All About Dogs by LowchensAustralia.com

A little known fact is that Löwchen occasionally come smooth coated (click here to view smooth-coated Löwchen).  These dogs are detectable as young puppies but when their coat begins to grow they do not produce the full lush coats that the average Löwchen puppy has. By eight weeks you can begin to identify these puppies. The smooth coats can range from sleek short hairs, a spaniel type coat, or a double coat consisting of the smooth layer interspersed with long guard hairs. Sometimes a breeder could be fooled into thinking a puppy is smooth coated, especially with the double coated puppy, only to find its adult coat did come in at a later date. In these cases, the dog cannot be considered a true smooth coat. Obviously, smooth coats are not desirable. Whether to use for breeding is the breeders choice, there are old time breeders that do claim to have used smooth coated Löwchen in their breeding programs. They believed the offspring from these dogs actually produced the most luxurious coats. Never did one of these smooth coats produce another generation of smooth coated dogs.

Another problem sometimes found in Löwchen is short coats. Some Löwchen, no matter how much coat care and preservation is practiced, cannot grow much length to their coat. Their coats grow anywhere from one to three inches and then it stops or breaks off. The cause of this is not known, but it must be stressed this is very undesirable. If a coat is frizzy, broken or short, it should be heavily penalized.

The rest of the dog!

    Neck: While head and coat are the first qualities a judge will notice, there is more to the dog. A Löwchen with a wonderful head must have the proper length of neck to carry it. While the neck needs some length to carry the head through the coat, care must be taken not to cultivate too long a neck. Currently some seem to equate the degree of elegance on how much neck a dog carries. The more neck, the more elegant a dog is perceived to be. Because Löwchen can carry large amounts of coat, too short a neck will give the dog an appearance of having its head stuck on to the shoulder. Currently this is more common in the breed than too long a neck. The amount of neck a Löwchen carries must be balanced with the rest of the dog's proportions. As with all other traits of the Löwchen, there should be no exaggeration. When evaluating length of neck, keep in mind that a full or incorrectly styled coat can hide adequate neck. It is vital, therefore, that judges feel for length of neck. Length of neck, in Löwchen, is correct when the head is carried above the shoulders with the neck being discernible but not much more. Remember moderation is the key here. If one notices the length of neck before the rest of the body or the neck looks out of balance then chances are it is too long. The Löwchen must never become a giraffe! The neck, according to the Löwchen Club of America should be of good length, with a slight arch. It should fit smoothly into the shoulders and topline. Length of neck may exaggerate the length of the overall dog. Löwchen with short, inadequate necks may look long in back when they actually are square. A long neck can make a dog look too short in the back. A balance must be struck.

    Substance: Structurally the Löwchen is a cobby, small and athletic dog. There should be no hint of reedy structure since the Löwchen must be a solid built dog even while possessing some elegance. There is a fine line that must be understood. Some Löwchen can be built too heavily. A course dog is not pleasing to the eye and generally lacks elegance or beauty. As with many other small companion dogs the Löwchen depended on being pleasing to the eye for survival. There should be no exaggerations making a dog too petite or too coarse.

    Topline: Löwchen should possess level toplines, without exception. The Löwchen topline should be level from the withers to the tail set. A ruler can run from withers to the base of the tail, at level. This trait is crucial since the rest of the body hangs off the spine. Any deviations from a straight topline will most likely lead to other problems such as a low tail set and or improper movement. Dogs with roached toplines often sport low tail sets. One of the most common topline faults found in this breed is the roached back. On some dogs it is very pronounced, others very mild and felt only when the judge runs their hand down the back. Note here though, that coat can lead to an appearance of poor topline, if the coat is not lying properly. This is so particularly, if the coat is thin about the shoulders and bushy in the midsection. Also, if a dog is too thin it may seem to roach. When evaluating a topline you should have the dog set up properly on a table.

