This visualisation is
intended to help explain some of the terms used in the breed
standard.
General Appearance
Alert, active, compact, short-coupled, squarely built. Dogs
larger and more powerful than bitches.
Characteristics
Loose skin, frowning expression, harsh bristly coat.
Temperament
Calm, independent, very affectionate, and devoted to people.
Head and Skull
Rather large in proportion to body, skull flat, broad, moderate
stop. Length from nose to stop approximately equal to length
from stop to occiput. Fine wrinkles on forehead and cheeks
continuing to form dewlaps. Muzzle distinctive feature of breed.
Broad and full with no suggestion of tapering. The lips and top
of muzzle padded, causing a slight bulge at the base of nose.
When viewed from front, bottom jaw appears wider than top due to
padding of lips. Nose large, wide, preferably black but any
colour conforming to general coat colour permissible.
Eyes
Dark, medium size, almond-shaped with frowning expression. Amber
and lighter colours permissible in paler shades. Function of
eyeball or lid in no way disturbed by surrounding skin, folds or
hair. Any sign of irritation of eyeball, conjunctiva or eyelids
highly undesirable. Free from entropion.
Ears
Very small, rather thick, equilaterally triangular in shape,
slightly rounded at tip, and set high on the skull with tips
pointing towards eyes, set well forward over eyes, wide apart
and close to skull. Pricked ears highly undesirable.
Mouth
Tongue, roof of mouth, gums and flews: solid bluish-black is
preferred. Solid pink tongue undesirable. Dogs with
self-coloured pigment and amber or light brown eyes would be
expected to have a lavender tongue. Teeth strong, with a
perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth
closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Padding of lower lip should not be so excessive so as to
interfere with the bite.
Neck
Medium length, strong, full; set well on shoulders, with loose
skin under neck.
Forequarters
Shoulders muscular, well laid and sloping. Elbows close to the
body. Forelegs straight, moderate length, good bone; pasterns
slightly sloping, strong and flexible.
Body
Height at withers approximately equal to the length from point
of shoulders to point of buttock. Depth of brisket approximately
half of height at withers. Chest broad and deep, underline
rising slightly under loin; back short, strong. Topline dips
slightly behind withers then rises over short, broad loin. Adult
dogs should display moderate wrinkling over shoulders and base
of tail. Excessive skin on body when mature highly undesirable.
Hindquarters
Muscular, strong; moderately angulated; hocks well let down
without excessive wrinkling or thickening.
Feet
Moderate size, compact, toes well knuckled. Fore and hind
dewclaws may be removed.
Tail
Rounded, narrowing to fine point, base set very high. May be
carried high and curved, carried in tight curl, or curved over.
Lack of, or incomplete, tail highly undesirable.
Gait/Movement
Free, vigorous and balanced, rear single tracking is normal at a
fast trot, stilted gait undesirable.
Coat
Extremely harsh coat straight and off-standing on the body but
flatter on the limbs. No undercoat. Length varies from short and
bristly, under half an inch (1.25cm) or longer and thicker,
between half an inch (1.25cm) and one inch (2.5cm), but still
off-standing and harsh to the touch. N.B: no particular coat
length within the accepted length should be preferred above the
other. Never trimmed.
Colour
All Solid colours except white are acceptable. Frequently shaded
on tail and back of thighs with lighter colour.
Size
Height: 46-51 cms (18-20 ins) at withers.
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.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully
descended into the scrotum.
