GENERAL APPEARANCE - Strongly built, short
coupled, very active; broad in skull; broad and deep
through chest and ribs; broad and strong over loins
and hindquarters.
CHARACTERISTICS - Good
tempered, very agile. Excellent nose, soft mouth;
keen love of water. Adaptable, devoted companion.
TEMPERAMENT - Intelligent,
keen and biddable, with a strong will to please.
Kindly nature, with no trace of aggression or undue
shyness.
HEAD AND SKULL - Skull broad
with defined stop; clean cut without fleshy cheeks.
Jaws of medium length, powerful not snipey. Nose
wide, nostrils well-developed.
EYES - Medium size,
expressing intelligence and good temper; brown or
hazel.
EARS - Not large or heavy,
hanging close to head and set rather far back.
MOUTH - Jaws and teeth strong
with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite,
i.e. Upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and
set square to the jaws.
NECK - Clean, strong,
powerful, set into well-placed shoulders.
FOREQUARTERS - Shoulders long
and sloping. Forelegs well-boned and straight from
elbow to ground when viewed from either front or
side.
BODY - Chest of good width
and depth, with well sprung barrel ribs. Level
topline. Loins wide, short coupled and strong.
HINDQUARTERS - Well-developed
not sloping to tail; well turned stifle. Hocks well
let down, cowhocks highly undesirable.
FEET - Round, compact;
well-arched toes and well-developed pads.
TAIL - Distinctive feature,
very thick towards base, gradually tapering towards
tip, medium length, free from feathering, but
clothed thickly all round with short, thick, dense
coat, thus giving 'rounded' appearance described as
'Otter' tail. May be carried gaily but should not
curl over back.
GAIT/MOVEMENT - Free,
covering adequate ground; straight and true in front
and rear.
COAT - Distinctive feature,
short dense without wave or feathering, giving
fairly hard feel to the touch; weather resistant
undercoat.
COLOUR - Wholly black, yellow
or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream
to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible.
SIZE -
Height: Dogs 56 - 57 cms (22-22&1/2; ins) at withers
Bitches 54.5 - 56 cms (21&1/2; - 22 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.
NOTE - Male animals should
have two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.
