狗狗比赛的标准

您家里养过狗吗？当您看到电视里各式各样的狗比赛的时候，您是不是希望自己身边的小家伙也去展示一下呢？在比赛中哪些标准是决定狗狗能否获奖的关键？看了下面的文章，也许您自己就能办一场狗狗比赛啦！

Have you ever run across a dog show as you channel-surfed the TV? If so, you might have wondered what the heck was going on. People in blazers and slacks are jogging dogs around a fully-packed arena¹ in a dignified² procession.

Over here is a droopy-faced bloodhound (大警犬), over there a meticulously³ groomed⁴ prancing⁵ poodle (狮子狗), and in between a small Maltese dog that your untrained eye almost mistook for a mop. How can judges possibly compare dogs that seem so fundamentally different?

In a dog conformation show, judges aren't merely comparing the dogs to each other. Rather, they judge each dog against the parameters⁶ of the idealized version of its breed. In other words, when the judge looks at your poodle, Fluffy⁷, he is comparing Fluffy to the written standards of the ideal poodle. The standards address various body parts and attributes, including:

• Balance: overall appropriate proportions in size

• Weight

• Size

• Eyes: color, size, shape

• Ears: shape, length, position • Head: shape

• Muzzle⁸ (口鼻): shape, length

• Whiskers (腮须): thickness

• Teeth: kind of bite (e.g. level or scissors bites)

• Tail: how it arches and sets (e.g. how high or low)

• Shoulders: bone, muscle

• Legs: muscles, stance, proportionality

• Coat: texture⁹, length

• Color: accepted breed colors

A judge will use his hands to inspect the dog's body, including its bones and muscles. In addition to assessing physical characteristics like these, judges assess the dog's walk (gait) and attitude. For instance, criteria¹⁰ might require that the dog's attitude be cheerful, as for the beagle, or proud, as for the poodle. The American Kennel¹¹ Club (AKC) has assembled these criteria for each of their recognized breeds. It gathers this information from the clubs and organizations that specialize in those breeds. The dog that the judges think matches its breed's criteria the best wins the competition.