Pastoral Group Breed Standard amendments
Any underlined text indicates a change or addition. Square bracketed text indicates a deletion.
Eyes Relatively small in proportion to size of skull, set well apart and deep, showing no haw. Golden to brown in colour. Eye rims black.
General Appearance Well balanced, length slightly greater than height. Medium sized, muscular with moderate bone. Expression alert and keen. Masculinity and femininity well defined
Characteristics Intelligent working dog with herding and guarding instincts. Great stamina, loyal, attentive and animated. Lithe, agile and able to change speed and direction with ease.
Head and Skull Clean cut, strong, dry and in proportion to body. Muzzle equal to or a little shorter than length of skull, tapering slightly to a rounded tip. Skull flat to slightly rounded, approximately equal in length and width. Moderate, well-defined stop. Nose and eye rims: Black in blue merles and blacks; Shades of brown in red merles and reds. Lack of pigment undesirable over 1 year of age.
Eyes Expressive, almond shaped, set obliquely with tight fitting rims. Brown, blue or amber or any combination including flecks and marbling.
Ears Triangular, of moderate size and thickness with a slightly rounded tip. Set high. When alert, brought forward and carried semi-erect, with half to three quarters of the ear breaking forward or to the side.
Mouth Jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck Clean, without throatiness. Moderate length, strong, slightly arched, fitting smoothly into shoulders.
Forequarters Shoulder blades long and flat, well laid back. Upper arms of comparable length. Height to the elbow is half the height of the dog at the withers. Forearms straight from all sides, with moderate oval bone, medium length, slightly sloping pasterns.
Body Length from point of shoulder to point of buttock slightly greater than height at withers. Strong, with firm level topline. Chest deep, of moderate width with brisket reaching to elbow. Ribs well sprung and carried well back. Loin strong and broad. Croup moderately sloping. Moderate tuck-up.
Hindquarters Approximately equal in width to forequarters at the shoulders. Angulation of pelvis and upper thighs reflects that between scapulae and upper arms. Well turned stifles. Hocks well let down, with rear pasterns perpendicular to ground and parallel when viewed from rear.
Feet Oval, compact with well arched toes and thick pads.
Tail Previously customarily docked.
Undocked: Of moderate length. Never curled or carried over the back. Well feathered. In overall balance with the rest of the dog. Not kinked. May be naturally bobbed. Set on following the line of the croup.
Gait/Movement Agile, smooth, free and easy with moderate length of stride, without any exaggeration. Fore and hind limbs move straight and true but should converge at speed. Topline should remain firm and level.
Coat Medium length and texture, straight to slightly wavy, weather resistant with undercoat. Short hair on the head, ears, front of forelegs and below hocks. Back of legs moderately feathered. Moderate mane, more pronounced in dogs than bitches.
Colour Blue merle, black, red merle, red, all with or without tan points. All colours should be strong, clear and rich. White should not dominate the head. On all colours the areas covering and surrounding the ears and eyes are dominated by a colour other than white.
May have white as follows:
full or part collar not extending beyond point of withers at the skin
chest
muzzle
moderate blaze
underparts
on forelegs
on hind-legs, preferably not extending above the hock joint.
[No change to Temperament clause, Faults clause or Note]
Eyes Oval, large, dark chestnut colour preferred, but depends on colour of coat. Soft, serene but attentive expression. Tight fitting black eye rims. [Delete ‘long lashes hold head hair back from eyes.’]
Feet delete reference to dewclaw removal.
Gait/Movement Distinctly characteristic in this breed. A sound dog is never out at the elbow, yet moves with front feet comparatively close together. Plaiting, crossing or rolling are highly undesirable. Hindlegs from hock joint to ground when viewed from rear to be parallel but not too close; when viewed from side, action is smooth. Hindlegs powerful with plenty of drive. A reasonably long stride is desirable and should be light and appear effortless. Absolute soundness essential.
