the degree to which the color reflects the light; very bright refers to truly lustrous blue coat

having precisely the desired color, it's very sharp in appearance.  Sometimes, a judge may say off-color, when referring to clearness but this is not a preferred comment as it doesn't tell you exactly how far from the ideal it is

again this reference to color doesn't mean it is a medium as opposed to a light medium but refers to the clearness of that particular shade.  "One step down" tells you precisely that there is something better by one degree.

if the judge used this term, he is pointing out that the fur lacks luster and that is probably the result of being over prime.  There is no sheen to the coat.

this piece of terminology is almost self-explanatory.  The judge is telling you it could be better and the sharpness again refers to the brightness that the animal projects.

the fur is off-color (not a clear blue-grey).  It is sometimes caused by a muddy bar.

the animal lacks a sharp, sparkling white bar.

the idea behind the term is easy to understand if you think of water-crystal clear water as opposed to murky water.  Muddy is an expression sometimes used and the judge is commenting on the state of the bar.  The bar is the white section between the underfur and the tip.  If it is muddy, it is not perfectly white and makes the fur appear dull.

each individual strand of fur is without any kinks or waves.

this is a strong fur with good resilience and has the ability to bounce back if touched.  It is perpendicular to the skin and does not lie down.

thickness of fur.  It is controlled by the number of fur follicles on the animal.  There are 80-120 hairs per follicle on an average.  The thickness of these individual hairs also determines density.

the judge is telling you that parts of the body are not as thickly furred as the others.  The less dense areas are commonly found in the neck, shoulders, hips or sides.  It's usually the thickest over the back and rump.

density plus fur stength

a large volume of fur with many fibers per square unit.  It looks nice and plushy.

refers to the fineness or coarseness of the individual fur fibers.

a good loft plus a silky fur combination of fur length and loft.

usually used when referring to a dense animal that has basically shorter fur than the preferred 1-1/8" to 1-3/16"

the fur is silky and strong but doesn't have enough loft.  The guard hairs are too short.

lacks fur strength.  It may be due to a lack of guard hairs.

along with the fur being soft, it is also shaggy.  This is caused by a hair that is not straight (it has a hook on the end of it).

fur on the back is shorter than on the ret of the animal.  Check for a dip in the back of the animal.  This is a very dominant characteristic.

kinky fur (hairs are too fine), may also have a tendency to form an uneven flow or pattern - it also lacks fur strength.

animal has a ruff of fur behind the ears.  Usually found in big, blocky animals.

the dark pattern down the center of the pelt.

it is caused by saddle backs, lack of density or lack of veiling in the neck particularly.

the appearance of the surface of the fur.  Good fur pattern is an unbroken, smooth flow over the surface of the fur.

wedge-shaped animal with silky fur

the animal is pointed at the nose, narrow at the neck and wide at the hips.

the long, courser hairs coming up above the basic coat of fur. Each guard hair has their own hair follicle.  If he says "spiky", it means they are coming up more than 1/4" above the rest of the fur.  They should only be 1/16" longer.

the guard hairs are either too short or there is not enough of them.

light ring around the back of the neck

the demarcation line between the darker fur and the white belly is higher than it should be either on the sides or the legs.

the dark tip of the fur.  If veiling is very shallow, the animal will look off-color.  To get more veiling tips, breed to lighter animal.

lacks eye appeal, it is not a sharp blue, maybe lacks prime.

the animal has achieved the desired size regardless of se or age, namely, more than 18 oz. if weighed.

a favorable comment implying satisfactory growth.

a comment made about an adult who has not achieved the optimum size for its age.

self explicit - a downfall in the animal, should be larger

round body, wide through the neck and shoulders.

refers to the narrowness in the neck and shoulders area as opposed to the hips.

refers to the height of the animal from the floor to the top of the shoulder when you look at it from the side.