Takara

Well there's not much point in getting a critique of Ed is there?

I decided to give it a go, so see what you think to her

I would particularly appreciate comments on her back. I'm not overly impressed by her topline and have heard varying remarks - some people thinking it's good, others saying it's not but Takara has a very natural stance unlike many dallies I have seen at shows that have their back legs forced back to make their bottom go down.

Breed Standard:
General Appearance
A distinctively spotted dog, balanced, strong, muscular and active. Symmetrical in outline, free from coarseness and lumber.

Characteristics
A carriage dog of good demeanour, capable of great endurance and a fair turn of speed.

Temperament
Outgoing and friendly, not shy or hesitant, free from nervousness and aggression.

Head and Skull
Of fair length, skull flat, reasonably broad between ears, moderately well defined in front of ears. Moderate amount of stop. Entirely free from wrinkle. Muzzle long, powerful, never snipy; lips clean, fitting jaw moderately closely. Nose in black spotted variety always black, in liver spotted variety always brown.

Eyes
Set moderately well apart, medium size, round, bright and sparkling, with intelligent expression. Colour, dark in black spotted, amber in liver spotted. Eye rims preferably completely black in black spotted, and liver brown in liver spotted.

Ears
Set on rather high, moderate size, rather wide at base, gradually tapering to rounded point. Fine in texture, carried close to head. Marking well broken up, preferably spotted.

Mouth
Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Neck
Fairly long, nicely arched, light and tapering. Entirely free from throatiness.

Forequarters
Shoulders moderately oblique, clean and muscular. Elbows close to body. Forelegs perfectly straight with strong round bone down to feet, with slight spring at pastern joint.

Body
Chest not too wide but deep and capacious with plenty of lung and heart room. Ribs well sprung, well defined withers, powerful level back, loin strong, clean, muscular and slightly arched.

Hindquarters
Rounded, muscles clean with well developed second thigh, good turn of stifle, hocks well defined.

Feet
Round, compact, with well arched toes, cat-like, round, tough, elastic pads. Nails black or white in black spotted variety, in liver spotted, brown or white.

Tail
Length reaching approximately to hock. Strong at insertion gradually tapering towards end, never inserted too low or too high, free from coarseness and carried with a slight upward curve, never curled. Preferably spotted.

Gait/Movement
Great freedom of movement. Smooth, powerful, rhythmic action with long stride. Viewed from fore and aft, the legs should appear straight with a degree of convergence towards the centre line at the trot. The feet should move along straight lines with the rear feet tracking the fore. A short stride and paddling action is incorrect

Coat
Short, hard, dense; sleek and glossy in appearance.

Colour
Ground colour pure white. Black spotted, dense black spots, and liver spotted, liver brown spots; not running together but round and well defined. In size one-penny to fifty-pence piece. Spots as well distributed as possible. Spots on extremities smaller than those on body. Patches, tricolours and spotting colour other than black or liver unacceptable. Bronzing on spots undesirable in adults.

Size
Overall balance of prime importance. Ideal height: dogs: 58-61 cms (23-24 ins); bitches: 56-58 cms (22-23 ins).

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 and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

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Not aiming for a show stand here - it was just a 'watch me' exercise.
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Below are just about the only show pics I have - these are the ones that Takara's breeder was appalled with and said 'no wonder she didn't get placed, she was stood like a sack of spuds'

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Thanks.

Can't offer a critique, but she looks gorgeous to me! Are you thinking of showing her again?

Aww thanks hun!

Yep, there's a girl here in Sheffield who's into show handling, she wants to try handling other breeds so I offered for her to use Takara.

I can't show Takara because I can't run at all so can't move her in the ring so I figured this girl can have a go and see how they get on

I'm not too bothered about the results but I think it'd be good for Takara to get used to being handled by someone else and also to meet different judges and be poked a bit!

I like a lot about her! Nice head, but would appear to have one ear not "quite right" Nice expression, eyes of good colour and shape.

Nice neck and shoulders, but would prefer a deeper chest reaching the elbow. Love her hindquarters, excellent turn of stifle. Nice tail, lovely set and carriage would prefer it to be spotted for perfection!

Overall a VERY well balanced animal with an awful lot to like about her, typical and shouts "DALMATIAN" at you!

Aw thanks for that BD! Yes, she does have a fly away ear, but I've found that sometimes shes puts it right herself... so I'm working out how to get it... it depends on the way I say a certain thing... but not got it quite right yet

What's a 'turn of stifle'? Sorry I'm not really up on any of it!

Thanks!

Her back leg has a good "turn" or "bend" stifle being the knee.

ahhh thank you

*sneaks in* ....she looks gorgeous!!... *sneaks out!*

She looks stunning to me,love her,xxxxxxx

Aw thanks guys

Well, I'm now getting a mobility scooter as soon as we can afford it (or can get finance on one) so not only can this young girl handle her, but I may even be able to get back into showing her!!