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GZBreed Columns IndexToy Group9 Affenpinschers10 Brussels Griffons10 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels11 Chihuahuas11 Chinese Cresteds12 English Toy Spaniels12 Havanese13 Italian Greyhounds14 Maltese14 Miniature Pinschers15 Papillons15 Pekingese16 Pomeranians17 Pugs18 Shih Tzu18 Silky Terriers19 Toy Fox Terriers19 Yorkshire TerriersNon-Sporting Group20 American Eskimo Dogs20 Boston Terriers21 Bulldogs21 Chinese Shar-Pei22 Chow Chow23 Dalmatians23 Finnish Spitz24 French Bulldogs25 Keeshonden25 Lhasa Apsos26 Löwchen26 Shiba Inu27 Tibetan Spaniels27 Tibetan TerriersHerding Group28 Australian Cattle Dogs29 Bearded Collies30 Beaucerons30 Belgian Malinois31 Belgian Sheepdogs32 Belgian Tervuren32 Border Collies33 Bouviers des Flandres33 Briards34 Canaan Dogs35 Cardigan Welsh Corgis35 Collies36 German Shepherd Dogs36 Icelandic Sheepdogs37 Norwegian Buhunds37 Old English Sheepdogs38 Pembroke Welsh Corgis39 Polish Lowland Sheepdogs39 Pulik40 Pyrenean Shepherds40 Swedish VallhundsBREED COLUMNSEDITED BY ARLISS PADDOCKtoysABOUT THE BREED COLUMNSThe breed columns are a time-honored feature of the AKC GAZETTE. Each columnist is appointed by abreed’s national parent club, which preserves the breed’s standard and helps to educate breeders,judges, and the public about the breed’s history, function, and possible health issues. A nationalparent club comprises dedicated breeders and fanciers, and it represents many years of collectiveexperience in the breed. Columnists are asked to write about topics of interest to the fancy in generalas well as those of specific interest to judges and devotees of the breed. The breed columns rotate bygroup so that each breed’s column can appear four times a year.Information and opinions expressed in the breed columns represent the views of their authors, not necessarilythose of the breed’s parent club or the AKC.AffenpinschersOur guest columnist for this issue isJude Daley, of South Hampton,New Hampshire, an Affenpinscherbreeder-owner-handler since 2001. Judeis president of the Affenpinscher Clubof America and just chaired thecommittee that produced the firstAffenpinscher Illustrated Standard. She canbe reached at affens@gmail.com.Where, Oh, Where Has OurLittle Dog Gone?Standing ringside recently, watchingthe Affens go ’round and ’round, I realizedthat the dogs were kinda big.Really big. Actually, they were huge.The standard calls for a height rangeof 9½ to 11½ inches. It used to statethat a height of 10½ inches was theideal—something all breeders shouldaim for.We are now seeing many large Affensin the ring. It’s easy to breed big dogs—or, more correctly, larger toy dogs.Nature does not like a small dog. WeAffen breeders know that, and everynow and then we are fooled by MotherNature with a lovely puppy who growsup to be an “Affen Pony”!In over 11 years, only once have Iseen a judge withhold a ribbon for anoversized Affen. Could it be because wehave no disqualifications in our breed,making it difficult for judges to insist on“toeing the line” as to size? Could it bebecause most all of the Affen judgingpopulation rarely get to see an Affen—and then when they do, they are overwhelmedby the entry (even if it’s justone) and are understandably hesitant topenalize the entrant by withholding theribbon? Or could it be because “big isbetter,” and the big ones zoom aroundfaster and are oh-so-flashy?Here’s my take on this phenomenonof big Affens: They are invaders! Not tocast any aspersions on Affens from overseas,but seriously, all the “foreign”Affens (imports, as their owners areproud to announce) seem to all havetwo things in common: They tend to belarge, and they zoom around the rings.It might remind you of how a GermanShepherd Dog is shown. Someoneexplained to me that at shows inEurope, Affens are required to runaround with larger dogs such as GiantSchnauzers and the like. In that situation,of course they have to move outand zoom; of course they have to havesome stature and a big presence. I getthat.In the U.S., however, we show onlywith other toys. Not until Best in Showdo we come up against anything larger.That should not deter any group-winningAffens, though. Look at the BISlineup at Westminster this year. I seriouslydoubt that Peke and his handlerever in their show career attempted a“zoom around the ring,” let alone try tolook big!The Affenpinscher standard hasalready been altered to accommodatethe breed growing larger—by one fullinch. Enough! Breed to the standard,and I’m willing to bet anything thatA K C G A Z E T T E • 9 • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2