ORIGIN : Great Britain.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 29.10.2003.

UTILIZATION : Terrier.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 3    Terriers.

                                              Section 1  Large and medium sized Terriers.

                                              Working trial optional.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Active and lively, bone and strength in small compass, never cloddy nor coarse. Neither leggy nor too short in the leg, standing like a well made, short backed hunter, covering a lot of ground.

BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT : Alert, quick of movement, keen of expression, on tiptoe of expectation. Friendly, forthcoming and fearless.

HEAD

CRANIAL REGION :

Skull : Flat, moderately narrow. Gradually decreasing in width to eyes.

Stop : Little apparent.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : Black.

Muzzle : Jaws, upper and lower, strong and muscular, falling away only slightly below eyes. This portion of foreface moderately chiselled out, so as not to go down in a straight line like a wedge.

Jaw/Teeth : Jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Cheeks : Never full.

Eyes : Dark, small and rather deeply set, as near as possible circular in shape. Expression bright and intelligent.

Ears : Small, V-shaped and dropping forward close to cheek, not hanging by side of head. Fold of ear above level of skull. Leather of moderate thickness.

NECK : Clean and muscular, without throatiness, of fair length and gradually widening to shoulders.

BODY :

Back : Short, level and strong without slackness.

Loin : Powerful, very slightly arched.

Chest : Deep, not broad.

Ribs : Foreribs moderately sprung, back ribs deep.

TAIL : Customarily docked.

Docked : Set on rather high and carried gaily but not over back or curled. Of good strength.

Undocked : Set on rather high and carried gaily but not over back. As straight as possible. Tail of moderate length to give balance to the dog.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : From any angle they must be straight showing little or no appearance of an ankle in front. They should be strong in bone throughout.

Shoulders : Long and sloping, well laid back, fine at points, cleanly cut at withers.

HINDQUARTERS : Strong and muscular, quite free from droop or crouch.

Thighs : Long and powerful.

Stifle : Good turn of stifle.

Hocks : Well let down.

FEET : Small, round and compact. Pads hard and tough, toes moderately arched and turning neither in nor out.

GAIT / MOVEMENT : Fore- and hindlegs carried straight forward and parallel. Elbows move perpendicular to body, working free of sides, stifles neither turning in nor out and hocks not close. Good drive coming from well flexing hindquarters.

COAT :

HAIR : Straight, flat, smooth, hard, dense and abundant. Belly and underside of thighs not bare.

COLOUR : White should predominate, all white, white with tan, black and tan or black markings. Brindle, red or liver markings highly undesirable.

WEIGHT : Dogs: 7,3-8,2 kg (16-18 lbs), bitches: 6,8-7,7 kg (15-17 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.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

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

FCI-Standard N° 13 / 07. 11. 1994 (Dutch / Ned. standaard)

ENGLISH TOY TERRIER (BLACK & TAN)     Foto

ORIGIN : Great Britain.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE VALID ORIGINAL STANDARD : 08.06.1988

CLASSIFICATION FCI : Group 3    Terriers.

                                           Section 4  Toy Terriers.

                                           Without working trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Well balanced, elegant and compact, sleek and cleanly built.

CHARACTERISTICS : Toy with Terrier characteristics.

TEMPERAMENT : Alert, remembering that historically he could acquit himself satisfactorily in the rat pit. Never unduly nervous.

HEAD & SKULL : Head long, narrow, flat skull, wedge‑shaped without emphasis of cheek muscles, well filled up under eyes. Top and bottom jaws held tightly together within compressed lips. Slight "stop". Foreface tapers gently to provide wedge‑shaped impression, in profile similar to that seen when viewed from front.  Although an illusion of being overshot can result, any suggestion of snipey appearance is undesirable. Nose black.

EYES : Dark to black, without light shading from iris. Small, almond shaped, obliquely set and sparkling.

EARS : Candle‑flame shape, slightly pointed tips, placed high upon back of skull and proportionately close together. A guide to size can be obtained by bending ear forward ‑ it should not reach eye. From nine months of age ear carriage must be erect. Entire inside of ear should face front. Leather of ear thin.

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. Teeth level and strong.

