Saturday, May 14, 2011

My bubblegum nose is disappearing

I'm so depressed.  My bubblegum nose is disappearing...  Here is the proof!






Are you kidding me?  Does this mean I can actually be a show dog now?  From the AKC Breed Standard : "Nose shall be black, except in the blue Dane, where it is a dark blue-black. A black spotted nose is permitted on the harlequin; a pink colored nose is not desirable. A split nose is a disqualification. "

Oh I reads the rest of the standard too..... I is not a show dog... I've highlighted the text for some of the reasons I can not be a show dog - Plus I is tutored. 

General Appearance
The Great Dane combines, in its regal appearance, dignity, strength and elegance with great size and a powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body. It is one of the giant working breeds, but is unique in that its general conformation must be so well balanced that it never appears clumsy, and shall move with a long reach and powerful drive. It is always a unit-the Apollo of dogs. A Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, never timid; always friendly and dependable. This physical and mental combination is the characteristic which gives the Great Dane the majesty possessed by no other breed. It is particularly true of this breed that there is an impression of great masculinity in dogs, as compared to an impression of femininity in bitches. Lack of true Dane breed type, as defined in this standard, is a serious fault.
Size, Proportion, Substance
The male should appear more massive throughout than the bitch, with larger frame and heavier bone. In the ratio between length and height, the Great Dane should be square. In bitches, a somewhat longer body is permissible, providing she is well proportioned to her height. Coarseness or lack of substance are equally undesirable. The male shall not be less than 30 inches at the shoulders, but it is preferable that he be 32 inches or more, providing he is well proportioned to his height. The female shall not be less than 28 inches at the shoulders, but it is preferable that she be 30 inches or more, providing she is well proportioned to her height. Danes under minimum height must be disqualified.
Head
The head shall be rectangular, long, distinguished, expressive, finely chiseled, especially below the eyes. Seen from the side, the Dane’s forehead must be sharply set off from the bridge of the nose, (a strongly pronounced stop). The plane of the skull and the plane of the muzzle must be straight and parallel to one another. The skull plane under and to the inner point of the eye must slope without any bony protuberance in a smooth line to a full square jaw with a deep muzzle (fluttering lips are undesirable). The masculinity of the male is very pronounced in structural appearance of the head. The bitch’s head is more delicately formed. Seen from the top, the skull should have parallel sides and the bridge of the nose should be as broad as possible. The cheek muscles should not be prominent. The length from the tip of the nose to the center of the stop should be equal to the length from the center of the stop to the rear of the slightly developed occiput. The head should be angular from all sides and should have flat planes with dimensions in proportion to the size of the Dane. Whiskers may be trimmed or left natural. Eyes shall be medium size, deep set, and dark, with a lively intelligent expression. The eyelids are almond-shaped and relatively tight, with well developed brows. Haws and mongolian eyes are serious faults. In harlequins, the eyes should be dark; light colored eyes, eyes of different colors and walleyes are permitted but not desirable. Ears shall be high set, medium in size and of moderate thickness, folded forward close to the cheek. The top line of the folded ear should be level with the skull. If cropped, the ear length is in proportion to the size of the head and the ears are carried uniformly erect. Nose shall be black, except in the blue Dane, where it is a dark blue-black. A black spotted nose is permitted on the harlequin; a pink colored nose is not desirable. A split nose is a disqualification. Teeth shall be strong, well developed, clean and with full dentition. The incisors of the lower jaw touch very lightly the bottoms of the inner surface of the upper incisors (scissors bite). An undershot jaw is a very serious fault. Overshot or wry bites are serious faults. Even bites, misaligned or crowded incisors are minor faults.
Neck, Topline, Body
The neck shall be firm, high set, well arched, long and muscular. From the nape, it should gradually broaden and flow smoothly into the withers. The neck underline should be clean. Withers shall slope smoothly into a short level back with a broad loin. The chest shall be broad, deep and well muscled. The forechest should be well developed without a pronounced sternum. The brisket extends to the elbow, with well sprung ribs. The body underline should be tightly muscled with a well-defined tuck-up.
The croup should be broad and very slightly sloping. The tail should be set high and smoothly into the croup, but not quite level with the back, a continuation of the spine. The tail should be broad at the base, tapering uniformly down to the hock joint. At rest, the tail should fall straight. When excited or running, it may curve slightly, but never above the level of the back. A ring or hooked tail is a serious fault. A docked tail is a disqualification.
Forequarters
The forequarters, viewed from the side, shall be strong and muscular. The shoulder blade must be strong and sloping, forming, as near as possible, a right angle in its articulation with the upper arm. A line from the upper tip of the shoulder to the back of the elbow joint should be perpendicular. The ligaments and muscles holding the shoulder blade to the rib cage must be well developed, firm and securely attached to prevent loose shoulders. The shoulder blade and the upper arm should be the same length. The elbow should be one-half the distance from the withers to the ground. The strong pasterns should slope slightly. The feet should be round and compact with well-arched toes, neither toeing in, toeing out, nor rolling to the inside or outside. The nails should be short, strong and as dark as possible, except that they may be lighter in harlequins. Dewclaws may or may not be removed.
Hindquarters
The hindquarters shall be strong, broad, muscular and well angulated, with well let down hocks. Seen from the rear, the hock joints appear to be perfectly straight, turned neither toward the inside nor toward the outside. The rear feet should be round and compact, with well-arched toes, neither toeing in nor out. The nails should be short, strong and as dark as possible, except they may be lighter in harlequins. Wolf claws are a serious fault.
Coat
The coat shall be short, thick and clean with a smooth glossy appearance.
Color, Markings and Patterns
Brindle--The base color shall be yellow gold and always brindled with strong black cross stripes in a chevron pattern. A black mask is preferred. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The more intensive the base color and the more distinct and even the brindling, the more preferred will be the color. Too much or too little brindling are equally undesirable. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted, dirty colored brindles are not desirable.
Fawn--The color shall be yellow gold with a black mask. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The deep yellow gold must always be given the preference. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted dirty colored fawns are not desirable.
Blue--The color shall be a pure steel blue. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.
Black--The color shall be a glossy black. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.
Harlequin– Base color shall be pure white with black torn patches irregularly and well distributed over the entire body; a pure white neck is preferred. Merle patches are normal. No patch should be so large that it appears to be a blanket.
Eligible, but less desirable, are black hairs showing through the white base coat which give a salt and pepper or dirty appearance.
Mantle--The color shall be black and white with a solid black blanket extending over the body; black skull with white muzzle; white blaze is optional; whole white collar is preferred; a white chest; white on part or whole of forelegs and hind legs; white tipped black tail. A small white marking in the blanket is acceptable, as is a break in the white collar.
Any variance in color or markings as described above shall be faulted to the extent of the deviation. Any Great Dane which does not fall within the above color classifications must be disqualified.
Gait
The gait denotes strength and power with long, easy strides resulting in no tossing, rolling or bouncing of the topline or body. The backline shall appear level and parallel to the ground. The long reach should strike the ground below the nose while the head is carried forward. The powerful rear drive should be balanced to the reach. As speed increases, there is a natural tendency for the legs to converge toward the centerline of balance beneath the body. There should be no twisting in or out at the elbow or hock joints.
Temperament
The Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, always friendly and dependable, and never timid or aggressive.
Disqualifications
Danes under minimum height.
Split nose. Docked Tail.