    Ribcage: Ribs should be well sprung. There should be room in the ribcage for the lungs of this athletic small dog. Since the Löwchen has never been noted as being a working dog but rather as a companion, this would seem to be an odd requirement. Keep in mind, while being a small companion, the Löwchen has always been somewhat of an active dog. They needed to be fit in order to follow their master, in the days before cars. This sometimes required a lot of running or walking which developed the small athletic Löwchen of today. The brisket should be moderate in width. The Löwchen, while needing room for their lungs, should not be round barreled and wide, or slab sided and narrow in the width of the chest. Approaching a Löwchen from the front, one is surprised by the amount of chest the small dog has. Besides bone construction, muscles give the chest its solid appearance.

    Shoulders: The American standard describes the shoulder construction of the breed well. It calls for a moderately long and well-laid back shoulder. The brisket extends to the elbow. The upper arm is of equal length to the shoulder blade, the two meeting at a ninety-degree angle. The front legs descend out of the chest in straight parallel planes. They too, are well muscled. The forearms are described as having good length, with the distance from the ground to the elbow slightly greater than the distance from the elbow to the top of the withers.

    Tuckup: Ideally, Löwchen have a moderate tuck-up. There should be a gradual raise in the line from the chest to loin. It should not be pronounced or extreme. This does not mean that the chest can be short when viewed from the side. It should extend to the elbows. The Löwchen, if correct, will appear a little thick waisted. The tuck-up of the early Löwchen was not as pronounced as they are becoming today. Exaggerated tuck-up could be a future problem. Judges should avoid exaggerated Löwchen tuck-ups. If you have never seen a Löwchen with moderate tuck-up it is difficult to imagine this dog being elegant. But elegance is certainly possible despite a thick waist. Oh, if only so for humans too!

    Tail sets: Tail sets can be a problem. Incorrect tail sets are set too low off the back. This is often accompanied with a stiff or wide movement in the rear when the dog is gaited. Dogs with roached toplines often have low tail sets, exaggerating their poor topline even more. The tail should come off the back with no break in the level line until the point where the tail lifts off the back. A correctly set tail with the right amount of curve, will look like a tea cup handle. The tail should curve up over the back, with the tip falling to one side of the back. The tail should never be held tightly to the back, where it lies across the topline, much like a Pekingese tail does. Nor should it stand straight up with only a slight curve at the tip. This is considered a flag tail and is more common than one might imagine in this breed. A minor problem is the short tail. As long as the tail is set right and has the right amount of curve to it, it's long hair at the end if the tail will compensate for lack of length. The preferable tail is longer rather than shorter. The tail should be carried over the back when moving, but judges should not penalize a Löwchen for dropping its tail when standing still. A well set and carried tail strongly contributes to the unique profile of the Löwchen.

    The Hindquarters: For years the breed has been admired for its strong rear. A correctly built rear propels the dog forward efficiently. The rear should be well muscled and slightly rounded. The rounded rear, when viewed from behind, is wide rather than narrow. A rear not rounded, will appear narrow, which not desirable. The rear legs should be parallel and straight when viewed from the rear. They should not hock in or out. Sometimes rear bracelets give the appearance of problems such as moving close in the rear, so a breeder and judge must be able to look through the coat.

 Viewed from the side the dog should have moderate angulation. For some reason this is a problem for many new to the breed. It is true a dog with much angulation looks elegant and showy from the side. But if one studies pictures of the early dogs, the first thing that stands out is their moderate angulation. The angles of the rear leg are subdued. This does not mean there should be no angulation, only that the Löwchen should not stand out as an well-angulated breed. An well-angulated Lowchen goes against historic type and veers away from being moderate.

    Size: The mode average of breed standards around the world is 25-32cm, which translates into 9.9-12.6 inches. Alternatively, the Löwchen Club of American standard calls for a size range of 12-14 inches. Some American Löwchen fanciers justify this different size range for the American Löwchen, since the AKC has (at the Löwchen Club of Americans' request) placed them in the Non-Sporting Group instead of in the Toy or Companion Group. The idea is that the breed needs to be larger to win placement in the Group. Others believe that movement is better when the dogs are larger. In actuality, when the standard was revised to its current version, many American owned Löwchen were on the large side when compared to their European counterparts. The size change in the American Löwchen standard compensated for this difference.