Breed Standards ....
The Australian National Kennel Club Breed Standards
(effective in Australia January 2000)
General Appearance: Alert, Active , Compact, Short Coupled, Squarely Built. Dogs larger and more powerful than bitches.
Characteristics: Loose skin, Frowning Expression, Harsh Bristly Coat.
Temperament: Calm, Independant, Very affectionate and devoted to people.
Head and Skull: Rather large in proportion to the body, the skull is flat with a moderate stop. The length from the nose to the stop is approximately equal to the length from the stop to the ociput. Fine wrinkles on the forehead and cheeks, continuing to form the dewlaps. The muzzle is the distinctive feature of this breed. Broad and full with no suggestion of tapering. The lip and the top of the muzzle are padded, causing a slight bulge at the base of the nose.When viewed from the front the bottom jaw appears wider than the top due to the padding of the lips. Nose wide , large and preferably black, but any colour conforming to the coat colour is permissable
Eyes: Dark, medium size almond shaped with a frowning expression. Amber and lighter eyes are permissable in dogs of paler coats. The function of the eyeball or lids is in no way disturbed by the surrounding skin, folds or hair. Any signs of irritation of the eyeball, conjunctiva or eylids, is highly undesirable. The dog must be free from entropian.
Ears: Very small, rather thick, equalaterally triangular in shape, slightly rounded at the tips, set high on the skull, with the tips pointing towards the eyes, set well forward over the eyes, wide apart and close to the slull. Pricked ears are highly undesirable.
Mouth: Tongue, roof of the mouth, gums and flews, solid bluish black is preferred. A solid pink tongue is undesireable. Dogs with self coloured pigment and amber coloured to light brown eyes would be expected to have a "LAVENDER" tongue.
Teeth: Teeth should be strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. the upper jaw teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square in the jaws. The padding of the lower lip should not be so excessive so as to interfere with the bite.
Neck: Medium in length, strong, full, set well on the shoulders, with loose skin under the neck.
Forequarters: Shoulders muscular, well laid and sloping. Elbows close to the body. Forelegs straight, moderate length, good bone, pasterns slightly sloping, strong and flexible.
Body: The height at the withers is approximately equal to the length from the point of the shoulders, to the point of the buttocks. The depth of brisket is approximately half the height at the withers. The chest is broad and deep, underline rising slightly under the loin. Back short strong. The topline dips slightly behind the withers and then rises over short broad loin. Adult dogs should display moderate wrinkling over the shoulders and base of tail. Excessive skin on the body when mature is highly undesirable.
Hindquarters: Muscular, strong moderately angulated. Hocks well let down without excessive wrinkling or thickening.
Feet: Moderate size, compact, toes well knuckled. Fore and hind dew claws may be removed.
Tail: Rounded, narrowing to a point, base set very high, maybe carried high and curved, carried in a tight curl, or over the back. Lack of or incomplete tail is highly undesirable.
Gait/Movement: Free, vigorous, well balanced, rear single tracking is normal at a fast trot. A stilted gait is undesirable.
Coat: Extreemly harsh coat, straight and off standing on the body but flatter on the limbs. No undercoat. Length of the coat varies from short and bristly under 1.25cm (1/2 inch) to 2.5cm (1 inch), but still off standing and harsh to touch. N.B. No particular coat length within the accepted length should be preferred over the other. Never trimmed.
Colour: All solid colours EXCEPT white are acceptable. Frequently shaded on tails,ears and back of thighs with lighter colour acceptable.
Size: Height 46 to 52cm ( 18 to 20 inches) at withers.
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: Males should have two apparently normal testicles fully decended into the scrotum.
