I'm very sad

For any breed that has a size disqualification, the judge may, at his or her discretion, ask to measure the dog. (Some breeds have weight limits, and they actually have little scales that can be brought to the ring to weigh dogs that are of questionable size!)

It happens during the individual exam. The judge goes over the dog, and, if s/he suspects that the dog is over or undersized, the judge asks the steward for the wicket. The judge informs the handler that the dog is going to be measured. The judge measures the wicket to set it, while the handler watches as proof that the wicket is the correct height. The handler is allowed to stack the dog - the judge may not reposition the dog - and the measurement cannot begin until the handler gives the go-ahead. The judge feels for the withers to make sure s/he drops the wicket at the right place.

Now, the moment of truth! Everyone holds their breath, and the judge sets the wicket onto the dog. If both legs stand on the surface of the table, the dog is in! You might even get some applause from ringside, because a measurement is always a bit of an event.

If the wicket-legs swing (and I've seen dogs measure out so badly that you can see daylight under the legs from across the ring), the dog is disqualified and excused from the ring. The measure-out goes into the dog's file, and after three DQ measure-outs the dog can no longer be shown. There are ways to "help" a tall dog shrink when he's measured (for heaven's sakes, it's not the time to get him "up" and standing proud on the table! ) but if the dog is genuinely oversized, there's only so much that handling can do.

Is the procedure similar in the UK?

 

I really think it depends on the family and on what's behind the dogs. Size is not a universal problem; I don't think that we need to import dogs to "fix" the ones we have.

When we started out breeding, we had a lot of variation in size... some over, some under, often in the same litter! We weren't really breeding within families (we were trying to bring our bitches to the very best dogs - a noble goal, but these weren't the best dogs for our bitches). Size was so frustrating! I have to say, though, that now that we are working on linebreeding within a family, with occasional outcrosses, we are seeing much more consistency in size (and other things, too). Our "family" of dogs is, on the whole, very moderate - and we have entire litters that stay in-size or very close. Part of it is good luck and part of it is just bumping along and learning from experience. I strongly suspect that other breeders have a similar experience.

 

Yes! Hey, I bet he could learn!