NECK : Long, graceful, slightly arched. Shoulders well laid back. Line of neck flowing into shoulders, and sloping off elegantly. Throatiness undesirable.

FOREQUARTERS : Legs falling straight from shoulders with elbows close to chest providing a straight front. Fine bone eminently desirable.

BODY : Body compact, head and legs proportionate thus producing correct balance. Back very slightly curving from behind shoulders to loin, falling again to root of tail. Chest narrow and deep with ribs well sprung. Loins well cut up. Buttocks gently rounded.

HINDQUARTERS : Well‑rounded loin leading to a good turn of stifle; hocks well let down; neither turning in nor out; a "tucked under" appearance undesirable.

FEET : Dainty, compact; split up between toes; well arched, with jet black nails, two middle toes of front feet rather longer than others; hind feet cat‑like. Hare feet undesirable.

TAIL : Thick at root, tapering to point. Set low and not reaching below hock. 'Gay' tail undesirable if displayed to excess.

GAIT/MOVEMENT : Ideal fore‑movement akin to the "extended trot"; hackney action not desirable; equally a "shuffling gait" undesirable. Hind action smooth with ease and precision combined with drive; there should be flowing quality to indicate true soundness.

COAT : Thick, close and glossy. A density of short hair required.

COLOUR : Black and tan. The black ebony, the tan likened to a new chestnut deeply rich. 

Colours not running or blending into each other, but meeting abruptly, forming clear and well defined lines of colour division. Forelegs tanned to knees in front. The tan then continuing inside and at back of forelegs to point just below elbows; thin black line up each toe (pencilling) and a clearly defined black mark (thumb mark) on centre of each pastern, and under chin. Hindlegs well tanned in front and inside with black bar dividing tan at centre of lower thigh. Heavy tan on outside of hindquarters (breaching or culottes) undesirable.

Muzzle well tanned. Nose black, the black continuing along top of muzzle, curving below eyes to base of throat. A tan spot above each eye and a small tan spot on each cheek. Under jaw and throat tanned, lip line black. Hair inside ears tan (tan behind ears undesirable). Each side of chest has some tan. Vent and under root of tail, tan. White hairs forming a patch anywhere totally undesirable.

SIZE : Ideal weight  2,7‑3,6 kg (6‑8 lbs). 

           Ideal height 25‑30 cm. (10‑12 ins) at the shoulder.

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.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

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

ORIGIN : Sweden.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 25.11.1999.

UTILIZATION : Herding Heeler.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 5    Spitz and primitive types.

                                              Section 3  Nordic Watchdogs and Herders.                     

                                              Without working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The Swedish Vallhund is considered to be one of the genuine Swedish breeds even if it is not quite clear how it is related to the Welsh Corgi.

It is hart to say if the Vikings brought dogs of this spitztype to Sweden from England. Modern cynological research points to that the breed was developed in Sweden.

The honor of making the Swedish Vallhund recognized and registered as a Swedish breed goes to Count Björn von Rosen. In the beginning of the 1940s he noticed the existence of these dogs. By making an inventory of the existing dogs in the county of Västergötland and especially around the city of Vara he found a small but evenly typed group of dogs. They were the start of a serious breeding program that was mainly in the hands of the headmaster K.G.Zettersten. He succeded in breeding for an even type without losing the herding insctinct.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : A small powerful, fearless, short-legged dog. Appearance and expression denote a watchful, alert and energetic dog.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS : The relation between height and length of body is about 2 : 3.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : The breed is watchful, energetic, fearless and alert.

HEAD : Head rather long and clean cut. When viewed from above, forms an even wedge from skull to tip of nose.

CRANIAL REGION :

Skull : Almost flat.

Stop : Well defined.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : Pigmentation jet black.

Muzzle : When viewed from the side, looks rather square. The muzzle is slightly shorter than the skull.

Lips : Tightly closed.

Jaws/Teeth : Perfect and regular scissor bite with even and well developed teeth.

Eyes : Medium size, oval in shape and dark brown.

Ears : Medium size, pointed, pricked and ear leather is hard from base to tip, smooth haired and mobile. Set on not too low.

NECK : Long and strongly muscled with good reach.

BODY 

Topline : Back  level, well muscled.

Loin : Short, strong.

Croup : Broad and slightly sloping.

