ARBA Judges' Continuing Education Committee Presents
Judging the Netherland Dwarf
Written by Donelle Bomben for the ARBA Judges' Continuing Education Committee and initially published in the Domestic Rabbits in the Sept/Oct. 2000 edition.
General comments:
Netherland Dwarfs are a breed that can vary in temperament from docile to flighty. Some individuals can exhibit this range of behavior within the same show, or from day to day. Generally, they are not a breed that takes well to "over handling" yet they deserve more than being taken from the coop and judged as they drop (the "natural" pose, as one judge tried to tell me). The more an individual is manipulated, the less likely it is willing to cooperate with the judge. Exhibitors hope that judges will recognize the uniqueness of the breed, including their personality, when judging them. They are not your basic Himalayan, nor are they Britannia Petites, always on their toes! For most breeders, the more desirable "attitude" of the Dwarf is an active, rather than a docile, one: chin off the table, elbows just off the table. We want a rabbit that will present itself and not attempt to hide under the carpet. The breed has a lot of "style", and this is best demonstrated by an animal that is not always held into a pose and is allowed to present itself when taken from the coop by the judge. While this trait (of posing in a more alert manner) is inherently bred into the animals, it is also something that a judge can do a lot to help or hinder, depending upon how they are handled. Recently, there has been some discussion of Dwarf breeders wanting their animals to stand up, or "show daylight" under the front quarter. This misconception may have come up because breeders are attempting to move away from the rabbit that shows with its chin firmly planted on the table. The desired stance would be for the elbows to be off the table a bit, but certainly not unbent as in the Britannia.
Handling:
In my twenty years of showing Netherlands I have seen every possible manner of extracting a Dwarf from a judging coop! I've seen judges who believed that every Dwarf was bred to bite a judge's hand, and acted accordingly. I've seen judges that were glad Dwarfs were small so they could take them out of the coop by grabbing the skin over the ribs one-handedly; tossing them back into the coop when finished. There have been judges that blindly reached into a coop while talking incessantly to exhibitors over the cooping, grabbing the rabbit by the skin behind the ears and dragging it from the coop, often hooking the feet on the coop in the process. And then I've seen the ones who used two hands, one on either side of the body, palms along the sides, fingers supporting the feet, extracting the animal in a calm, measured manner, focused on the task at hand. If the rabbit did not respond to this more gentle approach, the judge would persist in a calm manner, or would set the animal back into the coop for another opportunity while examining others in the class. Calmness usually wins the day. In addition to variances in the manner of extracting Dwarfs from the judging coop, judges vary in how they attempt to pose the rabbit once it is out of the coop. Some judges let the Dwarf sit where it landed upon extraction. Some scoop the animal into a ball, tucking the rear feet right behind the front ones. Some hold the Dwarf by the head, fingers on either side of the cheeks, in a pincer grip, while they position the fore or rear legs. I have seen some judges who were so timid that they barely touched the animal in question, and others who were going to dominate at any cost. My ideal judge is one who can take an animal from the coop, and with confidence, get
the animal to sit properly - head up; front feet lightly placed under the chest, elbows slightly off the table; rear toes naturally positioned about 1" behind the front elbows - not too far forward or too far back. Some animals do this in spite of the handling they get, some need a bit of encouragement. Judges should not tolerate aggressive behavior such as biting. DQs are appropriate for biters. And a lower placement for an animal that refuses to cooperate is acceptable. However, some judges contribute to the problems they have with getting animals to cooperate.
Setting the front legs:
This can be done by lightly lifting up under the chin, or by taking both hands along the sides, and "rocking" the animal up in the front with the heel of the palms. This will position the front legs under the chest, and will let the judge see whether the animal carries the strength of bone and shortness of foreleg desired. Most Dwarfs do not tolerate extensive grabbing of the head, whether it is by forefinger and thumb along the cheeks, palm covering the eyes and nose; or the common alternative: the thumb above nose, fingers under the chin. Most Dwarfs will begin fighting this heavy hands-on manipulation. Another common judge behavior is the heel of the hand on the table (or the "I've judged one too many rabbits today?") approach. I am surprised that there are a significant number of judges of Dwarfs who think the accepted way of handling them is to hold their heads, completely covering the nose and eyes, heel of the judges had resting solidly on the table, while feeling the part of the rabbit still visible! There is usually no attempt to see the whole animal to get a good look at balance and type. Many judges who do this are more accustomed to judging some of the larger breeds, whose heads should be resting on the table, so they insist the Dwarf do the same. This one practice possibly raises more ire among Dwarf exhibitors than any other! Maximum return should be gotten from minimal handling. The goal of putting one's hands on the head of the Dwarf is to encourage the animal to show that it has good head mount and shoulder depth. This should be accomplished by raising the head up to a desired pose, ensuring that the feet are well placed under the animal, and letting go. Even if an animal will not cooperate in a still pose, a moving animal will readily show whether it truly has the desired placement of head on the shoulders, needed depth of shoulder, and shortness of back.
