Paula Jean McDermid

This unique book illustrates in photos the ideal moderate breed type and characteristics of Australian Shepherds and Miniature American Shepherds. Using 242 photos of excellent examples of these breeds, this book compares five breed standards: AKC, FCI and ASCA for Australian Shepherds; and AKC and FCI for Miniature American Shepherds. Breed standards describe the ideal appearance, characteristics, and temperament of a breed; they are a blueprint for a dog who is able to perform the job for which the breed was developed. Reading and understanding a breed standard requires knowledge of specific terminology and dog anatomy, as well as familiarity with the breed overall. However, written breed standards leave room for interpretation, and misunderstanding of descriptions is common. Inaccurate interpretation of the standards results in faulty judging and breeding decisions, causing the breeds to veer away from the ideal dog intended by the breed founders. The purpose of this book is to fill in knowledge gaps using photos of correct dogs, and explain the reasons why traits are desirable or undesirable, according to the breed standards. The authors are three highly respected judges from the USA and Europe.

Breed standards are an outline of the ideal breed specimen. However, they leave a lot of room for interpretation-which can be highly inaccurate if a person does not have depth knowledge of the breeds. Mistaken interpretation results in faulty judging and breeding decisions, causing the breeds to veer away from the ideal dog intended by the breed founders. Using photos of excellent examples of these breeds, this book clearly illustrates the standards from the viewpoint of highly respected judges from the USA and Europe. The objective of this book is to guide judges and breeders toward better judging and breeding decisions through deeper knowledge of the standards.Rassestandards sind ein berblick ber das ideale Rasseexemplar. Sie lassen jedoch viel Interpretationsspielraum-was sehr ungenau sein kann, wenn eine Person keine fundierten Kenntnisse ber die Rassen hat. Eine falsche Interpretation f hrt zu fehlerhaften Beurteilungs- und Zuchtentscheidungen, was dazu f hrt, dass die Rassen vom idealen Hund abweichen, der von den Rassegr ndern beabsichtigt wurde. Anhand von Fotos hervorragender Exemplare dieser Rassen veranschaulicht dieses Buch anschaulich die Standards aus Sicht hoch angesehener Richter aus den USA und Europa. Ziel ist es, Richter und Z chter durch tiefere Kenntnis der Standards zu besseren Richter- und Zuchtentscheidungen zu f hren.