By Denise FlaimEditor-in-Chief The Ridgeback Register

It is perhaps the greatest spasm of cultural dissonance that aRidgebacker can experience in the show ring.

For American fanciers, it is when a European judge pries open themouth of their dog, counting teeth with a fervor usually reserved for the

Rottweiler ring. And forEuropean exhibitors, it isthe diametric opposite -when an American judgecursorily lifts the dog'slips and briefly checksthe placement of caninesbefore zipping to the restof the exam.

Having full dentition - acomplete compliment ofteeth, 20 on the top and22 on the bottom - hasbecome a mandatory

At first glance, this might appear to be acorrect scissors bite, but look closely: Twoof the top incisors are behind the lowerones, resulting in an anterior cross bite.

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requirement in the Ridgeback show ring in much of ContineutalEurope. So much so, in fact, that before they are sent abroad to showhornes, particularly in Germany and parts of Eastern Europe, promisingshow puppies are radiographed to ensure that all their adult teeth areawaiting below the gumline. (Though that is no guarantee that they willerupt after teething, as some crestfallen buyers have discovered). Andin the show ring, FCI judges have ejected Ridgebacks because they aremissing one premolar.

"The German judges forRhodesian Ridgebacks(most of them)downgrade the dogswith missing premolars(P1) from Excellentto Very Good or evendisqualify dogs with twomissing PIs, or just withone missing P2 or P3!"wrote German Ridgebackfancier Kirsten Klirnachin an email to the FCIasking the cynological

Young puppies have a total of 28 teeth,compared to the 42 they should have oncethey reach adulthood.

Ups and tongue can naturally cover teeth, which is why it is important to train a dog The FCI standard actually says this, defining a "perfectfrom puppyhood to tolerate a detailed examination of the mouth.

and complete scissor bite" as "the upper teeth c\oselyoverlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws"- in other words, a perfect and complete aligning of the

teeth. (It is possible to have an imperfect or incomplete scissors bite -for example, an anterior cross bite, where some of the upper incisorscome in behind the lower incisors instead of in front of them, though thecanines are properly placed.)

body to address the incorrect interpretation. (To get all those Psstraight, see sidebar below.)

"It actual happened [at] a show here in Germany last Saturday!"she continued. "A Rhodesian Ridgeback bitch [received] a very nicejudgment, but was disqualified because of a missing P2." Accordingto Kirsten, the judge wrote in his report that "judging to the standardof Rhodesian Ridgeback, this female has to be disqualified because ofmissing P2."

When Kirsten approached hirn after the show and asked about hisphiIosophy on missing teeth, "he told me personally that if a Ridgebackis missing one Pi and there is another dog in the ring as good as the onewith the missing Pi, he will give the better placement to the Ridgebackwith the full dentition! If a Ridgeback is missing P2, P3, P4 or even two

Pis, he will disqualify thern!"

Kirsten goes on to say that this does not happen with FCIjudges from other parts of Europe, inc\uding the Nordiccountries, Siovakia, France, the Netherlands or Belgium.

The problem with this "tooth fairy" tendency - besidesthe fact that it can eliminate quality breeding stock formerely the absence of one tooth - is that it results from amisreading of the Ridgeback standard.

The FCI standard reads: "Jaws/Teeth: Jaws strong, witha perfect and complete scissor bite, i.e. the upper teethc\osely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to thejaws. The teeth must be weil developed, especially thecanines or holders."

The problem comes with the misinterpretation of "bite,"which refers to the alignment of the teeth - a dog with abad bite, for example, has teeth that do not meet properly,whether in an overbite, underbite or wry mouth. "Bite"has nothing to do with the number of teeth, which isproperly called "dentition,"

But apparently, confusion between "bite" and "dentition" has led someFCI judges - in particular those in Germany, which has several nativebreeds in which tooth-counting is mandated - to conc\ude that "perfect"and "cornplete" are a reference to the dentition and not the bite.