Chest : Long with good depth. Well sprung ribs. When viewed from the front, the chest is oval, from side, elliptical. It reaches two-fifths of the length of the forelegs and, when viewed from the side, the lowest point of the chest is immediately behind the back part of the foreleg.

Underline : Belly slightly tucked up.

TAIL : Two types of tails occur, long or natural short tail.  In both cases all variations are acceptable.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Forelegs well boned.

Shoulder : Shoulder-blade long and well laid back.

Upper arm : Slightly shorter than the shoulders and set at a distinct angle. Upper arm lies close to ribs, but is still very mobile.

Forearm : When viewed from the front, slightly bent, just enough to give them free action against the lower part of the chest.

Pastern : Elastic. 

Legs : Well boned.

HINDQUARTERS : Hindlegs well angulated at stifle and hock. Seen from behind, they are parallel.

Thighs : Strongly muscled.

Lower thigh : Slightly longer than the distance from hock to ground.

FEET : Medium sized, short, oval, pointing straight foreward with strong pads and well knuckled up.

GAIT / MOVEMENT  : Sound with good drive.

COAT

HAIR : Medium length, harsh, close and tight topcoat; undercoat soft and dense. The coat is short on foreparts of the legs, slightly longer on neck, chest and backparts of the hindlegs.

COLOUR : Desirable colours are grey, greyish brown, greyish yellow or reddish brown with darker hairs on back, neck and sides of the body. Lighter hair in the same shade of colour as mentioned above can be seen on muzzle, throat, chest, belly, buttocks, feet and hocks. Lighter markings on shoulders, so called harness markings, desirable.

White is permitted to a small extent as a narrow blaze, neckstop or slight necklace. White markings are permitted on fore-and hindlegs and on the chest.

SIZE AND WEIGHT  :

Height at withers : Dogs   : 33 cm.

                            Bitches: 31 cm.

                            A variation of 1,5 cm above or below these heights is permitted.

Weight : Between 9 - 14 kg.

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.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

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

TRANSLATION: Mrs. Jeans-Brown, revised by Dr. R. Pollet.

ORIGIN: Belgium.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD: 22.06.2001.

UTILISATION: Originally a sheep dog, today a working dog (guarding, defence, tracking, etc.) and an all-purpose service dog, as well as a family dog.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I.: Group  1   Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle dogs).

                                             Section 1  Sheepdogs.

                                             With working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: In Belgium, at the end of the 1800s, there were a great many herding dogs, whose type was varied and whose coats were extremely dissimilar. In order to rationalise this state of affairs, some enthusiastic dog fanciers formed a group and sought guidance from Prof. A. Reul of the Cureghem Veterinary Medical School, whom one must consider to have been the real pioneer and founder of the breed.

The breed was officially born between 1891 and 1897. On September 29^th, 1891, the Belgian Shepherd Dog Club (Club du Chien de Berger Belge) was founded in Brussels and in the same year on November 15^th in Cureghem, Professor A. Reul organised a gathering of 117 dogs, which allowed him to carry out a return and choose the best specimens. In the following years they began a real programme of selection, carrying out some very close interbreeding involving a few stud dogs.

By April 3^rd, 1892, a first detailed breed standard had already been drawn up by the Belgian Shepherd Dog Club. One single breed was allowed, with three coat varieties. However, as was said at the time, the Belgian Shepherd only belonged to ordinary people and therefore the breed still lacked status.

As a result, it wasn’t until 1901 that the first Belgian Shepherds were registered with the Royal Saint-Hubert Society Stud Book (L.O.S.H.).

During the following years, the prime movers among the Belgian Shepherd enthusiasts set to work with great determination to unify the type and correct the faults. It can be said that by 1910 the type and temperament of the Belgian Shepherd had been established.

During the history of the Belgian Shepherd, the question of differing but acceptable varieties and colours had led to many heated discussions. On the other hand, anything involving morphology, temperament and suitability for work has never caused any disagreement.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: The Belgian Shepherd is a mediolineal dog, harmoniously proportioned, combining elegance and power, of medium size, with dry, strong muscle, fitting into a square, rustic, used to the open air life and built to resist the frequent atmospheric variations of the Belgian climate.

