Mi-Ki

Companion Dog Group

The goals and purposes of this breed standard include: to furnish guidelines for breeders who wish to maintain the quality of their breed and to improve it; to advance this breed to a state of similarity throughout the world; and to act as a guide for judges.

Breeders and judges have the responsibility to avoid any conditions or exaggerations that are detrimental to the health, welfare, essence and soundness of this breed, and must take the responsibility to see that these are not perpetuated.

Any departure from the following should be considered a fault, and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on the dogs ability to perform its traditional work, which includes acting as a companion.

History

The Mi-Ki (pronounced Mee-Kee) originated in the 1980s by Mikki Mackin, who resided in Wisconsin, and who was trying to create a new smaller, long-haired breed with a calm, quiet nature. Prior to starting the Mi-Ki, she was a Shih Tzu breeder. She added mixed and purebred Papillion, Maltese, Yorkshire Terriers and Japanese Chin to her Shih Tzu to start the original breed. Unfortunately, she did not keep accurate records, so the degree of mixture or exact combination remains unknown. Connie Faye Abel, Annette Jurkiewicz and Cindy Jurkiewicz founded the International Mi-Ki Registry, Inc., in March of 1999 with the idea to further develop the original Mi-Ki obtained from Mikki Mackin, (aka Maureen Westberg or Van Wormer) from 1996-1999 into a recognized purebred companion breed, while preserving its health, exceptional temperament and Gremlin look, with its long, silky, non-shed coat.

The Mi-Ki was recognized by the United Kennel Club on January 1, 2016

General Appearance

The ideal Mi-Ki, male and female, is a small, friendly, elegant toy-type dog of fine to medium bone structure.
The seriousness which faults are to be regarded is in exact proportion to the degree of the faults from the ideal described in this standard.

Disqualifications: Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid.

Character

The Mi-Ki us an adaptable, intelligent, sweet-natured dog, whose primary purpose is to serve as a companion.

Disqualification: Viciousness or extreme shyness.

Head

The stop is well-defined.

Fault: Sloping stop.

SKULL

The skull is well-rounded in front and between the ears.

Faults: Flat skull, domed skull. Apple headed.

MUZZLE

The muzzle is clean, wide and square, and no longer than one-quarter of the length of the head from the base of the skull to the stop.

Faults: Fine muzzle, abruptly thinner than the head, tapering toward the nose. Wrinkles.
Eliminating Faults: Muzzle shorter or longer than described.

TEETH

A full complement of strong, white teeth meet in a scissors or slightly undershot bite. Front teeth may be slightly misaligned.

Faults: Overshot bite. Extremely undershot bite, with teeth showing when the mouth is closed. More than two missing front teeth, or retained puppy teeth at maturity.

EYES

The eyes are large, round and set well apart. Dark coloring is the most desirable; blue eyes are acceptable in blue-colored dogs; ruby colored eyes are acceptable in brown-colored dogs. A self-colored eye rim is acceptable on brown and lighter-colored dogs.

NOSE

The nose is medium in size, and flat along the top. Black pigment is preferred, but can be self-colored or brown on lighter-colored dogs. Must be black on white-colored dogs.

Faults: Pinched nostrils. Dudley nose. Butterfly nose.
Disqualification: Other than black on a white-colored dog.

Ears

The ears may be winged or drop, with winged being preferred. The ears are set slightly below the crown of the skull, and carried at such an angle that they wing out from the head. The hair on the ears is well-fringed. Ears should cock in a forward motion when excited or alert.

Faults: Ears set too high. Scant amount of fringe on mature dogs.

Neck And Body

The elegant neck is of medium length. The head carriage is high.

The body is slightly longer than the height of the dog, measured at the withers; square is acceptable. The topline is level. The ribs are well-sprung, but not wide or barreled.

Faults: Extremely long neck. Thick neck. Exceedingly long, roached or sagging back. Wide or barrel chest.

Forequarters

The shoulders are firm. The fine-boned legs are straight. The elbows are set close to the body. The feet are straight to moderately set outward. Dewclaws may be removed, but it is not mandatory.

Faults: Bowed forelimbs. Feet sharply angled outward.

Hindquarters

The fine-boned hind legs are straight, and parallel to slightly angled outward when viewed from behind. The feet are straight.

Faults: Hind legs turned excessively outward.

Coat

The Mi-Ki is a single-coated dog; there is no undercoat. The long, silky coat covers the entire body and is left to grow to its natural length. It may be slightly wavy.
The coat is presented with no accessories or any product that would mask the true texture of the coat. It must be sufficiently clean and well-groomed to enable a judge to properly evaluate the dog. A sanitary trim is permitted. The artfulness of any trimming should not be a factor in considering the overall quality of the dog.
Faults: Short coat. Undercoat present. Curly, wiry, woolly and any coat other than described.
The Mi-Ki may be shown in the following:
Long-Coated: Free flowing, soft to the touch and without curl. A wave is permissible. Facial hair and feathering are long with the tail well plumed.
Faults: In the adult coat, curly, cottony or wiry coat.

Grooming: There are two equally acceptable styles for grooming a long coat.
Beard and mustache: The head is clipped smoothly so as not to exceed 1/4 inch. There is a V shape shaved under the chin to the laryngeal prominence, along with the facial hair in front of the ears. The hair behind the ears and on the neck are blended into the head. A beard and mustache is left on the face. The toes and pads are shaved with the top of the feet shaved no higher than the dew claw. Hair on the legs and body may be scissored so that it just touches the floor.
Shaved face: The head and face are shaved from the base of the skull down to the throat. Hair is left under the ears that creates a ruff around the face. Hair on the legs is scissored, but not shaved, so the toes can be seen.
Smooth Face There is no beard or mustache. Hair is short and close on the skull and muzzle. The semi-long coat lies close to the body. Light feathering is present on the legs and thighs with fringing on the ears. The tail is fully plumed.
Grooming: The Smooth Face dog is shown in a natural coat that is unaltered except for neatening the hair on the feet.
Puppy: Any dog up to one year of age may be shown in a natural coat without clipping of the head or feet. Feet may be neatly trimmed.

Color

All colors and markings except merle are acceptable.

Disqualification: Albinism. Merle color.

Tail

The tail is set high, heavily plumed, and curves gently over the back.

Faults: Low set tail. Scant plumage. Straight tail.
Eliminating Faults: Short or docked tails.

Gait

Gait is light and smooth, with a free-flowing action. When viewed from the front and rear, is straight and true.

Height

Ideal height, in a mature dog, is from seven to nine inches, measured at the withers. At no time can a dog exceed ten inches; however, type and breed characteristics are of greater importance.

Eliminating Fault: Over ten inches in height.

Weight

The Mi-Ki is a maximum of ten pounds at maturity; however, type and breed characteristics are of great importance.

Fault: Over ten pounds.

Eliminating Faults

(An Eliminating Fault is a Fault serious enough that it eliminates the dog from obtaining any awards in a conformation event.)
Over ten inches in height.
Short or docked tails.
Muzzle shorter or longer than described.

Disqualifications

(A dog with a Disqualification must not be considered for placement in a bench show/conformation event, and must be reported to UKC.)
Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid.
Viciousness or extreme shyness.
Albinism.
Nose pigment other than black on a white-colored dog.
Merle color.