For a c\ear refutation of this insistence on full dentition, we need tocanvas the British breed standards. Before control of the Ridgebackstandard was returned to the Kennel Union of South Africa, it wasin the hands of the Kennel Club of Great Britain. Aversion of the

MOlI! tPPremolars

misunderstood phrase - "a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite" -is not only contained in the Rhodesian Ridgeback standard, but also themajority of other British standards for a variety of breeds, among themSporting and Herding dogs, and even Toys. Breeds that have this very samelanguage include the Bichon Frise, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, GoldenRetriever, Chinese Crested, both varieties of Chihuahuas ... and the listgoes on and on.

Are German judges demanding complete dentition in Chinese Crestedsand Chihuahuas?

While full dentition is a requirement in many Working and Utility breeds,such as the Rottweiler and Doberman Pinscher, mandating it in a Hound isa relative rarity. Among the traditional hounds ofboth camps, Sighthoundand Scenthounds, one of the few, perhaps the only, that mentions fulldentition is the Borzoi.

Looking at the British standard for the Borzoi, we see the familiar "Jawsstrong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teethclosely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws." But it isfollowed immediately with this sentence: "Full, strang dentition desirable."

From the Borzoi standard, we can clearly see that "bite" means alignment,not number, because an additional sentence - "Full, strong dentitiondesirable" - needed to be added to specify full dentition.

"In my opinion, 'a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite' refers to thebite - wh at happens between the canine teeth," agrees wel\-known Britishjudge Andrew Brace, who has judged Ridgebacks around the world. "Theday loverlook an otherwise outstanding dog for a missing premolar is theday I will give up!"

As arguably groundless as the fetish for full dentition is in the Ridgeback,it nonetheless has taken raot among some overseas breed clubs. In somecountries, including Germany, breed clubs have registration authority, andcan block the offspring of dogs with incomplete dentition from being bred.In other countries, however, the national kennel club has laxer registrationrules than the breed club, so breeders can still register their dogs, thoughthe breed club might not add the litter to their puppy-referrallist.

"Breed clubs should not force breeders to use only dogs with completedentition. Theywill exclude many dogs of superb quality and healthy lines,"

There are four on each side of the upper and lower jaws, totaling 16. Theirfunction is to cut, hold and shear.

The elusive P1, the first premolar after the canines, is not present in puppies.Some canine authorities in Europe have argued that the lower P1 is theequivalent of a wisdom tooth in the dog, and is in the process of evolutionaryelimination. Perhaps for this reason, some judges who are otherwise stringentabout dentition are more forgiving about missing P1s, other things being equal.

MOLARSUsed for grinding, the molars are at the back in the jaw, behind the premolars.This makes them difficult to visualize; some judges count them by touch,running their thumb over the teeth rather than peering in to find them. Thereare four molars on the top (two on each side of the upper jaw) and six on thebottom (three on each side of the lower jaw), totaling 10.

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The Standard Says ...

Original Ridgeback standard, 1922"... jaws level and strong with weil developed teeth,especially the canines or holders."

AKC standardBite - jaws level and strong with well-developed teeth,especially the canines or holders. Scissors bite preferred.

KC standard (British)Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissorbite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth andset square to the jaws. Weil developed teeth, especiallycanines.

Canadian standardJaws level and strong with weil developed teeth, especiallythe canines or holders.

FCI standardJawslTeeth: Jaws strang, with a perfect and completescissor bite, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping thelower teeth and set square to the jaws. The teeth must beweil developed, especially the canines or holders.

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says breeder-judge [ohn Berg of MaendeleoRidgebacks in HerrIjunga, Sweden. "I findmany breed clubs are too narrow minded. Thisonly makes breeders angry, and they move toanother country or start a new club,"

And, [ohn adds, even if breeders breed onlydogs with fuII dentition, "they can't guaranteeoffspring will have aII their teeth," becausetooth inheritance is believed to be polygenetic.

While no one dismisses the importance ofhaving a functional bite in a working houndsuch as the Ridgeback, the concern is that anobsession with dentition will lead breedersto ignore equaIIy important, if less easilyquantifiable, traits, from good fronts to correctsilhouettes.

As with everything in breeding, ie comes downto seeing the forest for the trees, the wholedog as opposed to parts and pieces. "There aremany more things to worry ab out than justone missing Pl or any other prernolar;" [ohnconcludes. ~

There are four categories of teeth in dogs, all of which have specializedfunctions. This dog treat is headed to the molars and premolars.