Characteristics

Handsome, upstanding dog of striking colouring. Hardy and sound.

Head and Skull

Head longish, rectangular, with slightly arched and moderately broad skull. Occiput not too prominent. Stop well defined but not over pronounced. Jowls not too heavy. Muzzle fairly long, large and rectangular. Bridge of nose straight and parallel to line of skull. Nose always black, well developed with large nostrils. Upper lips full but not too overhanging.

Eyes

Clear and dark brown with tranquil expression.

Ears

Set fairly high, when drawn alongside jaw, ears extend to approximately halfway along muzzle and should be raised only slightly above skull when responding to call. Soft with straight fall and fore edge not folded out.

Mouth

Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Neck

Long and powerful, merging well into shoulders, skin on neck supple and close fitting.

Forequarters

Shoulders muscular and well laid back. When viewed from front forelegs appear straight and parallel. Upper foreleg long and broad and set at a right angle to shoulder blade. Elbows set close in to body.

Body

Back straight and powerful. Strong, broad, muscular loin. Croup slightly inclined. Chest deep, ribs moderately sprung, back ribs proportionately long. Belly slightly tucked up.

Hindquarters

Strong and parallel when viewed from behind. Well angulated, muscle well developed and broad when seen from side.

Feet

Short and hard. Pads firm and pointing straight forward.

Tail

Set on low, in an almost straight continuation of line of back. In length reaches hock. Fairly wide at base and narrowing off towards tip. Held in straight position or curving slightly in sabre-like shape. Not carried above the backline when moving.

Coat

Coat consists of two layers. Undercoat short, close and soft, especially thick during winter. Upper coat strongly weather-resistant lying close to body. On underside of tail, ordinary hair quite long but not forming a fringe. Ample hair between pads.

Colour

Upper side of neck, back, sides of trunk and upper side of tail black. Head and legs, as well as side of neck, trunk and tail brown. White markings as follows: blaze on upper part of muzzle, underside of neck, breast and tip of tail, lower legs and feet.

A mixture of black and brown undesirable, as is a preponderance of any of the three permissible colours.