KENNEL CLUB BREED STANDARD
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General Appearance
Compact, elegant and sound with substance.
Characteristics
Keen, alert, gay and sporting.
Temperament
Discerning and devoted.
Head and Skull
Long skull, flat and narrow, level and wedge-shaped,
without showing cheek muscles, well filled up under eyes, with tapering
tight-lipped mouth.
Eyes
Relatively small, dark and sparkling. Almond-shaped,
not prominent.
Ears
Small and V-shaped, carried well above top line of
head and hanging close to head above eyes.
Mouth
Jaws level, with perfect, regular scissor bite, i.e.
upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck
Fairly long and tapering from shoulder to head and
slightly arched at crest; free from throatiness.
Forequarters
Shoulders clean and well sloped. Front narrow and
deep. Forelegs quite straight, set on well under dog; and proportionate length
to body.
Body
Short with well sprung ribs, slightly arched over
the loin and cut up behind ribs.
Hindquarters
Strong and muscular, well bent at stifle. Hindlegs
neither cow-hocked nor with feet turned in.
Feet
Small, semi-harefooted and strong with well arched
toes.
Tail
Short and set on where arch of back ends, thick
where it joins body, tapering to a point, carried not higher than level of back.
Gait/Movement
Straight, free and balanced with good-reaching
forequarters and driving power in hindquarters.
Coat
Close, smooth, short and glossy, of firm texture.
Colour
Jet black and rich mahogany tan distributed as
follows: on head, muzzle tanned to nose, nose and nasal bone jet black. Small
tan spot on each cheek and above each eye, under-jaw and throat tanned with
distinct tan V. Legs from knee downward tanned with exception of toes which
shall be pencilled with black, a distinct black mark (thumbmark) immediately
above feet. Inside hindlegs tanned but divided with black at stifle joint. Under
tail tanned, vent tanned by marking as narrow as possible so that it is covered
by tail. A slight tan mark on each side of chest. Tan outside hindlegs, commonly
called breeching, is undesirable. In all cases black should not run into tan or
vice versa, but division between colours clearly defined.
Size
Ideal height at shoulders: dogs: 41cms (16 ins);
bitches: 38 cms (15 ins).
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points 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.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal
testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Last Updated - October 2009
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