Australian New Zealand & UK Breed Standard

 

General Appearance
Well balanced, short-legged, compact hound. Rough-coated with alert outlook and lively bearing.

Characteristics
Strong, active hound capable of a day’s hunting, with a good voice freely used.

Temperament
Happy, extrovert, independent, yet willing to please.

Head and Skull
Medium in length, not too wide, oval in shape when viewed from front. Well cut away under eyes; stop clearly defined; occipital bone well developed. Muzzle slightly shorter than from stop to occipital point. Under jaw strong and well developed. Nose black, large with wide nostrils. Eyes surmounted by long eyebrows standing forward but not to obscure eyes; lips covered with long hair forming beard and moustache.

Eyes
Large, dark, showing no white, with friendly, intelligent expression. Red of lower eyelid not showing.

Ears
Supple, narrow and fine, covered with long hair, folding inwards, ending in an oval shape; reaching to end of nose; set on low, not above line of eye.

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. Level bite acceptable.

Neck
Long and strong, set into well laid shoulders; without throatiness; carrying head proudly.

Forequarters
Shoulders clean and sloping; elbows close to body. Forelegs straight, a slight crook acceptable; thick and well boned. Pasterns strong and slightly sloping. Knuckling over highly undesirable.

Body
Chest deep with prominent sternum; ribs moderately rounded extending well back. Back of medium length; level topline with slight arching over strong loins.

Hindquarters
Strong and muscular with good bend of stifle. Well defined second thigh. Hocks short and well angulated.

Feet
Hard, tight padded, not too long. Nails strong and short.

Tail
Of medium length; set on high, strong at base, tapering regularly, well furnished with hair; carried proudly like the blade of a saber.

Gait/Movement
Free at all paces, with great drive. Front action straight and reaching well forward; hocks turning neither in nor out.

Coat
Rough, long without exaggeration and harsh to the touch, with thick undercoat, never silky or woolly. Shown untrimmed.

Colour
White with any combination of lemon, orange, tricolour or grizzle markings.

Size
Height 33-38 cms (13-15 ins).

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.