17 comments:

  1. Its still a cute nose though!

    Kari
    http://dogisgodinreverse.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, wot duss they know? Being a show dog do be so overrated. Who wants to be pawfect anyways? Life would so boring if'n we woz all from the same mold.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tucker, we love you no matter what! 'Sides, if you were a stellar show dog you'd probably have to help to make more puppies. DOG knows there's already enough puppies (and adults) needing homes!

    We're lucky to have such a find dog in our midst!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Man that's way too many rules. You are perfect the way you are!

    Nubbin wiggles,
    Oskar

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tucker, just listen to the upbeat song by Bruno Mars called "Just The Way You Are" and especially listen to these words over and over "you're amazing just the way you are"! You are an amazing dog who is just perfect in our eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. dearest tucker that show dog discrimption sounds so B-O-R-I-N-G
    if the qualifications were to be adorabull, cutey patooty, big hearted,soulful wonderous eyes,and the cutest nosey rosey ever to be you would win most everytime !!!!

    wiff love
    bella

    ReplyDelete
  7. Who wants to be a show dog anyway - way too many baths required:) We love your nose. The pink is the perfect touch.

    Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your nose is cute either way. :) My brother Bokeh's nose is doing the same thing right now though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Forget that show off dog stuff. Bah. You are perfect.

    Slobbers,
    Mango

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those Show Off Dawgs are ... well just plain Show Offs. Who needs em?

    So does this mean that you are better than a Leopard since YOU can Change YOUR spots???
    I think it is a WONDERFUL nose!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey Tucker!
    Wow, your nose and my splotched up tongue! We're just perfect the way we are. All that matters is that our peeps love us. We're color blind anyhow, right?!? All dogs are gorgeous...just ask us!
    Grr and A Beautiful Woof,
    Sarge, COP

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think your nose is just right and I know all the ladies love it too!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. tucker,

    i think those rules peeps are a little boring! they take away all the funsies of bein' an individual doggie, you know?
    oh, and don't worry cuz i think your pink spots are gonna stay inside of your nose for keeps. :)

    *woof*
    the booker man

    pee s -- when i was a pupper, i had a black nose, and now it is pinkish!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hee! Hee! Tucker - I think ALL Danes are scaredy-cats, aren't they?? Isn't that where Scooby-Doo's creator got his inspiration? If they really applied that rule in the standard, there would be no show Danes left! :-)

    Slobbers,
    Honey the Great Dane

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh, who cares about being a show dog? They probably don't get to have as much fun and get dirty and all that. Besides, they didn't list "sweet as pie" and "incredibly handsome" as desirable attributes, which they should have - 'cause you are both of those :) They just don't know what's really important.

    Your nose is just adorable the way it is.

    The Road Dogs

    ReplyDelete
  16. Woof! Woof! Golden Hello! Don't be sad ... you are a cutie n one n only Great Dane Tucker. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

    ReplyDelete
  17. Tucker,
    you surely do not look any timid at all!!!
    and your nose is wonderful...
    Who cares about dog shows, would you like to spend a day in a crowded place for a minute of show? I'd rather have a nice walk!!!
    Be happy and enjoy your nice life!
    You are handsome, I can tell you that...
    I swam across the ocean to come over to see you... what better proof do you want :)?
    Yours Lucille xxx

    ReplyDelete