Meadowbrooks
Alpha Dog
Joined: 12 Dec 2007
Posts: 1680
Location: va
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 Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:44 am Post subject: AKC/UKC Differences.. |
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This might make some think about things when you read it. Wasn't written by me but a friend, and he read my mind.lol
""Here is something interesting for those of you who can read and know the AKC actually did changed the standard in 1936. The two dogs should be very similar, as is the standards for the two animals. But there are some definite differences that are distinctly described in each standard.
UKC HEAD - Medium length, brick like in shape, skull flat and widest at the ears, with prominent cheeks, free from wrinkles.
AKC HEAD - Medium length, deep through, broad skull, very pronounced cheek muscles, distinct stop; and ears are set high.
-the major difference here is the term “brick like in shape”…this description totally changes the shape and proportions of the head. Again the Flat skull’ed description of the pit bull would be consistent with “brick like in shape”.
-the next major difference is there is no mention of a “distinct stop” in the original ukc standard.
These descriptions to me are the most important conflicting descriptions of the two standards as you can NOT have a “Distinct Stop” and still have “Brick like”, in addition the AKC standard puts an emphasis on how pronounced the cheeks should be, the word “pronounced” depicts protruding, when you add the word “very” in front of it just tops it all off with an emphasis, and then it goes on to say Muscles. In the ukc standard the phrase “with prominent cheeks” puts less emphasis on the cheeks, there is no use of any emphasis here, the dogs should have prominent, identifiable cheeks, but again keeping in line with the “brick like in shape”
This part of the standards very clearly defines the desired difference between the head shape of the two breeds, intentional or unintentional this is two totally different descriptions of what the desired heads should look like for two animals. If you have Brick Shaped you can not have a Distinct stop and Very Pronounced Cheek Muscles…the stop isn’t described as subtle, or slight it says…the standard says Distinct…. as in clearly defined, obvious and definite.
UKC MUZZLE - Square, wide and deep, well pronounced jaws, displaying strength. Upper teeth to meet tightly over lower teeth, outside in front.
AKC MUZZLE - Medium length, rounded on upper side to fall away abruptly below eyes. Jaws well defined. Underjaw to be strong and have biting power. Lips close and even, no looseness. Upper teeth to meet tightly outside lower teeth in front.
Again the two animals should be similar, thus the descriptions of there muzzles are similar, the UKC standard does have differences that are consistent with its brick like head shape, when viewed from the front the muzzle of a brick like shaped head should appear square, this statement incorporates a good under jaw and tight lips but then it goes on to say “wide and deep” suggesting some proportions to the length … the “deep” description suggest the muzzle should appear to continue “deep” throughout the head….again associated with a correct brick like head of the pit bull with all planes fairly consistent.
Now the Amstaff was desired to have its muzzle rounded on the upper side and to fall away abruptly below the eyes…a description that notes the dogs head should have contrast from the muzzle to the rest of the head.
UKC EARS - Cropped or uncropped (not important), should set high on head, and free from wrinkles.
AKC EARS - Cropped or uncropped, the latter preferred. Uncropped ears should be short and held rose or half prick. Full drop to be penalized.
Ears pretty much the same description, no arguments here, only a valid note… full droped ears are seen very clearly on a few of the all time Pit Bulls greats….. and the AKC standard discourages them.
UKC EYES - Dark and round; should set far apart low down on skull.
AKC EYES - Dark and round, low down in skull and set far apart. No pink eyelids.
Again pretty much the same. No pink eyelids, stated specifically to reference a more pigmented dog.
UKC NOSE - Black preferred with wide open nostrils.
AKC NOSE - Nose definitely black.
Well here is the argument, Definitely black…this rules out red noses completely. Blue dogs should noses should look definitely black as well…(I know some of you will eat that one up about the blues..lol)
UKC NECK - Muscular, slightly arched, tapering from shoulder to head, free from looseness of skin.
AKC NECK - Heavy, slightly arched, tapering from shoulders to back of skull. No looseness of skin. Medium length.
Here the UKC standard starts to describe a leaner dog, the variation is Muscular and Heavy, AKC also put a reference to the length.
UKC SHOULDERS - Strong and muscular with wide sloping shoulder blades.
AKC SHOULDERS - Strong and muscular with blades wide and sloping.
Almost verbatim here…. Again the two animals should be similar
UKC BACK - Short and strong, slightly slopng from withers to rump. Slightly arched at loins which should be slightly tucked.
