General
Appearance
A powerful and
imposing dog with a certain elegance. Great size, strongly built but not
cumbersome. Well balanced and of noble bearing.
Characteristics
A
natural guard dog protecting shepherd and sheep.
Temperament
Quietly confident. Nervousness and unprovoked aggression highly
undesirable.
Head and Skull
Strong head without coarseness, not too large in relation to size of
dog. Skull curved when viewed from front and sides. Breadth at widest point
about equal to length from occiput to stop. Head as viewed from above forms a
blunt ‘v’ shape, well filled in below the eyes. Sides nearly flat and of good
depth. No obvious stop or excessively protruding eyebrow ridges; only a slight
furrow, so that skull and muzzle are joined by a gentle slope. Strong muzzle,
medium length, slight taper near tip. Nose black.
Eyes
Almond-shaped, dark amber-brown. Close-fitting eyelids set somewhat
obliquely, bordered with black. Drooping lower eyelids undesirable. Intelligent
and contemplative expression.
Ears
Fairly small, triangular, rounded tips. Root level with eyes.
Normally lie flat against head, may be slightly raised when
alert.
Mouth
Complete dentition, healthy, strong and even. Scissor bite correct,
i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws, but
pincer bite tolerated. Two central lower incisors may be set a little deeper
than others. Close-fitting lips, upper just covering lower. Roof of mouth and
lips black or heavily marked with black.
Neck
Strong, fairly short. Little or no dewlap.
Forequarters
Powerful shoulders lying close to body. Medium angulation between
shoulder blade and upper arm. Forelegs straight, strongly boned, well muscled.
Elbows not too close to chest, nor too far off, giving adequate width of stance
and free striding movement. Pasterns flexible without
weakness.
Body
Broad
chest reaching just below elbows; sides slightly rounded ribcage extended well
to rear. Good length back, broad, muscular, straight, level. Dogs usually have
more pronounced waist than bitches, giving greater curve to lower
body.
Hindquarters
Broad, muscular loins, fairly prominent haunches, slightly sloping
rump, topline curving smoothly into tail. Strong, well muscled thighs tapering
to strong hocks. Stifle and hock of medium angulation seen from side. Strongly
made double dewclaws on each hindleg; lack of this identifying characteristic
totally undesirable. The hindfeet may turn out slightly but the legs themselves
must be straight.
Feet
Short and compact, toes slightly arched, strong
nails.
Tail
Thick at root, tapering gradually towards tip, preferably slightly
curled; reaching below hocks, thickly coated with fairly long hair forming
attractive plume. Carried low in repose, with tip turned slightly to one side.
Tail rises as dog becomes interested: curled high above back in a circle if
fully alert.
Gait/Movement
Very
free, unflagging and never ponderous. Unhurried, driven by powerful
hindquarters. Moving well within its capacity, yet able to produce bursts of
speed. Tends to pace at slow speeds.
Coat
Profuse undercoat of very fine hairs; outer coat longer,
coarser-textured, thick, lying flat and straight or slightly wavy, never curly
or fuzzy. Longer towards tail and forming mane round neck and shoulders.
Forelegs fringed. Long, very dense woollier hair on rear of thighs giving
pantaloon effect. Bitches tend to be smoother-coated than dogs and have less
developed mane.
Colour
(a)
White.
(b) White with patches of badger, wolf-grey, paler shades of lemon,
orange or tan. The colour patches may be on the head, ears or base of the tail
and few permissible on the body. Other colours undesirable. Black patches going
right down to the roots highly undesirable. Black nose and eye rims. Liver or
pink pigmentation highly undesirable.
Size
Minimum shoulder height: dogs: 70 cms (27½ ins); bitches: 65 cms (25½
ins). Most will considerably exceed this, great size is essential provided type
and character are retained. Minimum weight: dogs: 50 kgs (110 lbs); bitches: 40
kgs (88 lbs); these weights apply only to specimens of minimum height, taller
ones should be heavier. Weight always in proportion to height, giving a powerful
dog of great strength, but excess weight due to fat
undesirable.
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.