Through the harmony of its shape and its high head-carriage, the Belgian Shepherd should give the impression of that elegant strength which has become the heritage of the selected representatives of a working breed. The Belgian Shepherd is to be judged in its natural stance, without physical contact with the handler.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: The Belgian Shepherd dog can be fitted into a square. The chest is let down to the level of the elbows. The length of the muzzle is equal to or slightly longer than half the length of the head.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: The Belgian Shepherd is a watchful and active dog, bursting with energy,  and always ready to leap into action. As well as its innate skill at guarding flocks, it also possesses the highly prized qualities of the best guard dog of property. Without any hesitation it is the stubborn and keen protector of its owner. It brings together all those qualities necessary for a shepherd, guard, defence and service dog.

Its lively, alert temperament and its confident nature, showing no fear or aggressiveness, should be obvious in its body stance and the proud attentive expression in its sparkling eyes.

When judging this breed, one should take into consideration its calm and fearless temperament.

HEAD: Carried high, long without exaggeration, rectilinear, well chiselled and dry. Skull and muzzle are roughly equal in length, with at the most a very slight bias in favour of the muzzle which puts the finishing touch to the whole head.

CRANIAL REGION: Of medium width, in proportion with the length of the head, with a forehead flat rather than round, frontal groove not very pronounced; in profile, parallel to imaginary line extending muzzle line; occipital crest little developed; brow ridges and zygomatic arches not prominent.

Stop: Moderate.

FACIAL REGION:

Nose: Black.

Muzzle: Medium length and well chiselled under the eyes; narrowing gradually toward the nose, like an elongated wedge; bridge of the nose straight and parallel to the continuation of the topline of the forehead; mouth well split, which means that when the mouth is open the commissures of the lips are pulled right back, the jaws being well apart.

Lips: Thin, tight and strongly pigmented.

Jaws/teeth: Strong, white teeth, regularly and strongly set in well-developed jaws. Scissor bite; pincer bite, which is preferred by sheep and livestock herders, is tolerated. Complete dentition according to the dental formula; the absence of two premolars 1 (2 P1) is tolerated and the molars 3 (M3) are not taken into consideration.

Cheeks: dry and quite flat, although muscled.

Eyes: Medium size, neither protruding nor sunken, slightly almond-shaped, obliquely set, brownish colour, preferably dark; black rimmed eyelids; direct, lively, intelligent and enquiring look.

Ears: Rather small, set high, distinctly triangular appearance, well-rounded outer ear, pointed tips, stiff, carried upright and vertical when dog is alert.

NECK: Well standing out, slightly elongated, rather upright, well-muscled, broadening gradually towards the shoulders, without dewlap, nape slightly arched.

BODY: Powerful without being heavy; length from point of shoulder to point of buttock approximately equal to height at withers.

Topline: upper line of back and loins is straight.

Withers: Pronounced.

Back: firm, short and well-muscled.

Loins: Solid, short, sufficiently broad, well-muscled.

Croup: well-muscled; only very slightly sloping; sufficiently broad but not excessively so.

Chest: little broad, but well let down; upper part of ribs arched; seen from the front forechest little broad, but without being narrow.

Underline: Begins below the chest and rises gently in a harmonious curve towards the belly, which is neither drooping nor tucked up, but slightly raised and moderately developed.

TAIL: Well set on, strong at the base, of medium length, reaching at least to hock, but preferably further; at rest carried down, with tip curved backwards at level of hock; more raised when moving,  although without passing the horizontal, the curve towards the tip becoming more accentuated, without ever at any time forming a hook or deviation.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS:

General view: Bone solid but not heavy; muscle dry and strong; front legs upright from all sides and perfectly parallel when seen from the front.

Shoulder: Shoulder blade long and oblique, well attached, forming a sufficient angle with the humerus, ideally measuring 110-115 degrees.

Upper arm: Long and sufficiently oblique.

Elbow: Firm, neither turning out nor tied in.

Forearm: Long and straight.

Wrist (carpus): very firm and clean.

Front pastern (metacarpus): Strong and short, as perpendicular to the ground as possible or only very slightly sloping forward.

Feet: Round, cat feet; toes arched and well closed; pads thick and springy; nails dark and strong.

