General appearance:
Small, long haired,
working dog of great beauty, free from cloddiness and coarseness.
Outline symmetrical so that no part appears out of proportion to whole.
Abundant coat, mane and frill, shapeliness of head and sweetness of
expression combine to present the ideal.
Characteristics:
Alert, gentle,
intelligent, strong and active.
Temperament:
Affectionate and
responsive to his owner, reserved towards strangers, never nervous.
Head and skull:
Head refined; when viewed
from top or side a long, blunt wedge, tapering from ear to nose. Width
of skull in proportion to length of skull and muzzle. Whole to be
considered in connection with the size of dog. Skull flat, moderately
wide between ears, with no prominence of occipital bone. Cheeks flat,
merging smoothly into well rounded muzzle. Skull and muzzle of equal
length, dividing point inner corner of eye. Topline of skull parallel to
topline of muzzle, with slight but definite stop. Nose, lips and eyerims
black.
The caracteristic
expression is obtained by the perfect balance and combination of skull
and foreface, shape, colour and placement of eyes, correct position and
carriage of ears.
Mouth: Jaws
level, clean, strong with a well-developed underjaw. Lips tight. Teeth -
sound with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper
teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws. A
full complement of 42 properly placed teeth higly desired.
Eyes: Medium
size, obliquely set, almond shape. Dark brown except in the case of
merles, where one or both may be blue or blue flecked.
Ears: Small,
moderately wide at base, placed fairly close together on top of skull.
In repose; thrown back; when alert brought forward and carried
semi-erect with tips falling forward.
Neck:
Muscular, well arched, of
sufficient length to carry head proudly.
Forequarters:
Shoulders very well laid
back. At withers separate only by vertebrae, but blades sloping outwards
to accomodate desired spring of ribs. Shoulder joint well angled. Upper
arm and shoulder blade approximately equal in length. Elbow equidistent
from ground and withers. Forelegs straight when viewed from front,
muscular and clean with strong bone. Pasterns strong and flexible.
Body:
Slightly longer from
point of shoulder to bottom of croup than height at withers. Chest deep,
reaching to point of elbow. Ribs well sprung, tapering at lower half to
allow free play of forelegs and shoulders. Back level, with graceful
sweep over loins; croup slopes gradually to rear.
Hindquarters:
Thigh broad and muscular,
thigh bones set into pelvis at right angles. Stifle joint has distinct
angle, hock joint clean cut, angular, well let down with strong bone.
Hock straight when viewed from behind.
Feet:
Oval, soles well padded,
toes arched and close together.
Tail:
Set low; tapering bone
reaches to at least hocks; with abundant hair and slight upward sweep.
May be slightly raised when moving but never over level of back. Never
kinked.
Gait/movement:
Lithe, smooth and
graceful with drive from hindquarters, covering the maximum amount of
ground with the minimum of effort. Pacing, plaiting, rolling or stiff,
stilted up and down movement highly undesirable.
Coat:
Double; outer coat of
long hair, harsh textured and straight. Undercoat soft, short and close.
Mane and frill very abundant, forelegs well feathered. Hindlegs above
hocks profusely covered with hair, below hocks fairly smooth. Face
smooth. Smooth coated specimens highly undesirable.
Colour:
Sables: Clear or
shaded, any colour from pale gold to deep mahogany, in its shade, rich
in tone. Wolf sable and grey undesirable.
Tricolours:
Intense black on body, rich tan markings preferred.
Blue Merles:
Clear, silvery blue, splashed and marbled with black. Rich tan markings
preferred but absence not penalised. Heavy black markings, slate or
rusty tinge in either top or undercoat highly undesirable; general
effect must be blue.
Black & White and Black & Tan:
are also recognised colours.
White markings may appear
(except on black and tan) in blaze, collar and chest, frill, legs and
tip of tail. All or some white markings are preferred (except on black
and tan) but absence of these markings are not to be penalised. Patches of
white on body highly undesirable.
Size:
Ideal height at withers:
Dogs 37 cms (14 1/2 inchs); Bitches 35,5 cms (14 inchs). More than 2 1/2
cms (1 inch) above or below these heights highly undesirable.
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.
Approved
by the General Assembly
on the 23th and 24th June 1987 in Jerusalem.
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