Breed Standard
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 snipy.
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
Ideal height at withers: dogs: 56-57 cms (22-221/2 ins);
bitches: 55-56 cms (211/2-22 ins).
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.