HINDQUARTERS:

General view: Powerful, but not heavy; in profile hindlegs are upright and seen from behind perfectly parallel.

Upper thigh: Medium length, broad and strongly muscled.

Stifle: approximately on the plumb line from the hip; normal stifle angulation.

Lower thigh: Medium length, broad and muscled.

Hock: Close to the ground, broad and muscled, moderate angulation.

Back pastern (metatarsus): Solid and short; dewclaws not desirable.

Feet: may be light oval; toes arched and well closed; pads thick and springy; nails dark and strong.

GAIT / MOVEMENT: Lively and free movement at all gaits; the Belgian Shepherd is a good galloper but its normal gaits are the walk and especially the trot; limbs move parallel to the median plane of the body. At high speed the feet come nearer to the median plane; at the trot the reach is medium, the movement even and easy, with good rear drive, and the topline remains tight while the front legs are not lifted too high. Always on the move, the Belgian Shepherd seems tireless; its gait is fast, springy and lively. It is capable of suddenly changing direction at full speed. Due to its exuberant character and its desire to guard and protect, it has a definite tendency to move in circles.

SKIN: Elastic but taut over all the body; edges of lips and eyelids strongly pigmented.

COATS AND VARIETIES: Since the coat varies in length, direction, appearance and colour among Belgian Shepherds, this particular point has been adopted as the criterion for distinguishing between the four varieties of the breed: the Groenendael, the Tervueren, the Malinois and the Laekenois.

These four varieties are judged separately and can each be awarded a C.A.C., a C.A.C.A.B. or a reserve title.

HAIR: In all the varieties the hair must always be dense, close-fitting and of good texture, with the woolly undercoat forming an excellent protective covering.

1. LONG HAIR: The hair is short on the head, the outer side of the ears and the lower part of the legs, except on the rear side of the forearm which is covered from elbow to wrist by long hairs called fringes. The hair is long and smooth on the rest of the body and longer and more abundant around the neck and on the forechest, where it forms a collarette or ruff and a jabot or apron. The opening of the air is protected by thick tufts of hair. From the base of the ear the hair is upright and frames the head. The back of the thighs is covered with very long abundant hair forming the culottes or breeches. The tail is furnished with long, abundant hair forming a plume.

    The Groenendael and the Tervueren are the long-haired. 

2. SHORT HAIR: The hair is very short on the head, the outer sides of the ears and the lower part of the legs. It is short over the rest of the body and fuller at the tail and around the neck where it forms a collarette or ruff which begins at the base of the ear, stretching as far as the throat. As well, the back of the thighs is fringed with longer hair. The tail is ear of corn shaped, but does not form a plume.

    The Malinois is the short-haired. 

3. ROUGH HAIR: What especially characterises the rough hair variety is the roughness and dryness of the hair, which, moreover, is rasping and tousled. About 6 cm long over the whole body, the hair is shorter on the top of the muzzle, the forehead and the legs. The hair around the eyes and those furnishing the muzzle should not be so long as to disguise the shape of the head. However, it is essential to have furnishings on the muzzle. The tail should not form a plume.

    The Laekenois is the rough-haired. 

COLOUR:

Mask: For Tervueren and Malinois the mask must be very pronounced and tend to encompass the top and bottom lip, the corners of the lips and the eyelids in one single black zone. A strict minimum of six points of skin pigmentation is called for: the two ears, the two upper eyelids and the two lips, upper and lower, which must be black.

Black overlay: In Tervueren and Malinois, the black overlay means that the hairs have a black tip which shades the base colour. This blackening is in any case “flamed” and must not be present in great patches nor in real stripes (brindled). In the Laekenois the black shading is more discreetly expressed.

Groenendael: Only uniform black.

Tervueren: Only fawn with black overlay or grey with black overlay, with black mask; however, the fawn with black overlay is still preferred. The fawn must be rich, neither light nor washed-out. Any dog whose coat colour is anything but fawn with black overlay or does not match the desired intensity of colour cannot be considered an elite specimen.

Malinois: Only fawn with black overlay and with black mask.

Laekenois: Only fawn with traces of black overlay, mainly on the muzzle and the tail.

For all varieties: a small amount of white is tolerated on forechest and toes.

