Breed Standard

General Appearance

Athletic, graceful, compact with medium boning.

A distinctive feature is the coat which should be easy to manage and non shedding.

Temperament

Energetic, joyful, comical, sociable, clever, melt at human touch, intuitive and easy to train.

Movement

Smooth, powerful, effortless trotting gait, good reach in front and drive from behind, sound, free movement.

Sizes

Size can range from 35-63cms in height at the wither, and weight can vary from 7-30 kgs.

• Miniatures are up to 42 cms and 15 kgs in weight
• Mediums are up to 52 cms at the wither and 20 kgs in weight
• Standards are up to 63 cms at the wither and 30 kgs in weight

Body

Compact, square, deep well sprung chest, strong, muscular loins.

Head

Broad, well defined eyebrows, moderate stop, eyes set well apart, clean cut head in proportion to size of body.

Eyes

Expressive, large, slightly rounded.

Ears

Slightly above eye level, flat against head.

Nose

Large, fleshy, square appearance.

Mouth

Scissor bite.

Neck

Good strength, light arched, moderate elegant length, flows into shoulders.

Tail

Should follow topline, may be carried gaily but should not curly completely over back.

Please see the ALA’s website for more infomation on the breed standard.