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: 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 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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