SIZE, WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS:

Height at withers:

The ideal weight at withers is on average - 62 cm for males

                                                             - 58 cm for females.

                                                             Limits: 2 cm less, 4 cm more.

Weight:

Males    about 25-30 kg.

Females about 20-25 kg.

Measurements: Average normal measures for an adult male Belgian Shepherd of 62 cm at the withers:

• Length of body (from point of shoulder to point of buttock): 62 cm.
• Length of head: 25 cm.
• Length of muzzle: 12,5 – 13 cm.

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.

• General appearance: Cloddy, lacking elegance; too light or too slender; longer than high; fitting into a rectangle.
• Head: heavy, too strong, lacking parallelism, not sufficiently chiselled or dry; forehead too rounded; stop too accentuated or too flat; muzzle too short or pinched; Roman nose; brow ridges or zygomatic arches too prominent.
• Nose, lips and eyelids: traces of depigmentation.
• Dentition: badly aligned incisors. Serious fault: lack of one incisor (1 I), one premolar 2 (1 P2), one premolar 3 (1 P3) or three premolars 1 (3 P1).
• Eyes: light, round.
• Ears: large, long, too broad at the base, set low, carried outward or inward.
• Neck: slender; short or deep set.
• Body: too long; thoracic cage too broad (cylindrical).
• Withers: flat, low.
• Topline: back and/or loins long, weak, sagging or arched.
• Croup: too sloping, overbuilt.
• Underline: too much or too little let down; too much belly.
• Tail: set too low; carried too high, forming a hook, deviated.
• Limbs: bone too light or too heavy; bad upright stance in profile (e.g. front pasterns too sloping or weak wrists), from the front (feet turning in or out, out at elbow, etc.), or from behind (hindlegs too close, too wide apart or barrel shaped, hocks close or open, etc.); too little or exaggeratedly angulated.
• Feet: spreading.
• Gait: moving close, too short a stride, too little drive, poor back transmission, high stepping action.
• Coat: all four varieties: insufficient undercoat.

            Groenendael and Tervueren: woolly, wavy, curly hair; hair not long enough.

            Malinois: hair half-long where it should be short; smooth-haired; harsh hairs scattered in the short coat; wavy coat.

            Laekenois: hair too long, silky, wavy, crisp-haired or short; filled with fine hairs scattered in tufts in the rough hair;

            hairs too long around the eye or the lower end of the head (the chin); bushy tail.

• Colour: for all four varieties: white marking on chest forming tie; white on the feet going beyond toes.

Groenendael: reddish tinges in the coat; grey breeches.

            Tervueren: grey.

Tervuren and Malinois: brindle; tints not warm enough; not enough or too much black overlay or set in patches over the body; not enough mask.

                        Tervueren, Malinois and Laekenois: too light a fawn; a base colour which is very diluted, named washed-out, is considered a serious fault.

• Temperament: specimens lacking in self-confidence or overly nervous.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:              

• Temperament: aggressive or timid specimens.

• General appearance: lack of breed type.
• Dentition: overshot; undershot, even if contact is not lost (reverse scissor bite); crossbite; absence of one canine (1 C), one upper carnassial (1 P4) or lower carnassial (1 M1), one molar (1 M1 -upper jaw- or 1 M2; M3 are not taken into account), one premolar 3 (1 P3) plus one other tooth or a total of three teeth (excluding the premolars 1) or more.
• Nose, lips, eyelids: strong depigmentation.
• Ears: drooping or artificially kept erect.
• Tail: missing or shortened, at birth or by docking; carried too high and ringed or curled.
• Coat: lack of undercoat.
• Colour: any colours which do not correspond with those of the described varieties; too widespread white markings on forechest, especially if they reach as far as the neck; white on feet going more than halfway up the front or the back pasterns and forming socks; white markings anywhere other than forechest and toes; lack of mask, including a muzzle of lighter colour than the rest of the coat in Tervueren and Malinois.
• Size: outside the limits laid down.

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

CROSSBREEDING – MATINGS BETWEEN VARIETIES:

Any matings between varieties are forbidden, except in exceptional circumstances, when this ban can be lifted by the appropriate and official breed councils (Text 1974, drawn up in Paris).

© Copyright by Yvonne Soomers-Marell