| Breed
Standard |
Last Updated - January
2009 |
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General Appearance |
Strongly built,
short-coupled, very active; broad in skull; broad and deep through
chest and ribs; broad and strong over loins and hindquarters. |
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Characteristics |
Good-tempered, very agile (which precludes
excessive body weight or substance). Excellent nose, soft
mouth; keen love of water. Adaptable, devoted companion.
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Temperament |
Intelligent, keen
and biddable, with a strong will to please. Kindly nature, with no
trace of aggression or undue shyness. |
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Head and Skull |
Skull broad with
defined stop; clean-cut without fleshy cheeks. Jaws of medium length,
powerful not snipy. Nose wide, nostrils well developed. |
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Eyes |
Medium size, expressing
intelligence and good temper; brown or hazel. |
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Ears |
Not large or heavy,
hanging close to head and set rather far back. |
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Mouth |
Jaws and teeth strong
with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth
closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. |
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Neck |
Clean, strong, powerful,
set into well placed shoulders. |
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Forequarters |
Shoulders long and
sloping. Forelegs well boned and straight from elbow to ground when
viewed from either front or side. |
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Body |
Chest of good width
and depth, with well sprung barrel ribs -
this effect not to be produced by carrying excessive weight.
Level topline. Loins wide, short-coupled and strong. |
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Hindquarters |
Well developed,
not sloping to tail; well turned stifle. Hocks well let down, cowhocks
highly undesirable. |
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Feet |
Round, compact; well arched
toes and well developed pads. |
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Tail |
Distinctive feature,
very thick towards base, gradually tapering towards tip, medium length,
free from feathering, but clothed thickly all round with short, thick,
dense coat, thus giving rounded appearance described as
Otter tail. May be carried gaily but should not curl over
back. |
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Gait/ Movement |
Free, covering adequate
ground; straight and true in front and rear. |
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Coat |
Distinctive feature,
short dense without wave or feathering, giving fairly hard feel to
the touch; weather-resistant undercoat. |
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Colour |
Wholly black, yellow
or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small
white spot on chest permissible. |
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Size |
Ideal height at withers:
Dogs: 56-57 cms (22-221/2 ins); Bitches: 55-56 cms (211/2-22 ins).
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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,
and on the dogs ability to perform its traditional work. |
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Note |
Male animals should
have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. |
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