THE BREED STANDARD

When viewed from above the head is trapezoidal in shape and moderately broad; the upper longitudinal axis of the skull and the muzzle diverge slightly. Cheeks flat. The eyes are large, but never exaggerated, rounded, filling the socket, set fairly apart. The ears are medium-sized in proportion to the head, triangular with rounded tips; their base is rather wide; they are set just above the zygomatic arches. Hanging at rest or slightly raised when the dog is attentive. The ears when pulled loosely forward across the cheeks towards the nose tip should cover ¼ of the length of the muzzle. Color will vary with coat color from flesh colored to dark brown. The nose should be fully pigmented.

The neck is strong, muscular, lean and oval in shape; well set off from the nape, and slightly arched. In males the perimeter of the neck can reach the double of its length. Short in appearance, it is less than the total length of the head. The topline – well pronounced withers, topline straight from behind the withers to the croup, which is slightly sloping. Body – compact and strong. The length of the dog, measured from the sternum to the ischium is nearly the same as the height.

Shoulder – shoulder blades long (30 percent of the height at withers), well laid back (52 to 55 degrees), muscular, strong and closely attached to the chest, but moving freely. The angle formed between the shoulder blade and the upper arm should be 110 to 115 degrees. Upper Arm – muscular, of thin bone structure, as long as the shoulder blade; its inclination to the horizontal ranges from 58 to 60 degrees. Elbow – tucked firmly against the brisket; covered with thin skin.

Angulation – in balance with the forequarters. Legs powerful, upright seen from the rear, well proportioned to the size of the dog and parallel. Upper thigh – long (35 percent of the height at withers), with well defined muscles. The axis of the femur has a distinct inclination of 80 degrees to the horizontal. The coxo-femoral angle ranges from 105 to 110 degrees. The thigh is parallel to the median plane of the body. Stifle-the angle of the stifle ranges from 130 to 135 degrees. Second thigh-slightly longer than the upper thigh (36 percent of the height at withers), well boned and muscled, with marked muscular groove.

Hair – of woolly texture, never twisted to form thin cords, semi-rough on the surface, with tight, ringshaped curls, with visible undercoat. Curls must be evenly distributed all over the body and tail, except on the head, where the curls are not as tight forming abundant eyebrows, whiskers and beard. Even the cheeks are covered with thick hair. The topcoat and specially the undercoat are water-proof. The clipped coat must not be longer than a maximum of 1½ to 2 inches in a curled state (not brushed out) and it should be uniform with the silhouette of the dog.