BRITISH CAVY COUNCIL

Lunkarya Guide Standard

Updated 1st January 2024

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Standard of points

Frontal, Chops, Head, Eyes, Ears
of which
Frontal and Chops: Frontal and chops should be curly.
Head, Eye & Ear Head to be of good size, bold & broad, Muzzle of good width & rounded at the nostrils.
Eyes to be large, bright and bold and set with good width between.
Ears to be large and drooping, and set with good width between.
Coat Appearance Coat on the body should be curly in a ringletted fashion, giving a corkscrew effect that needs to be present from the base of the coat to the tips, which should be intact. The coat should appear full and dense, with even lengths of ringletted curls sticking out from the body in a naturally untidy fashion.
Therefore the Lunkarya should not be presented with a central parting.
Belly to be curly and dense.
Coat Feel The texture of the coat should be harsh and coarse. It should feel full and dense with a thick undercoat but free from grease.
Presentation To be presented clean and unmatted, with the corkscrew effect that the coat naturally develops evident all over the body.
Judges must be able to run their fingers through the coat to check for coat quality and presentation, being able to pull their fingers up and out through the coat without encountering tangles, knots or matting.
Body To have short, cobby body; thick-set, with good width across shoulders.
To be fit and of good substance, with plenty of firm flesh.
To have good size appropriate to age.

N.B. Any Full Standard for this breed is likely to be based on those for the Rough Longhair breeds.

Specific requirements

The Lunkarya may be shown in any colour or combination of colours.

It must be shown with no central parting on a board of appropriate size. This should be large enough to give an outline of the coat shape and be covered in natural-coloured hessian. The coat must not be cut.

Guidance notes

The Lunkaria is a longhaired cavy in the Peruvian model (having a frontal, chops and two rump rosettes), but with significant differences due to the harsh and coarse coat texture and the tendency of the coat to form ringlets. The hair on the frontal, chop furnishings and belly is rexoid but not ringletted.

The Lunkarya’s coat is its most important feature and on the body should be curly in a ringletted fashion, giving a corkscrew effect that needs to be present from the base of the coat to the tips, which should be intact. The coat should have harsh texture and be full and dense, with even lengths of ringletted curls sticking out from the body in a naturally untidy fashion. Therefore the Lunkarya should not be presented with a central parting.

Frontal and chops should be strong, with hair of one length and no gaps. The frontal and chops should be curly; the belly should show the presence of dense curls.

In an older Lunkarya the weight of the hair will tend to make the outer coat fall towards the body, but the innate tendency for the coat to grow out from the body should still be evident and there should be no tendency to a parting.

The coat of a Lunkarya grows at approximately 1 inch per month, although because of the curlyness of the coat it may appear shorter. It should therefore be measured by holding the hair straight.

Specific disqualifications

Specific faults

Wash 2: Designed by Simon Neesam for the British Cavy Council © 2020