What’s The Big Deal About Teeth?

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210 – July, 2024

By Sandy Weaver

What do you know about your dog’s teeth?

• Do you know how to show them?

• Do you know why you have to show what you have to show?

• Do you know that if you and your dog aren’t good at showing teeth, you could find yourself excused, excused for menacing, or disqualified?

Did that get your attention? Teeth–specifically, the oral examination in the conformation ring–can be confusing and very problematic for many owner-handlers. Read on and you’ll be an expert by the end of this article.

First, about that last point: yes, handlers and their dog get excused, excused for menacing, and sometimes even disqualified, simply because the handler can’t properly show their dog’s mouth. Here are the differences between the three “thank you for coming, you’re done” directives:

1. Excused – unable to examine: the dog is being so unruly that the judge can’t examine it, so excuses it from the ring.

2. Excused – menacing: the dog has moved its head in such a way that the judge felt that there was potential for escalation to a bite. The dog can continue to compete until three different judges have excused it for menacing, at which point the AKC administratively disqualifies the dog and notifies the owner, meaning no more shows at all until the dog is evaluated and perhaps reinstated.

3. Disqualified: the dog has behaved in such a way as to indicate to the judge that it is too dangerous to be examined. Once disqualified, the dog cannot continue to compete until and unless it is reinstated, and reinstatement isn’t easy to achieve.

Click here to read the complete article
210 – July, 2024

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Posted by AnthonyA on Jul 20 2024. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.