GENERAL APPEARANCE.
Slightly long in comparison to height; of powerful, well-muscled build
with weather-resistant coat. Relation between height, length, position
and structure of fore and hindquarters (angulation) producing far-reaching,
enduring gait. Clear definition of masculinity and femininity essential,
and working ability never sacrificed for mere beauty. CHARACTERISTICS.
Versatile working dog, balanced and free from exaggeration. Attentive,
alert, resilient and tireless with keen scenting ability. TEMPERAMENT.
Steady of nerve, loyal, self-assured, courageous and tractable. Never
nervous, over-aggressive nor shy. HEAD & SKULL.
Proportionate in size to body, never coarse, too fine or long. Clean
cut; fairly broad between ears. Forehead slightly domed; little or no
trace of central furrow. Cheeks forming softly rounded curve, never
protruding. Skull from ears to bridge of nose tapering gradually and
evenly, blending without too pronounced stop into wedge shaped powerful
muzzle. Skull approximately 50% of overall length of head. Width of
skull corresponding approximately to length, in males slightly greater,
in females slightly less. Muzzle strong, lips firm, clean and closing
tightly. Top of muzzle straight, almost parallel to forehead. Short,
blunt, weak, pointed, overlong muzzle undesirable. EYES.
Medium sized, almond-shaped, never protruding. Dark brown preferred,
lightly shade permissible, provided expression good and general harmony
of head not destroyed. Expression lively, intelligent and self-assured. EARS.
Medium sized, firm in texture, broad at base, set high, carried erect,
almost parallel, never pulled inwards or tipped, tapering to a point,
open at front. Never hanging. Folding back during movement permissible. MOUTH.
Jaws strongly developed. With a perfect, regular and complete scissor
bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square
at the jaw. Teeth healthy and strong. Full strong. Full dentition desirable. NECK.
Fairly long, strong, with well developed muscels, free from throatiness.
Carried at 45 degrees angle to horizontal, raised when excited, lowered
at fast trot. FOREOUARTERS.
Shoulder blades long, set obliquely (45 degrees) laid flat to body.
Upper arm strong, well muscled, joining shoulder blade at approximately
90 degrees. Forelegs straight from pasterns to elbows viewed from any
angle, bone oval rather than round. Pasterns firm, supple and slightly
angulated. Elbows neither tucked in or turned out. Length of foreleg
exceeding depth of chest. BODY.
Length measured from point of breast bone to rear edge of pelvis, exceeding
height at withers. Correct ratio 10 to 9 or 8 and a half. Undersized
dogs, stunted growth, high-legged dogs, those too heavy or too light
in build, overloaded front, too short overall appearance, any feature
detracting from reach or endurance of gait, undesirable. Chest deep
(45% - 48%) of height at shoulder, not too broad, brisket long, well
developed. Ribs well formed and long; neither barrel-shaped nor too
flat; allowing free movement of elbows when gaiting. Relatively short
loin. Belly firm, only slightly drawn up. Back between withers and croup,
straight, strongly developed, not too long. Overall length achieved
by correct angle of well laid shoulders, correct length of croup and
hindquarters. Withers long, of good height and well defined, jointed
back in smooth line without disrupting flowing topline, slightly sloping
from front to back. Weak, soft and roach backs undesirable and should
be rejected. Loin broad, strong, well muscled. Croup long, gently curving
downwards to tail without disrupting flowing topline. Short, steep or
flat croups undesirable. HINDQUARTERS.
Overall strong, broad and well-muscled, enabling effortless forward
propulsion of whole body. Upper thighbone, viewed from the side, sloping
to slightly longer lower thighbone. Hind angulation sufficient if imaginary
line dropped from point of buttocks cuts through lower thigh just in
front of hock, continuing down slightly in front of hind feet. Angulations
corresponding approximately with front angulation, without over-angulation,
hock strong. Any tendency towards over-angulation of hindquarters reduces
firmness and endurance. FEET
Rounded toes well-closed and arched. Pads well-cushioned and durable.
Nails short, strong and dark in colour. Dewclaws removed from hindlegs.
TAIL
Bushy-haired, reached at least to hock - idea! length, reaching to middle
of metatarsus. At rest tail hangs, in slight sabre-like curve; when
moving raised and curve increased, ideally never above level of back.
Short, rolled, curled, generally carried badly or stumpy from birth,
undesirable. GAIT/MOVEMENT.
Sequence of step follows diagonal pattern, moving foreleg and opposite
hindleg forward simultaneously; hind foot thrust forward to midpoint
of body
and having equally long reach with forefeet without any noticeable change
in backline. COAT.
Outer coat consisting of straight, hard, close lying hair as dense as
possible. Thick undercoat. Hair on head, ears, front of legs, paws and
toes short, on back, longer and thicker; in some males forming slight
ruff. Hair longer on back of legs as far down as pasterns and stifles
and forming fairly thick trousers on hindquarters. No hard and fast
rule for length of hair; mole-type coats undesirable. COLOUR.
Black or black saddle with tan or gold to light grey markings. All black,
all grey, or grey with lighter or brown markings referred to as Sables.
Nose black. Light markings on chest or very pale colour on inside of
legs permissible but undesirable, as are whitish nails, red tipped tails
or wish-washy faded colours defined as lacking in pigmentation. Blues,
livers, albinos, white (i.e. almost pure white dogs with back noses)
and near whites highly undesirable. Undercoat, except in all black dogs,
usually grey or fawn. Colour in itself is of secondary importance having
no effect on character or fitness for work. Final colour of a young
dog only ascertained when outer coat has developed. SIZE.
Ideal height (from withers and just touching elbows) : Dogs 62.5 cm
(25 ins). Bitches 57.5 cm (23 inch). 2.5 cm (1 inch) either above or
below ideal permissible. 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. NOTE.
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.
