mental image of ideal breed type. Dogs are judged against the judge's mental ideal, not against each other. The goal of the conformation show is to identify breeding stock for the breed, and the breed standard is "the standard or model which breeders endeavour to achieve."² It is important to note that conformation shows do not examine the entered dogs for fitness for purpose (such as hunting characteristics in a dog traditionally used for hunting), and while dogs may be excused by a judge for obvious lameness or illness, the dogs are not examined for genetic health or the general health of the animal beyond appearance and behaviour described in the breed standard.

In general, the breed club for each breed sets rules and guidelines for health testing and work testing, but breeders are free to leave and join (or form) another club if the requirements for breeding become too troublesome. A good example of this is the lack of regulation on congenital disorders found in certain breeds, for example the prevalence of syringomyelia in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels or dermoid sinus in Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

Breed standards are open to interpretation and to a judge’s individual opinion. As judges are selected by the exhibitors whose dogs he or she is judging, errors in comprehension of the standard result in the judge not being invited to judge again, so the problem is self-correcting. In addition, breed clubs and national kennel clubs provide regular seminars for the training of judges in the details of the individual breed standards and how they are interpreted. Sports that rely on the judgement of one or more judges, rather than on a system of competitive scores without judges, are sometimes accused of being lesser sports.³

Breed standard formats

Each recognised breed of dog has a written standard, many of which have been developed and slowly changed over the last few hundred years. Some breeds were described by fanciers in a written breed standard in order to provide guidelines for breeders participating in the sport of conformation; other breed standards, such as those written by the Spanish veterinarian Manuel Marques in the 1930s, were written to provide a description of a native landrace breeds that were in danger of dying out. Since the origins and purposes of standards vary, the contents, teminology, and organisation of the information in a standard also varies. However, since the purpose of the standard is to assist those who show, live with, or work with the specific breed, lack of a consistent format between standards for different breeds has never been shown to cause any problems for fanciers of the breed.

The Fédération Cynologique Internationale, which organises international dog sports and events, including conformation shows, does have a basic outline for breed standards. However, the standards are written by the country of origin (or a sponsoring country, in the case of some breeds). The Fédération Cynologique Internationale breed standards are used for judging dogs for international championships, although individual countries may have their own variations in the details of the breed standard used in conformation shows within their own country.

Faults

In breed standards, the term fault is used to describe an aspect of appearance or temperament that is considered detrimental to the breed type of the breed. Since dogs have enormous variation in their appearance, what is or is not considered desirable or undesirable depends on the appearance and historical background (what kind of work it was originally bred to do) of the individual breed. Outside observers find this lack of all-inclusive terminology to be bafflingly problematic, but since people seldom show dogs in more than one breed or group, this is not a problem for people who enjoy the sport. Breed standards are rarely more than a page or two long, and easy for even children in Junior Showmanship to learn. Judges are required to have many years of experience in breeds that they judge, so variations are not a serious problem for judges.

A fault in appearance does not indicate that a dog is incapable of work or of being a good companion and pet; it merely means that the dog with the fault will not finish a championship, and most likely will not be chosen for breeding unless the dog has desirable qualities that outweigh the fault. Ear shape is a case in point. In erect-eared breeds, an ear that does not stand straight up by the time the puppy is 6 months old may be considered a fault. The Kennel Club standard for the German Shepherd Dog states that ears should never be "pulled inwards or tipped" or "hanging".⁴ Such a German Shepherd would not finish a championship, and would not be chosen for breeding, although the dog may make a good pet or working dog. In contrast, for the Fox Terrier, the folded ears are not a fault, but a requirement; the breed standard requires the "fold of ear above level of skull".⁵ For the Papillon the folded ear is again a fault, with a fully dropped ear accepted equally with the erect-eared variant, called the Phalène (which under Fédération Cynologique Internationale rules is shown as a separate breed, not just as a variant of the Papillon.) The Norwich and Norfolk terriers have differing ear shapes and are always considered separate breeds. Each of these descriptions seem clear and concise to fanciers of the individual breeds described, however confusing they may seem to the uninterested casual observer.

Ear characteristics are only one of the appearance characteristics that may be listed in the breed standard. Another common area of description includes the bite and teeth. A judge must be aware that some breed standards (usually for working dogs) allow for missing and broken teeth, while other standards state that missing teeth are faults. Teeth may be missing due to a congenital defect, and a conformation judge would have no way to know if the missing teeth were a defect or due to an accident. It would be up to the breeder to decide whether or not the missing teeth would be a problem for the next generation. Working dog standards may also specify that scars are not to be penalized, although if they render parts of the dog unrecognizable (torn ears, for example), the dog may not be able to finish a conformation championship. Lack of a championship may have nothing to do with the dog's worth as a working dog, or its suitability for breeding, but it may affect the asking price for the dog's puppies.

Different countries, different standards, different interpretations

The breed standard may vary in details from country to country. An example is the American Kennel Club standard for the Bull Terrier, which states clearly that a level bite or a scissor bite is acceptable, but the Australian National Kennel Council Bull Terrier standard only recognizes the scissor bite. Since an incorrect bite is a serious flaw, breeders in one country might cull out puppies that would be acceptable for show in another country, alternately, some competitors might find their local champions unable to compete internationally. During the conformation show at the 2004 Sydney Royal Easter Show an unusually large number of protests against the judges’ decisions were lodged; it was felt by some owners that the international judges did not completely understand the commonly accepted breed standard interpretations of the Australian National Kennel Council. It is up to the exhibitor to know the rules of the governing body under which he or she is showing a dog.

Organizing bodies for breed standards

Although most dog fanciers show only in their own country, under the rules of one registry, international shows have increased in popularity. Eforts have been made by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale to ensure that breed clubs in its 84 member countries use the same descriptive language in their standards, using a basic outline approved by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale General Assembly in June of 1987 in Jerusalem. The American Kennel Club, one of the largest in the world, does not belong to the FCI, nor does The Kennel Club (UK), the oldest kennel club. There have been measures taken to regularise standards between the Kennel Club (UK), the Canadian Kennel Club, and the two main American clubs. An agreement at the 1981 World Congress of Kennel Clubs defined a standard format for breed standards across the major dog registries⁶ and a similar effort was made for breed registries in the United States at the Dog Registry Conference, held in October, 2006 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

See also

• Canine terminology
• Dog breeding
• Conformation dog show

References