SIZES IN THE AUSTRALIAN COBBERDOG
When I studied for my judge's license in the conformation show ring, each of the individual breeds had an ideal weight we had to learn for bitches and an ideal weight for dogs. This I understood, because it gave the students a (very) rough idea of what size each breed was supposed to be. After graduating, and being faced with real live dogs to judge at the shows, I wondered why so many dogs (males) we'd learned were always heavier than bitches were in fact often much lighter beneath my hands on examination even though they were usually taller. Then it hit me that weight isn't a true indicator of size (height). There are some very good reasons why.
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We all know that muscle and bone weigh heavier than fat, but the BMI comes into play too, which is the reason that a small fat human or animal can weigh more than a tall lean one who is not fit. So at the end of the day, a dog's weight is no indicator to me of what size in height it is, or is likely to be at maturity if it is still a puppy.
The Australian Cobberdog (ACD) as a breed is still in its infancy when compared with other breeds which have been in existence for hundreds and even thousands of years. When a breed as ancient as the Poodle still has unpredictable variations in height it is unlikely that the ACD will be reliably , precisely sized any time soon in any of its size categories..
THE CHALLENGE
HISTORY SHOWS that there will always be some breeders who want to cash in on a trend set by public demand, but with little to no thought about the overall consequences to the breed they profess to love. But once the line is crossed, where does it stop? This is why it is so important that Breed Standards be put together by knowledgeable people in the field, and not leave room for mis-interpretation nor exaggeration.
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