Dwarf Exhibition Standards

ALLOCATION OF POINTS FOR ALL STANDARDS Colour and markings 30 points Type 25 points Fur 20 points Size 10 points Condition 10 points Eyes and ears 5 points Colour to include: – Top coat, Ticking if present, Under coat, Belly fur, Colour of feet, Eye colour, Ear colour, Arches and stripes. Type to include: – Head, Body, Legs and Tail. Fur to include: – Overall coverage of fur as per Standard. All judges must use this system and the judge’s decision is final. PENALTIES FOR ALL STANDARDS The penalties shall be as defined in the following table; ABNORMALITY PENALTY Totally missing limb, eye, ear, foot or tail Mandatory disqualification Any physical deformity believed by the judge to be hereditary Mandatory disqualification Suspect disease or intractability Mandatory disqualification Excess fat Minus 5 points maximum Sores, wounds, or scars Minus 10 points maximum Dirty show pen Minus 10 points maximum Fruit/vegetables – deviation from Rules Minus 2 points maximum Type, fur, size, condition, eyes and ears shall be as defined for each species: – RUSSIAN CAMPBELL TYPE (25 points) – The body should be broad and cobby. The head shall be in proportion to the body with a broad skull, short face and blunt nose. The head shall be well set into the body. The legs and tail should be scarcely visible. The eyes and ears should be set well apart. FUR (20 points) – The fur should be soft, short and very dense giving a woolly impression. This also applies to the soles of the feet. The inside of the ears should be a little hairy. SIZE (10 points) – Adult range 10-12 cms. CONDITION (10 points) – The hamster should be fit, curious when awake and tame to handle. The flesh should be well toned with no surplus fat. The coat shall have a healthy sheen and be clean. EYES AND EARS (5 points) – The size of eyes and ears should be in proportion to the animal. The eyes should be rounded and not bulge. The ears should be erect, rounded and visible above the fur. COLOUR (30 points) – Where base colour is indicated this applies to the whole animal, excluding the belly fur. ALBINO TOP COAT – White BASE COLOUR – White BELLY FUR – White FEET – White EYES – Bright clear pink EARS – Flesh ARCHES – None SPINAL STRIPE – None NOTES – Dirty or stained fur to be heavily penalized ARGENTE TOP COAT – Light cinnamon carried approx. 1/3 down BASE COLOUR – Smoky grey BELLY FUR – Creamy white with smoky grey FEET – Creamy white undercolour EYES – Red EARS – Pale flesh ARCHES – There are three prominently marked arches between the belly and top colour SPINAL STRIPE – An even smoky grey stripe full length from between the eyes to the base of the tail NOTES NORMAL TOP COAT – The tip of the hair should be ticked dark brown giving an overall appearance of buffish brown, with cream carried approx. 1/3 down BASE COLOUR – Very dark slate grey BELLY FUR – Off white with slate grey undercoat FEET – Off white EYES – Black EARS – Grey brown ARCHES – There are three prominently marked arches between the belly and the top colour. Between the buffish brown and off white there is a line of pale amber SPINAL STRIPE – An even black stripe full length from between the eyes to the base of the tail RUSSIAN WINTER WHITE TYPE (25 points) – The overall build should be oval in shape. The head should be broad and set well into the body. The head should be softly curved and the forehead slightly domed (Roman nose). The legs and tail should be scarcely visible. The eyes and ears should be set well apart. FUR (20 points) – The fur should be soft, short and very dense. This also applies to the soles of the feet. The inside of the ears should be a little hairy. SIZE (10 points) – Adult range 8-10 cms. CONDITION (10 points) – The hamster should be fit, curious when awake and tame to handle. The flesh should be well toned with no surplus fat. The coat shall have a healthy sheen and be clean. EYES AND EARS (5 points) – The size of eyes and ears should be in proportion to the animal. The eyes should be rounded and not bulge. The ears should be erect, rounded and visible above the fur. COLOUR (30 points) – Where base colour is indicated this applies to the whole animal, excluding the belly fur. NORMAL TOP COAT – Dark brown carried approx. 1/3 down with heavy black ticking giving an overall impression of greyish brown BASE COLOUR – Dark slate blue BELLY FUR – White with blue tinged undercolour FEET – White EYES – Black EARS – Grey with darker edging ARCHES – There are three prominently marked arches between the belly and the top colour. The white of the arches is lightly and evenly ticked with black SPINAL STRIPE – An even black stripe full length from between the eyes to the base of the tail NOTES PEARL TOP COAT & BASE COLOUR – The pearl should have the appearance of a white animal lightly and evenly ticked with colour. There shall be a slight shading of the dorsal stripe, full length from between the eyes to the base of the tail. The colour should correspond to the recognised colour variety. BELLY FUR – White EYES – As for full coloured variety EARS – As for full coloured variety NOTES – Dirty or stained fur should be heavily penalized SAPPHIRE TOP COAT – Smoky grey with a blue tinge BASE COLOUR – Steel blue BELLY FUR – Off white with blue tinged base colour FEET – Off white EYES – Black EARS – Pastel grey with small area of off white behind the ears ARCHES – There are three prominently marked arches between the belly and the top colour. The off white of the arches should be lightly