General Appearance

Medium sized, well muscled. Solid but without being heavy or coarse. Elegant both standing and moving. Slightly longer

than high, rugged in appearance with a crisp, harsh, semi-long coat and high set ears.

Characteristics

Lively and alert shepherd dog. Rugged in appearance.

Temperament

Even tempered, neither aggressive, shy nor nervous. Obedient, fearless, a natural herder and good guard for home and family.

Head and Skull

In proportion to size of dog. Seen in profile, skull and muzzle of equal length with parallel planes. Foreface delicately chiselled but not pointed. Seen from front, forehead should not be flat but slightly convex, with the furrow between brow ridges blending smoothly into muzzle. Slightly defined stop midway from occiput to nose. Distinct long eyebrows but not covering the eye. Foreface strong with beard and moustache with thin, tight fitting lips. Nose large, black with well opened nostrils.

Eyes

Horizontally set. Medium size, oval in shape, not prominent. Dark, blending with coat colour, but never lighter than hazel.

Ears

High set, of moderate size, broad base with slightly rounded tips. Always carried naturally erect.

Mouth

Jaws 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 and muscular. Of moderate length, blending smoothly into the shoulders, to allow proud head carriage.

Forequarters

Shoulders long and sloping. Elbows well under and close to body. Forearms straight and well muscled. Pasterns sloping slightly.

Body

Length of the body, from point of shoulder to point of buttock should be marginally longer than the height at the withers. Bitches proportionately slightly longer than dogs.

Chest

Reaches elbow which is equidistant from withers and ground. Level topline with well sprung ribs, strong loin and slightly sloping croup. Underline with slight tuck up.