
The English Toy Terrier (Black and Tan) official breed standard
General Appearance
Well balanced, elegant and compact, sleek and cleanly built.
Characteristics
Toy with Terrier characteristics.
Temperament
Alert, remembering that historically he could acquit himself satisfactorily in the rat pit. Never unduly nervous.
Head and Skull
Head
long, narrow, flat skull, wedge-shaped without emphasis of cheek
muscles, well filled up under eyes. Top and bottom jaws held tightly
together within compressed lips. Slight stop. Foreface tapers gently to
provide wedge-shaped impression, in profile similar to that seen when
viewed from front. Although an illusion of being overshot can result,
any suggestion of snipey appearance is undesirable. Nose black.
Eyes
Dark to black, without light shading from iris. Relatively small, almond shaped, obliquely set and sparkling, not prominent.
Ears
Candle-flame
shape, slightly pointed tips, placed high upon back of skull and
proportionately close together. A guide to size can be obtained by
bending ear forward – it should not reach eye. From nine months of age
ear carriage must be erect. Entire inside of ear should face front.
Leather of ear thin.
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. Teeth
level and strong.
Neck
Long,
graceful, slightly arched. Shoulders well laid back. Line of neck
flowing into shoulders, and sloping off elegantly. Throatiness
undesirable.
Forequarters
Legs falling straight from shoulders with elbows close to chest providing a straight front. Fine bone eminently desirable.
Body
Body
compact, head and legs proportionate thus producing correct balance.
Back very slightly curving from behind shoulder to loin, falling again
to root of tail. Chest narrow and deep with ribs well sprung. Loins
well cut up. Buttocks gently rounded.
Hindquarters
Well
rounded loin leading to a good turn of stifle; hocks well let down;
turning neither in nor out; a ‘tucked under’ appearance undesirable.
Feet
Dainty,
compact; split up between toes; well arched, with jet black nails, two
middle toes of front feet rather longer than others, hind feet
cat-like. Hare feet undesirable.
Tail
Thick at root, tapering to point. Set low and not reaching below hock. ‘Gay’ tail undesirable if displayed to excess.
Gait/Movement
Ideal
fore-movement akin to the ‘extended trot’; hackney action not
desirable; equally a ‘shuffling gait’ undesirable. Hind action smooth
with ease and precision combined with drive, there should be flowing
quality to indicate true soundness.
Coat
Thick, close and glossy. A density of short hair required.
Colour
Black
and Tan. The black ebony, the tan likened to a new chestnut deeply
rich. Colours not running or blending into each other, but meeting
abruptly, forming clear and well defined lines of colour division.
Forelegs tanned to knees in front. The tan then continuing inside and
at back of forelegs to point just below elbows, the thin black line up
each toe (pencilling) and a clearly defined black mark (thumb mark) on
centre of each pastern, and under chin. Hindlegs well tanned in front
and inside with black bar dividing tan at centre of lower thigh. Heavy
tan on outside of hindquarters (breeching) undesirable. Muzzle well
tanned. Nose black, the black continuing along top of muzzle, curving
below eyes to base of throat. A tan spot above each eye and a small tan
spot on each cheek. Under-jaw and throat tanned, lip line black. Hair
inside ears tan (tan behind ears undesirable). Each side of chest has
some tan. Vent and under root of tail, tan. White hairs forming a patch
anywhere totally undesirable.
Size
Ideal weight 2.7-3.6 kgs (6-8 lbs). Ideal height 25-30 cms (10-12 ins) at the shoulder.
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.
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