OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG BREED STANDARD 1897


Skull.-Capacious, and rather squarely formed, giving plenty of room for brain-power. The parts over the eyes should be well arched, and the whole well covered with hair.
Jaw.-Fairly long, strong, square and truncated; the stop should be defined to avoid a deerhound face. [The attention of judges is particularly called to the above properties, as a long narrow head is a deformity.]
Eyes.-Vary according to the colour of the dog, but in the glaucous or blue dogs a pearl, wall, or china eye is considered typical.
Nose.-Always black, large and capacious. Teeth.-Strong and large, evenly placed, and level in opposition.
Ears.-Small, and carried flat to side of head, coated moderately.
Legs.-The forelegs should be dead straight, with plenty of bone, removing the body a medium height from the ground, without approaching legginess; well coated all round.
Feet.-Small, round; toes well arched, and pads thick and hard.
Tail.-Puppies requiring docking must have an appendage left of from I'/z to 2 inches, and the operation performed when not older than four days.
Neck and Shoulders.-The neck should be fairly long, arched gracefully, and well coated with hair; the shoulders sloping and narrow at the points, the dog
standing lower at the shoulder than at the loin.
Body.-Rather short and very compact, ribs well sprung, and brisket deep and capacious. The loin should be very stout and gently arched, while the
hind-quarters should be round and muscular, with well let down hocks, and the hams densely coated with a thick, long jacket, in excess of any other part.
Coat.-Profuse, and of a good hard texture; not straight, but shaggy and free from curl. The under-coat should be a waterproof pile, when not removed by
grooming or season.
Colour.-Any shade of grey, grizzle, blue, or blue-merled, with or without white markings, or in reverse.
Height.-Twenty-two inches and upwards for dogs, slightly less for bitches.
GENERAL APPEARANCE.
A strong compact-looking dog of great symmetry, absolutely free of legginess or weaselness, profusely coated all over, very elastic in his gallop, but in
walking or trotting he has a characteristic ambling or pacing movement, and his bark should be loud with a peculiar pot casse ring in it. Taking him all
round, he is a thick-set, muscular, able-bodied dog, with a most intelligent expression, free of all poodle or deerhound character.
SCALE OF POINTS
Head............................ 5

Nose.............................5
Eye ............................. 5

Teeth ........................... 5
Colour .........................10

Legs ........................... 10
Ears ........................... 5

Neck and shoulders ...... 10
Body, loins, and hind-quarters. 20

Coat.................... 15
Jaw ..............................10

Grand Total..................100

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