Light haws in show dogs

[Crystalstock]

Wondering if anyone has had success with a double light hawed show dog. if so have they completed their championship? any chance on a face picture?

Just wondering how much judges look down upon the light haws

 

[Caney Creek]

I don't show mine but I've seen quite a few champion titled boxers with double light haws. I can't give you any links, but I can tell you that they DO exist Of course, I'm sure it depends a lot on the judge, too, there will be judges who would prefer darker haws on boxers just as there will be judges who don't seem to mind as much.

 

[gmacleod]

Unpigmented haws are a fault - but they're a cosmetic fault, rather than a material one.

Between two otherwise-equivalent animals, a judge should give preference to the one with normally pigmented haws. Most standards around the world insist upon pigmented haws. But the US standard only says "preferably". So there is quite some room for individual preference or degrees to which unpigmented haws may be punished. I think you'd find many examples of dogs in the US with unpigmented haws which still make Champions. But you would need to accept that some judges will punish the fault to a greater degree than others (but all, probably, to a lesser degree than most of the rest of the world, per the wording of the standard).

 

[Xatra]

I think I can tell the difference between pigmented and unpigmented haws but just to be sure, this picture of Zaynah's left eye shows it pigmented and her right eye is unpigmented, correct?

Koda's breeder is offering one of his sisters, a flashy fawn, as a show prospect. She has double light haws (Koda's are both dark, according to the breeder and also what I see) and the breeder mentioned something about "having to drop them" to show her. Any idea what she was talking about?

 

[gmacleod]

...mentioned something about "having to drop them" to show her. Any idea what she was talking about?

You'd have to ask her to be certain. However, if she meant surgery to remove or disguise the haws - then that would be a disqualification offense (otherwise known as cheating). Cosmetic surgery, for obvious good reasons when you understand that showing is about selection of breeding stock (i.e. its the dog's genes that are at issue, not the skill of a surgeon) is not allowed.

 

[Xatra]

Thanks. I have no idea what she meant or whether it is allowed. Am I right about Zaynah's eyes having one dark and one light?

 

[Caney Creek]

Thanks. I have no idea what she meant or whether it is allowed. Am I right about Zaynah's eyes having one dark and one light?

Yes, that's correct. She has one dark and one light.

 

[GoCougs]

My AJ has double "white" haws, and he's "plain", which is sometimes considered a weird combination. While he's not finished, he would have been had I not retired him. He was 3 pts from finishing.

As previously pointed out, unpigmented haws are a fault, not a disqualification, so the extent of how much your dog is penalized depends on the judge and how much they value that particular cosmetic feature. Some judges penalize heavily, some don't penalize at all. It's all very subjective, and won't hinder you if the specimen you are showing is in many other aspect a good representative of the breed.

If you want to see pictures of AJ, there are in-ring movement shots and a head shots (where you can easily see he is double white) in my gallery.

 

[Crystalstock]

I appreciate all of the replys. I was trying to gauge how heavy of a fault it was and it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. no dog is perfect afterall.