AKC BACK - Fairly short. Slight sloping from withers to rump with gentle short slope at rump to base of tail. Loins slightly tucked.
In this description the UKC give the pit bull a racier depiction, the slight arch over the loins gives a more racy appearance. In the AKC standard the standard goes on to describe the slope of the croup, not to be confused with an arch over the loins. Slopes and Arches are not one and the same.
UKC CHEST - Deep but not too broad, with wide sprung ribs. RIBS - Close, well-sprung, with deep back ribs.
AKC BODY - Well-sprung ribs, deep in rear. All ribs close together. Forelegs set rather wide apart to permit chest development. Chest deep and broad.
Now this description of the chest are totally contradictory…the AKC standard says the chest area should be “wide”, “deep” and “broad”….the UKC standard says “deep but NOT too broad” ….more narrow...wide sprung ribs with a narrower chest. The pit bull is not supposed to have a broad chest….the Amstaff is described as having a wide chest…
UKC TAIL - Short in comparison to size, set low and tapering to a fine point, not carried over the back.
AKC TAIL - Short in comparison to size, low set, tapering to a fine point; not curled or held over back. Not docked.
Pretty much the same…as it should be, similar dogs.
UKC LEGS - Large round boned, with straight upright pasterns reasonably strong. Feet to be of medium size. Gait should be light and springy. No rolling or pacing. THIGHS - Long with muscles developed. Hocks down and straight.
AKC LEGS - The front legs should be straight, large or round bones, pastern upright. No resemblance of bend in front. Hindquarters well-muscled, let down at hocks, turning neither in nor out. Feet of moderate size, well-arched and compact. Gait must be springy but without roll or pace.
Here both standards describe the dogs as being large boned, this should be proportioned to the rest of the dog, the pit bull has been described as a leaner and even slightly racy type dog, thus a “large” boned slightly racy, narrow chested, pit bull…. would carry significantly less mass then a “large” boned Stocky Broad chested Amstaff.
UKC COAT - Glossy, short and stiff to the touch.
AKC COAT - Short, close, stiff to the touch, and glossy.
Same…
UKC COLOR - Any color or marking permissible.
AKC COLOR - Any color, solid, parti, or patched is permissible, but all white, more than 80 per cent white, black and tan, and liver not to be encouraged.
Pretty self explanatory here. No white dogs, black and tans, or red noses.
UKC WEIGHT - Not important. Females preferred from thirty to fifty pounds. Males from thirty-five to sixty pounds.
AKC SIZE - Height and weight should be in proportion. A height of about 18 to 19 inches at shoulders for the male and 17 to 18 inches for the female is to be considered preferable.
The AKC standard puts height preferences and then only states height and weight should be proportionate. Too bad they didn’t put any weight specifications as that would clear up some of these never ending debates on topics such as “Stocky” .
The UKC pit bull standard says weight is not important, this is b/c at the time this UKC standard was around the UKC was a –true- Performance registry, they could take the dogs out back and have it settled what dogs carried too much weight for their size and which did not. As a side note when the dogs were matched they were matched by weight, Thus its how the dogs carried their weight is what played the biggest factor.
AKC FAULTS - Faults to be penalized are: Dudley nose, light or pink eyes, tail too long or badly carried, undershot or overshot mouths.
More emphasis on pigment.
As I have stated time and time again, the Amstaff was created from the standard. The AKC standard was written and the Amstaff was slowly created from that standard.
The AKC is a Show dog registry, a group of Pit Bulls was registered with the AKC to have their chance at becoming Show dogs. Now that the Amstaff has started to gain recognition in the Dog Show World…as in becoming more aligned with their standard what is the Problem? Its very simple, you change the dogs name, change the description of the Ideal dog (Change the Breed Standard), and changed the requirements to become be known as a “Winner”.. and you close off the gene pool……Now guess what….The dog is Changed…intentional or unintentional if they wanted the Pit Bull to remain a Pit Bull, they shouldn’t of been so willing to accept the AKC’s requirements for the breed to be acceptance as the Staffordshire Terrier. If the intention was to keep the breed the same they were doomed from the start…Simply closing off the gene pool is enough to create a new breed…Prime example…The Staffy Bull…Bred in England…nothing else added…the gene pool was closed off and the dogs ended up different.
I believe in balance when you describe the dog as broader chested and stocky, and then put more of an emphasis on the head shape…..the rest of the dog must be proportionate. Those two conflicting descriptions along changes the appearance of the dog. |
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