Ronda Sweets-Dreams

Tail: Customarily docked or natural bobtail. Docked: completely docked. Undocked: Unobstrusive, low set. Never curled or carried over back, with no kink evident. Well feathered with abundant hard-textured coat.

Colour: Any shade of grey, grizzle or blue. Body and hindquarters of solid colour with or without white shocks. White patches in the solid area to be discouraged. Head, neck, forequarters and under belly to be white or without markings. Any shade of brown undesirable.

Body: Rather short and compact, with well sprung ribs and deep capacious brisket.

Head and skull: In proportion to the size of the body. Skull capacious and rather square.Well arched above eyes, stop well defined. Muzzle strong, square and truncated, measuring approximately half of the total head length. Nose large and black. Nostrils wide.

Eyes: Set well apart. Dark or wall eyes. Two blue eyes acceptable, but light eyes are undesirables.Pigmentation on the eye rim is prefered.

Hindquarters: Loin very sturdy, broad and gently arched, quarters well covered round and muscular, the second thigh is long and well developed, the stifle well turned, and the hocks set low. From the rear the hocks should be quite straight, with the feet turning neither in nor out.

Forequarters: Forelegs perfectly straight, with plenty of bone, holding body well from ground. Elbows fitting close to brisket. Shoulders should be well laid back, being narrower at the point of withers than at the point of shoulder. Loaded shoulders undesirable. Dog standing lowers at withers than loin.

Coat: Profuse, of good harsh texture, not straight, but shaggy and free from curl. Undercoat of waterproof pile. Head and skull well covered with hair, ears moderately coated, neck well coated, forelegs well coated all round, hindquarters more heavily coated than the rest of body. Quality, texture, and profusion to be considered above mere length.

Feet: Small, round and tight, toes well arched, pads thick and hard. Dew claws should be removed.

Size: dogs 61 cms (24 ins) and upwards; bitches 56cms (22 ins) and upwards. Type and simmetry of greatest importance, and no account to be sacrificed to size alone.

Temperament: A biddable dog of even disposition. Bold, faithful and trustworthy, with no suggestion of nervousness or unpovocked aggression.

Mouth: Teeth strong, large and evenly placed.Scissor bite, jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite. Pincer tolerated but undesirable.

Characteristics: Of great stamina, exhibiting a gently rising topline, and a pear-shaped body when viewed from above. The gait has a typical roll when ambling or walking. Bark has a distinctive toned quality.

Movement: When walking, shows a bear-like roll from the rear. When troting, shows effortless extension and strong driving rear action, with legs moving straight along line of travel. Very elastic at the gallop. At slow speeds, some dogs may tend to pace. When moving, the head carriage may adopt a naturally lower position

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.

Note: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

General Appearance: Strong, square-looking dog with great symmetry snd overall soundness. absolutely free from legginess, profudely coated all over. A thick-set muscular, able-bodied dog with a most intelligent expression. The natural outline should not be artificially changed by scissoring or clipping.