Why do we accept only one shade of smoke when there are three shades of Siamese Sable? That’s easy because we follow the pattern laid down by the standard club for their breed. And is there anyone out there who has actually seen a light Siamese sable? Thought not, so perhaps the Siamese sable should be only two colours!

Furthermore, there is nothing more attractive than a beautifully coloured medium Siamese smoke, so we shouldn’t be accepting the dark shade for exhibition.

Has the dark smoke got any place in the breeding of Siamese smokes? There are many different points of view on this subject my own personal view is no they haven’t. Many people tell me that you should keep them for breeding to a REW to get the correct coloured smoke. I have no doubt that you will, but I do not want bucks in my shed that I could not show, hence there is no place for a dark smoke, and similarly I don’t want to show REWs, I do not have the inclination to clean them out every hour from 4am. So I don’t want dark smoke or REW bucks or a shed full of the does to go with them.

Fortunately, dark smokes are very appealing as pets so we have no trouble in getting rid of them at 8 weeks old, no matter how good they look, or what sex they are.

So how do I breed my Siamese smokes, easy I use Siamese sables, and breed them with the correct coloured Siamese smokes, and I get a mixture of both colours. Of course I would not use a dark Siamese sable, that would be a sure way of breeding all dark Siamese smokes. A good coloured medium Siamese sable to a Siamese smoke is the answer,  and of course that is the way to get the Siamese smoke pearl, that delicate hint of dove grey that all the best Siamese smokes have. I have checked our records, and for the last three years we have bred just two dark Siamese smokes, and nineteen of the correct colour.

So what about judging?

There are only 15 points for colour so a dark smoke could be penalised anywhere between 1 and 15 points, which is very subjective, so no wonder exhibitors moan about inconsistent judging. Surely it is better to view the dark smoke as what it is….a colour that should not be shown and therefore disqualify it. Much better than accepting the colour as more exhibitors will show them. What is even worse, leaving the dark smoke on the table but moving down the order. At least no judges would award it 2^nd out of 1 exhibit, would they?

So to summarise, use medium Siamese sables to breed Siamese smoke pearls and dark smokes make lovely pets.

Gary Hodson