INTERIM

General Appearance
Medium size, strong but not heavy.

Characteristics
Hardy, works in all weathers, watchful, agile, swift, dignified, self-assured.

Temperament
Playful, alert, intelligent, devoted to his family, can be willful and dominant towards other dogs.

Head and Skull
Strong head, skull moderately broad, free from wrinkle. Equal length of skull and muzzle. Moderate stop. Nose never blunt, but pointed.

Eyes
Dark preferred, toning with pigmentation. Oval, medium-sized, alert and intelligent expression.

Ears
Triangular, hanging, set medium to high. May be covered with long or short hair.

Mouth
Tight lips, scissor bite preferred, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws, but pincer bite tolerated.

Neck
Strong, medium length, no dewlap.

Forequarters
Well laid shoulder, strong and muscular. Forelegs straight when viewed from front. Moderate slope on pastern, flexible and well feathered. Free- moving elbow, not too tight. Dewclaws optional.

Body
Well balanced. Longer from point of breastbone to buttocks, than height at withers. Strong topline, level from withers to croup, which is not too long, and slightly sloping. Foreribs fairly flat, but gradual spring to centre of body. Deep brisket. Loin moderately deep.

Hindquarters
Muscular, with width. Well angulated, without exaggeration. From hock joint to foot, of medium length. Strong, flexible hock joint. Legs parallel when viewed from rear.

Feet
Oval. Hard pads, well arched, tight. Strong nails.

Tail
Long and bushy, reaching below hock but not to ground. Carried high when moving, loosely curled over croup, but not in a complete circle or falling to either side. When standing, tail hangs straight down.

Gait and Movement
Free, supple, tireless. Soundness very important, with no stilted action. Head tends to drop at high speed. When trotting, tends to converge.

Coat
Long in appearance, but short on face and front legs. Not so long on rib cage and thighs. Fine, light undercoat, straight or lightly waved. Long coat averages 10-22.5 cms (4-9 ins) but feathering may be 15-30 cms (6-12 ins). Never trimmed, except around feet.

Colour

Black and Gold
Deep shining coal-black, with no signs of rustiness, with medium gold to gold-brown markings. Markings on head should begin below back of nose and below eye, and reach to beginning of neck and on breast, should be present, but must not extend continuously to forelegs. At forelegs the marks should reach (seen from the side) from toes to the carpul joint, and on inner side should reach nearly to vent. Beginning from toes, (from the side) a middle blonde or solid brown strip should be visible above hock joint. Underneath beginning of tail, marking should be visible. A small white spot on breast, and a few white hairs at end of tail are permissible.

Blonde
Middle blonde coat should reach from back of nose to end of tail, and should lighten to belly. A small white spot on breast and a few white hairs at point of tail are permissible.

Black
Deep shining coal black with no signs of rustiness, a few white spots on breast and a few white hairs at point of tail are permissible. All other pigment to suit colour of dog, i.e. a blonde can have brown nose and eye is darker than gold of dog.

Size

Height
Dogs: 63-70 cms (25-271/2 ins)
Bitches: 58-65 cms (23-251/2 ins)

Weight
Dogs: 30-40 kgs (66-68 lbs)
B itches: 25-35 kgs (55-77 lbs)

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.

© The Kennel Club - September 2000