Setting the hindquarters:
The hind legs of the Dwarf should be positioned, or allowed to position themselves, as the rabbit would position them while sitting in the coop - not scrunched forward in an excessively tucked position, nor set back to put the tip of the hind toes perpendicular with the hip joint. In the past some few judges mistakenly believed the proper set of the hindlegs corresponded to that of livestock, like horses and cows! I've heard them talk about positioning the tip of the toes perpendicular to the stifle joint (knee). Where this notion came from is hard to tell, but these judges have the habit of taking the hind legs and setting them back the better part of an inch. The rabbit might re-set its legs to be more comfortable, but the judge would set them back again! The effect of this artificial positioning of the hind legs is to lengthen the body and sway the back, definitely not good Dwarf type! The opposite, pushing the hind legs up to the point where the tips of the toes touch the elbows, is not an acceptable alternative, either. Each breed has its own natural way of sitting, and good judging means that one has observed the alert sitting stance for the breed being judged and attempts to position the rabbit accordingly.
Taking a good look, along with a good feel:
After a Dwarf has been properly posed, good judging indicates that the judge actually looks at the animal as a whole, in addition to feeling the width of shoulder, length and spring of rib, depth of loin, fullness of hindquarter, etc. Many judges fail considerably on this step. They have the head held onto the table and covered with a hand, and there is no thought of stepping back to take a look at the rabbit as a whole. How do the ears set on the head? Do they angle back over the shoulders? Is the head well positioned on the shoulders, or does it look as if it were stuck on there as an afterthought, not blending into the shoulder well? Is there a dip behind the neck, creating an inverted bowl look (a sign of an improper placement of the head or low shoulder development)? Is there a bit too much length in the shoulder or in the rib? Does the curve of the topline peak at the right place, or is it too far forward, so as to make the hindquarters fall off ? Topline is an important consideration in Dwarfs. The balance of the headset on the shoulders, the curve of the topline from a highpoint at the base of the neck through the shoulder, back, loin and hindquarters are what give the Dwarf its unique look. No other breed has this look. Only the Holland Lop comes close, but the Holland topline is different in that its desired head placement is more in front of the shoulder, with an even higher start-point at the base of the neck.
The points…
The Standard of Perfection breaks Dwarf type out into 4 components: Body....................... 35 Head .......................15 Ears ....................... 15 Eyes.........................5 Head, Ears and Eyes are equal in points to Body in the Dwarf Standard. Sometimes it feels as if body gets 70 points and the rest of the rabbit is tossed in as a gift! In my experience, the ears are the most ignored component of the point breakout. I have had exhibitors and judges argue that if a rabbit has ears it should get some points for ears. This notion does the breed no good. Points on ears are singled out in our Standard from the points on head for an important reason: they distinguish the breed. I think this point is lost on most breeders and judges alike! Ideally ears are: 2" in length; wide in the base at the skull; set on the head perpendicular to the table; not sloped back over the shoulder; open out to the side; not folded at the tip; rounded at the tip; extremely well furred; thick in substance, and not bowed when viewed from the front.
Average ears are often: over 2"; "penciled" at the base (lacking the almost triangular shape from base to tip); pointed at the tip; thin in both substance and fur covering, and point back over the shoulder somewhat. Average ears should be awarded less than half the points allotted to ears. Eyes are easier, in that the 5 points should be given to those with large, round, bold eyes. Eyes above the norm should get 5 points; average eyes should get half of the points. Again it is not a case of giving some points because the animal has eyes! Again, the boldness of eye is where the points are allotted, not that the animal has eyes! The head of a Dwarf must be large in proportion to, but in balance with, the body as a whole. The judge should note that the head is not proportionate when it is small to balance, and take some of the 15 points for this. Bucks may have bigger heads than most does, so balance is the key, not just size. Additionally, a Dwarf should have a wide muzzle, and a good deal of width between the eyes to balance the width of brow and muzzle. The width between the eyes should be equal to or wider than the length of nose from front of eye to tip of nose. From the side, the head must be round. This roundness should carry through the muzzle to well under the chin. Much of this look, aside from the width of skull, is actually fur, but it is a necessity to good Dwarf type. Many of the Dwarfs that exhibit the best head development have a tuft of fur between the ears. Angularity in the head, from any angle, should be avoided. The head should be on a short neck, that is set high on the shoulder. Low head set should be considered a serious problem for any breeder. The points on body in the Dwarf must cover everything from medium bone, the chest (wide), neck (short), shoulders (short, deep and equal in width to the hips), ribs (well sprung), hips (deep in the loin, with no protrusion of the point of the hip), a round, smooth rump (carried well down to the hocks), and the tail. The hindquarters of a Dwarf are, ideally, to be well filled. However, the 35 points allotted to the body cannot all be placed on the hindquarter. The overall appearance of the body should be that of compactness. However, one of the most frustrating experiences a Dwarf exhibitor can have is to watch a Dwarf be judged as if it were a Florida White. Commonly, the extent of judging is to hold the head of the rabbit with one hand, check the rollback of the fur, and feel the smoothness of the pin bones. Though the judge may say something like "Good type, good head, good ears, ..." there has been no real judging of these parts. In closing, the Dwarf is 35% front end, 35% body, 10% fur, 15% color and 5% condition. The best animal is the one that exhibits the best balance of head and body, along with good color, fur and condition.
The Dwarf world owes a huge thank you to Donelle for all she has given and continues to give to our hobby. She is a shining example of a true Gem.
Posted with permission. Copyright © 2000 Donelle Bomben. All rights reserved.