and evenly ticked with smoky grey SPINAL STRIPE – An even steel blue stripe full length from between the eyes to the base of the tail NOTES FOOTNOTE FOR THE WINTER WHITE – The standards for Winter Whites are for their full summer coats. Any sign of winter moult will be heavily penalized. ROBOROVSKI TYPE (25 points) – The body shall be broad and cobby, with rear legs appearing to be set wider apart than front legs. Carriage should be low and sturdy. The head shall be well set into the body, with no perceptible neck. The skull shall be broad with a short face and wide muzzle. The eyes and ears shall be set well apart. FUR (20 points) – The fur shall be soft, smooth and very dense. This also applies to the soles of the feet. SIZE (10 points) – Adult range, 6 to 8 cms long. CONDITION (10 points) – The hamster shall be fit, curious when awake and tame to handle. The body shall be well fleshed but with no surplus fat. The coat shall have a healthy sheen and be clean. EYES AND EARS (5 points) – The eyes shall be large and prominent, rounded but not bulging. The ears shall be rounded, carried erect when the animal is alert, and clearly visible above the fur. COLOUR (30 points) – Where base colour is indicated, this applies to the whole animal, excluding the belly fur. NORMAL TOP COAT – Warm sandy brown carried 1/3 down. Very lightly and evenly ticked with dark brown. BASE COLOUR – Slate Grey BELLY FUR – White FEET – White EYES – Black EARS – Flesh with a dusting of fine fur on the top edge conforming to the Standard colour. MARKINGS – Arches and spinal stripe are absent. The boundary between top colour and belly fur shall be a sharply defined line with no brindling along the animals’ flanks with a slight downward curve between the front and back legs and again over the tail root. The eyebrow markings and the whisker beds shall be pure white and clearly defined. NOTES – Open coat, showing under colour, to be heavily penalised. FOOTNOTE FOR THE ROBOROVSKI – Due to the small size of this species, Roborovski’s Hamsters shall be exhibited in Syrian Show Pens. CHINESE TYPE (25 points) – The build should be long and slender, firm but not thin. The head is set apart from the body on a short neck. The eyes should be set well apart and form an equilateral triangle with the nose. The back legs and tail are noticeably visible. FUR (20 points) – The fur should be short and dense with a smooth appearance. The feet are finely haired. SIZE (10 points) – Adults should have an approximate length of: 10cm female, 12cm male. CONDITION (10 points) – The hamster should be fit, curious when awake and to handle. The flesh should be well toned with no surplus fat. The coat shall have a healthy sheen and be clean. EYES AND EARS (5 points) – The eyes should be round and not too prominent. The ears shall be large in proportion to its head and rounded. COLOUR (30 points) – Where base colour is indicated this applies to the whole animal, excluding the belly fur. NORMAL TOP COAT – Brown with chestnut tinge carried approx. 1/3 down. Lightly ticked with dark brown BASE COLOUR – Slate grey BELLY FUR – Off white with slate grey under colour FEET – Off white EYES – Black EARS – Dark brown with off white rims SIDES -Well defined straight line from nose over the cheeks and along the sides SPINAL STRIPE – Even black stripe from the forehead to the tip of the tail Black Eyed White TOP COAT – White BASE COLOUR – White BELLY FUR – White FEET – White EYES – Black EARS – Flesh MARKINGS – None NOTES – Dirty or stained fur to be heavily penalized PATTERNED VARIETIES Care must be taken when breeding patterned animals as some patterns contain the anopthalmic or white bellied gene, (Wh). DOMINANT SPOT (CHINESE) 1. The dominant spot should have the appearance of a white animal with coloured spots or patches. The spots should be sharply defined and evenly distributed over the top surface of the animal. (A concentration of colour around the spinal area is permissible.) The Belly Fur should be white to the roots. 2. MARKINGS – (Sides and Spinal Stripe) – As for full Standard variety but may be broken with white spots/patches 3. EYE COLOUR – As for full Standard variety 4. EAR COLOUR – As for full Standard variety, light coloured patches permissible MOTTLED (RUSSIAN CAMPBELL) TOP COAT – The entire top surface of the hamster shall be covered by distinct patches of coloured and white fur, giving the effect of a white animal with coloured patches. The patches shall be clear and distinct with no brindling of coloured or white hairs. BASE COLOUR – As for standard colour. White patches to be white to the roots. EYES – As for standard colour. Red or ruby eye or eyes also acceptable. EARS – As for the standard colour. Mottled ears are also permissible. ARCHES – Where coloured patches extend down the flanks, the coloured patches shall conform to the expectation of the relevant standard. SPINAL STRIPE – Where coloured patches extend over the spine, the coloured patches shall conform to the expectation of the relevant standard. NOTES – There is evidence that certain individuals of this colour carry the anopthalmic, (eyeless), gene. This produces eyeless, toothless white pups when inherited from both parents. When breeding, care should be taken to avoid pairings likely to produce such young. COAT TYPES SATIN COAT 1. The colour and markings shall conform to the recognised colour standard, allowing for the effect of the satinisation. 2. The fur shall be soft and dense, and have a glossy, satin sheen. 