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Keeshond Breed Standard
Kennel Club London 1994
GENERAL APPEARANCE - Short, compact body, confident carriage. Fox-like head with small pointed ears, alert expression, large ruff, well feathered tail curled over back.
CHARACTERISTIC - Sturdy, intelligent, ideal companion, good guard, shows boldly.
TEMPERAMENT - Bold, alert, friendly with marked guarding tendency.
HEAD AND SKULL - Well proportioned, wedge shaped when seen from above; from side showing definate stop. Dark muzzle equal to length of flat skull. Neither coarse nor snipey. Nose Black.
EYES- Dark, medium size, almond shaped, obliquely set. Well defined 'spectacles' shown as a delicately pencilled black line slanting from outer corner oy eye to lower corner or ear, coupled with distinct marking and shading forming expressive short eyebrows.
EARS - Dark, small ivy-leafed in shape. Erect, velvety texture. Well set on head, neither too wide nor meeting.
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 jaw. Lips black.
NECK - Moderately long and arched, covered with thick profuse coat forming large ruff.
FOREQUARTERS - Shoulders well sloped. Straight front of medium width with good bone.
BODY - Short, compact; length from withers to tail equal to height at withers, well sprung in rib. Good depth of brisket.
HINDQUARTERS - Strong muscled, hind legs
straight when viewed from behind. Hock showing slight angulation when viewed from side;
profuse light coloured trousers down to hocks.
FEET - Well padded, round, cat-like, tight, cream in colour; black nails.
TAIL
- Moderately long, high set, tightly curled over back, double curl highly
desirable. Light plume on top where curled, with black tip, carried closely at all times.
GAIT/MOVEMENT - Clean, brisk, straight and
sharp.
COAT - Harsh, off standing, straight. Dense
ruff, well feathered on forelegs and profuse trousers, not feathered below hock. Soft,
thick, light -coloured (NOT TAWNY) undercoat. Never silky, wavy or woolly, nor forming a
parting on back.
COLOUR - A mixture of grey and black. Undercoat
very pale grey or cream (NOT TAWNY). All shades of grey acceptable, body hairs black
tipped. Shoulder markings well defined and all markings definite. Forelegs and hocks cream
with no black below wrist or hock. Pencilling acceptable.
SIZE - Ideal height: Dogs 45.7cm (18ins) Bitches
43.2cm (17ins)
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.
