There are ten standards the American Kennel Club (AKC) uses to determine eligibility for dog competition and breed standards. The AKC requires a dog to be bred and tracked for several generations. The breed then moves into the miscellaneous category. After a few years on probation, the dog is either put in an existing group or a new group is created. Currently the American Kennel Club is researching DNA analysis to define breeds. In the future there may be a scientific way to determine a new breed classification.
Presently dogs are judged by general appearance, proportion, symmetry, anatomical features, coat color range, coat texture, gait and temperament. Some of these parameters have numerical ranges. Items like color and texture differ in non-numerical range.
Faults are also part of the AKC standards. Faults are totally irrelevant to many Dog owners. They are used during Dog shows as a way of judging the Canine appearance and expected behavior. AKC decides by committee what a minor and major fault and subtracts a number from the overall competition score. The whole idea of faults is also used by breeders to pick dogs to breed. An unpopular color might be a minor fault. A dog that has a major structural deviation from the norm, or cannot perform a typical activity of the group it belongs to, would be considered to have a major fault (A hunting dog that can’t hunt)
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