George Spradling Evaluating Faults and Virtues When Judging
Download this page in PDF formatBack in June of ’68, George Spradling, from Kansas, judged a huge entry of Dachshunds at the Beverly Hills KC Show and afterawards gave a talk on the Breed about looking for Virtues instead of Faults. Barbara Nichols recorded this chat that Mr Spradling gave after judging Dachshunds all day. Barbara Nichols is someone who was also very serious about Dachshund breeding and she wanted to print this in “The American Dachshund”. I am re-publishing it here as I, too, think we always have to listen to respected breeders and Judges talk about how their decisions are made.
Wednesday evening following the Show, the DC of California held a dinner in honor of Mr. Spradling and his charming wife, Rachel. Mr. Spradling, owner of the very successful and well-known Hainheim Dachshunds, spoke on Conformation, Faults and Virtues.
Dinner guests had an opportunity to learn some facts about our Breed that they seldom have the chance to hear, for the speaker is a student of Dachshund conformation and genetics. When Mr. Spradling finished enumerating and evaluating the forty seven faults listed in the Dachshund standard, it was easier to understand just what he had been looking for in the entry judged a few days before.
Empahasizing that he primarily searched for virtues rather than faults, he said that a fault was a defect in a virtue. He explained that he rewarded virtues and penalized faults on the basis of how much a virtue helped or a fault prevented the dog from doing the work it was designed to do. He pointed out that all serious faults enumerated in the standard, except bites and glass eyes, pertain to function; they are defects that obstruct or hinder movement and stamina.
On the othet hand, all minor faults enumerated pertain to nonfunctional characters, viz., heads, shape of eyes, short neck, etc.Since the standard merely lists the faults in each group, excepting the three that are, in effect, disqualifications, without specifying their relative seriousness, a judge must determine howthey are to be evaluated. Thus, is a steep scapula causing paddling a more serious fault than cowhocks?
Mr. Spradling thinks it is, beause the front quarters must absorbthe jars and punishment of overcomig gravity which is a more difficult and wearying task than is performed by the rear quarters. Near perfection in the forequarters is therefore more essential than it is in the rear quarters, if the dog is gto perform work over a period of time.
Mr. Spradlingwent over the important specifications for characters and explained their functions. Thus he pointed out the necessity for good height at the withers, assuring ample space for the attachment of the scapula and additional heart space; the reason why a long, oval thorax and rib cage is necessary for added lung and heart room; the reasons for the length of scapula, upper arm and correct angulation, both front and rear; the reasons why a a fiddle front or wide rear result in poor movement. He said had very few show dogs in the show that moved well, and that many were barrel-chested. He also mentioned tat too tight elbows caused a stifled instead of free-moving front movement.
Feet he found better here than in some of the shows he has recently attended, but there were a number of soft pads. Front stancewas better than average, but wide rears were more prevalent.
Since wide “square” rers seem to b admired by many exhibitors, Mr. Spradling explained his objection to them. He said that because the center of gravity is located in the front part of the dog, instead of in the center of the body, when power is alternately applied by the back legs on opposite sides of the body, the center of gravity swings back and forth in proportion to the lateral distance of the back legs to the center of gravity. In other words, the dog wobbles. He said that the back legs should be located straight down from the hipjoint, and that, from a functional standpoint, closeness behind is preferable to wideness.
In judging the Beverly Hills Show, Mr. Spradling did not premit posing of the dogs or the feeding of tidbits. He said any experienced exhibitor is familiar with the tricks employed to hide faults, such as straightening the back line by spreading the back legs or pulling them back so far the dog stands on his toes, or offering tidbits so the dog leans forward , or even pushing the dog into a squatting postion.
He advocated judging back lines and most other features as the dog is gaited or standing on a loose lead in a natural stance, that is to say, while the dog is standing with all four feet on the ground. All dogs sometimes stop off-balance, but balance can be restored by having him take a step or two forward. The natural stance of a Dachshund with correct angulation is the so-called German Shepherd stance, since both have the sam angulation, front and rear.
He advised exhibitors to have others lead their dogs and stand back and objectively look at them in motio and standing naturally, instead of having themposed on a table. Many dogs that are, in fact, culls make beautiful outlines when posed and pushed into position on the table or floor.
In response to questions asked, Mr. Spradling said type had not changed in the thirty twenty or so years ago smaller dogs were preferred by most breeders;and that size should have no influence on judging. He pointed out, however, that large dogs are more easily seen, hence have an advantage in the ring, especially in interbreed competition. He also pointed out that red dogs can be seen in the ring much better that black and tans; that in some lights it is impossible to see the topline of black and tan dog unless there is a light background.
Mr Spradling remarked that he had never seen a Dachshund that did not have a number of faults, with at least one serious fault, and that most show specimens had several faults; that judging was hard work, especially when dogs were of inferior quality; that the DC of California Specialty Show that he judged back in 1951 had the highest percentage of top quality dogs he had ever seen in a show.