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 well 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 color of the dog. Very dark preferred, but in the glaucous
or blue dogs a pearl, walleye or china eye is considered typical.
{A light eye is most objectionable.)
Nose: Always black, large and capacious.
Teeth: Strong and large, evenly placed and level
in opposition.
Ears: Medium-sized, 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, and well coated all around.
Feet: Small, round; toes well arched, and pads
thick and hard.
Tail: It is preferable that there should be none.
Should never, however, exceed one and a half or two inches in
grown dogs. When not natural-born bobtails however, puppies should
be docked at the first joint from the body and the operation performed
when they are from three to four days old.
Neck and Shoulders: The neck should be fairly long,
archedgracefully 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. Slabsidedness highly undesirable.
The loin should be very stout and gently arched, while the hindquarters
should be round and muscular and with well-let-down hocks, and
the hams densely coated with a thick, long jacket in excess of
any other part.
Coat: Profuse, but not so excessive as to give the
impression of the dog being over fat, and of a good hard texture;
not straight, but shaggy and free from curl. Quality and texture
of coat to be considered above mere profuseness. Softness or flatness
of coat to be considered at fault. The undercoat should be a waterproof
pile, when not removed by grooming or season.
Color: Any shade of gray, grizzle, blue or blue-merled
with or without white markings or in reverse. Any shade of brown
or fawn to be considered distinctly objectionable and not to be
encouraged.
Size: Twenty-two inches and upwards for dogs and
slightly less for bitches. Type, character and symmetry are of
the greatest importance and are on no account to be sacrificed
to size alone.
General Appearance and Characteristics: A strong,
compact-looking dog of great symmetry, practically the same in
measurement from shoulder to stern as in height, absolutely free
from legginess or weaselness, 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 profusely, but not excessively
coated, thick-set, muscular, able-bodied dog with a most intelligent
expression, free from all Poodle or Deerhound character. Soundness
should be considered of greatest importance.
Skull.............5
Eyes.............5
Ears.............5
Teeth............5
Nose.............5
Jaw..............5
Foreface.........5.
Neck and shoulders........5
Body and loins............ 10
Hindquarters............. 10
Legs....... ............. 10
Coat (texture, quality and
condition).............. 15
General appearance and
movement.............. 15
TOTAL.............. 100