Breed Standard

General Appearance

A small elegant dog, lively, long-legged, with fine bone and lean muscles.

Characteristics

Squarely built. Length of leg is slightly greater than the depth of body. Two coat types – smooth coated and long coated. Large ears carried erect, with fringing on the long haired variety.

Temperament

Active, lively, neither timid nor aggressive

Head and Skull

Head small compared to the body. Skull slightly rounded, not too wide. Cheeks only slightly pronounced. Clearly defined stop. Muzzle lean and pointed, slightly shorter than the skull. Lips thin, tight-fitting and dark, or matching coat colour.

Eyes

Quite large, rounded, dark. Lighter eyes permitted in self-coloured dogs. Set well apart and looking straight ahead. Eye rims dark or matching coat colour.

Ears

Large, thin, set high, erect. Fringed in long haired dogs.

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.

Nose

Black or self-coloured.

Neck

Long, lean, slightly arched. Head carried high.

Forequarters

Front legs fine boned, straight and parallel. Shoulders moderate in length, only slightly sloping and forming a rather open angle with the upper arm. Shoulders and upper arms of approximately equal length. Elbows set close to body.

Body

Topline slopes gently from low withers to slightly rounded croup. Back strong and straight with short, slightly arched loin. Chest oval and not too wide. Tucked up belly and drawn up flanks, forming a curved underline.

Hindquarters

Moderately angulated. Seen from the rear, the hind legs are straight and parallel, but standing slightly wider than the forelegs.

Feet

Small, oval, compact, turning neither in nor out.

Tail

Previously customarily docked.

Docked: short, carried high.

Undocked: sickle tail, carried high when moving.

Gait/Movement

Brisk, positive action, maintaining topline on the move.

Coat

Two types.

Smooth haired: single coated, short, close-lying, glossy. Without bald patches.

Long haired: moderately long (3-5 cms), straight or slightly wavy. Close-lying, not obscuring the natural outline of the body. Hair on the head and on the front part of limbs is short and smooth. Distinct feathering on rear side of limbs. The feet have long, silky hair which completely hides the nails. Ears fringed with thick, long hair. Tail well feathered.

Colour

Black and tan, brown and tan, blue and tan, lilac and tan. Red of any shade, with or without black, brown, blue or lilac overlay. Fawn, cream. Richer shades in all colours preferred. White markings not permitted.

Size

Height at withers: Dogs and bitches: 20 – 28cms (8-11 ins), (tolerance +/- 1 cm)

Weight: Dogs and bitches: up to 3 kgs (6½ lbs).

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 and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on the dog’s ability to perform its traditional work.

Note

Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.