German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian)
Forequarters Shoulder blade and upper arms are equal in length, well muscled and firmly attached to the body. Shoulder blades [delete: long] set obliquely (approximately. 45 degrees), laid flat to body. Upper arm strong, well muscled, joining shoulder blade at approximately 90 degrees. Seen from all sides, the forearms are straight and, seen from the front, absolutely parallel. Bone oval rather than round. The elbows must turn neither in nor out while standing or moving. [Delete: Forearms straight] Pasterns firm, supple, with a slight forward slope. An over long, weak pastern, which would affect a dog’s working ability is to be heavily penalised. [Delete: from pasterns to elbows viewed from any angle, bone oval rather than round. Pasterns firm, supple and slightly angulated. Elbows neither tucked in nor turned out]. Length of foreleg slightly exceeds the [delete: exceeding] depth of chest.
Body Length measured from point of shoulder [delete: breast bone] to point of buttock [delete: rear edge of pelvis], slightly exceeding height at withers. Correct ratio 10 to 9 or 8 and a half. Undersized dogs, stunted growth, high-legged dogs, those too heavy or too light in build, over-loaded fronts, too short overall appearance, any feature detracting from reach or endurance of gait, undesirable. Chest deep (45-48 per cent) of height at shoulder, not too broad, brisket long, well developed. Ribs well formed and long; neither barrel-shaped nor too flat; allowing free movement of elbows when gaiting. Relatively short loin. Belly firm, only slightly drawn up. Back between withers and croup, straight, strongly developed, not too long. Overall length achieved by correct angle of well laid shoulders, correct length of croup and hindquarters. [Delete: Withers long, of good height and well defined, joining back in a smooth line without disrupting flowing topline, slightly sloping from front to back] The topline runs without any visible break from the set on of the neck, over the well defined withers, falling away slightly in a straight line to the gently sloping croup. The back is firm, strong and well muscled. Loin broad, strong, well muscled. Weak, soft and roach backs highly undesirable and should be [delete: rejected] heavily penalised. Croup [delete ‘long’] slightly sloping and without any break in the topline, merges imperceptibly with the set on of the tail. [Delete: curving downwards to tail without disrupting flowing topline]. Short, steep or flat croups highly undesirable.
Hindquarters Overall strong, broad and well muscled, enabling effortless forward propulsion. [Delete: of whole body]. Upper and lower thigh are approximately of equal length. [Delete: thighbone, viewed from side, sloping to slightly longer lower thighbone]. Hind angulation sufficient if imaginary line dropped from point of buttocks cuts through lower thigh just in front of hock, continuing down slightly in front of hindfeet. Angulations corresponding approximately with front angulation, without over-angulation. Seen from the rear, the hind legs are straight and parallel to each other. The hocks are strong and firm. The rear pasterns are vertical. [Delete: hock strong] Any tendency towards over-angulation of hindquarters, weak hocks, cow hocks or sickle hocks, is to be heavily penalised as this reduces firmness and endurance in movement.
Feet delete reference to dewclaw removal.
Gait/Movement Sequence of step follows diagonal pattern, moving foreleg and opposite hindleg forward simultaneously; hindfoot thrust forward to midpoint of body and having equally long reach with forefeet without any noticeable change in backline. Absolute soundness of movement essential.
[No change to other clauses]
Eyes [Delete ‘Bold’] Neither large nor small, [delete ‘ball neither sunk nor protruding’] aperture almond-shaped, dark eye preferred. Rims black.
Hindquarters Legs strong and moderately angulated, straight when viewed from behind.
Hindquarters Loin very sturdy, broad and gently arched, quarters well covered round and muscular, the second thigh is long and well developed, the stifle well turned but not exaggerated, and the hocks set low. When viewed from behind, the rear pasterns should be parallel, [delete ‘From the rear the hocks should be quite straight’] with the feet turning neither in nor out.
Feet delete reference to removal of dewclaws
Coat [Delete ‘Profuse,’] Of good harsh texture, not straight, but shaggy and free from curl. Undercoat of waterproof pile. Head and skull well covered with hair, ears moderately coated, neck well coated, forelegs well coated all round, hindquarters more heavily coated than rest of body. Quality, texture, and profusion to be considered above mere length.
Feet delete reference to removal of dewclaws
Coat [Delete - Whole body covered with long] Dense, shaggy thick coat of harsh texture with soft undercoat. [Delete - Long hair covers eyes].Slight wave permissible. No loose skin anywhere on body.
- Date page created:
- Categories:
- Dog Showing, Pastoral Group
This article has been read 20778 times.
