Saturday 8 September 2007

The Science of the Art of Affen

"Be an independent thinker rather than a follower of the crowd ... Read, think and be Challenged"
Thelma R Brown and Edward M Gilbert Jr.

Taken for the preface of one of my all-time favourite books - "K-9 Structure & Terminology" This book book was based on the original work by Curtis M and Thelma R Brown. I have a list here of books which I really think are a must to read before you can start to begin to understand the complexities of the structure of the affenpinscher.

Brown, Curtis M., Dog Locomotion and Gait Analysis, Hoflin publishing Ltd 1986
Elliot, Racheal Page, The New Dogsteps. New York:Howell Book House Inc 1983
Gilbert Jr, Edward M & Thelma Brown, K-9 Structure and Terminology. New York:Howell Book House Inc 1995
Spira, H.R., Canine Terminology. New York:Howell Book House Inc 1982

It goes without saying that the affenpinscher standard is another must read but without the knowledge contained in these books, it can be very difficult to extract from the concise and at times implied content of the very brief standard. The FCI and the American Standard are also useful cross-references for the more obtuse omissions in the UK standard.

There are a couple of books i am still looking for which have been recommended by a couple of authors - Sari Brewster Tietjen's The Dog Judge's Handbook and George W Trimberger's Dairy Cattle Judging Techniques.