Old English Sheepdogs
GENERAL APPEARANCE. A strong, compact-looking dog of great symmetry, absolutely free from legginess, profusely coated all over, very elastic in its gallop, but in walking or trotting he has a characteristic bear like roll, his bark should be loud, with a distinctive ring in it.
Taking him all round, he is a thick-set, muscular, able-bodied dog, with a most intelligent expression.
SKULL. Capacious, and rather squarely formed, giving plenty of room for brain power. The parts over the eyes should be well arched and the whole well covered with hair.
JAW. Strong, square and truncated; the stop should be defined to avoid a Deerhound face, a long, narrow head is classed a deformity.
EYES. Dark or wall eyes are to be
preferred.
NOSE. Always black, large, and capacious.
TEETH. Strong and large, evenly placed, and level in opposition.
EARS. Small, and carried flat to side of head, coated moderately.
LEGS. The fore-legs should be dead straight, with plenty of bone, removing the body to a medium height from the ground, without approaching legginess; well coated all round.
FEET. Small, round; toes well arched and pads thick and hard.
TAIL. Puppies requiring docking must have an appendage left of one and a half inches and the operation performed when not older than four days.
NECK AND SHOULDERS. The neck should be fairly long, arched gracefully, and well coated with hair; the shoulders sloping and narrow at the points, the dog standing lower at the shoulder than at the loin.
TOP
BODY. Rather short and very compact, ribs well sprung, and brisket deep and capacious. The loin should be very stout and gently arched, while the hind-quarters should be round and muscular, with well let down hocks, and the hams densely coated with a thick long jacket in excess of any other part.
COAT. Profuse, and of good hard texture, not straight but shaggy and free from curl. The undercoat should be a waterproof pile, when not removed by grooming or season.
COLOUR . Any shade of grey, grizzle, blue or blue-merle, with or without white markings, or in reverse; any shade of brown or sable to be considered distinctly objectionable and not to be encouraged.
HEIGHT. Twenty-two inches and upwards for bitches, Twenty-three inches and upwards for dogs. Type, character, and symmetry are of the greatest importance, and on no account to be sacrificed to size alone.
