Skull – flat, unwrinkled from occiput to stop when in repose. The stop is slight but distinct.
Muzzle – parallel and equal in length to the topskull and ends in a blunt wedge. The cheeks are muscled and flat.
Nose – full, and black. Lips – black, close fitting.
Bite – strong, scissors bite with complete dentition and white teeth. Faults- overshot or undershot bites, absence of primary molars.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck - elegant and strong, of moderate thickness and length, nape elegantly arched. The skin is tight, closely fitting to the dry throat without wrinkles, sagging, or dewlaps.
Topline - the withers form the highest point of the topline, which slopes slightly toward the rear, extending in a straight line from behind the withers, through the well- muscled loin, to the faintly curved croup. Back- short, firm, and level, muscular at the loins. Faults - long back, not giving the appearance of squarely built, roach back, swayback.
Body-- compact and strong, so as to permit greater flexibility and agility, with the length of leg being equal to the depth of body. Loin -- is well muscled. The distance from the last rib to the hip is short.
Chest - moderately wide with well-sprung ribs, and when viewed from the front, appears to be oval. The forechest is distinctly marked by the prosternum. The brisket descends to the elbows and ascends gradually to the rear with the belly moderately drawn up. Fault - excessive tuck up.
Tail -- moderately set and carried above the horizontal. Customarily docked between the second and third joints.
Forequarters
The sloping shoulder blades are strongly muscled, yet flat and well laid back, forming an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal. They are well angled and slope forward, forming an approximately 90 degree angle to the upper arm, which is equal in length to the shoulder blade. Such angulation permits the maximum forward extension of the forelegs without binding or effort.
Forelegs – straight and well boned, perfectly vertical when viewed from all sides, set moderately apart with elbows set close to the body.
Dewclaws on the forelegs may be removed.
Pasterns – firm and almost perpendicular to the ground.
Feet – short, round, compact with firm dark pads and dark nails. The toes are well closed and arched like cat feet.
Hindquarters
The thighs are strongly muscled and in balance with forequarters. The stifles are well bent and well boned, with good angulation. When viewed from the rear, the hocks are parallel to each other.
Coat
Short and dense, smooth and close lying. Shiny and covers the body without bald spots. A hard coat should not be penalized.
Color
Iasbella (fawn), to red in various shades to stag red (red with intermingling of black hairs), blues and blacks with red/tan markings. In the red, a rich vibrant medium to dark shade is preferred. In bi-colored dogs, sharply marked dark and rich red/tan markings are desirable.
Markings distributed as follows: at cheeks, lips, lower jaw, above eyes, at throat, on forechest as two triangles distinctly separated from each other, at metatarsus or pastern, forelegs, feet, inner side of hind legs and below tail. Pencil marks on the toes are acceptable.
Any white markings on the dog are undesirable. A few white hairs do not constitute a marking.
DISQUALIFICATION: Dogs not of an allowable color.
Gait
The ground covering trot is relaxed, well balanced, powerful and uninhibited with good length of stride, strong drive and free front extension. At the trot the back remains firm and level, without swaying, rolling or roaching. When viewed from the front and rear, the feet must not cross or strike each other.
Faults – hackney gait.
