FCI-Standard N° 236 /
25. 05. 2005 / GB
AUSTRALIAN SILKY TERRIER
ORIGIN :
Australia.
DATE OF
PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD :
19.04.2005.
UTILIZATION
: Terrier.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 3 Terriers.
Section
4 Toy Terriers.
Without working trial.
GENERAL
APPEARANCE : The dog is compact, moderately low set, of medium length
with a refined structure but of sufficient substance to suggest the
ability to hunt and kill domestic rodents.
The parted, straight silky hair presents a well-groomed
appearance.
BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT : It should display Terrier characteristics,
embodying keen alertness, activity and soundness.
HEAD
: Of moderate length, slightly
shorter from the tip of the nose to between the eyes than from the same
position to the occiput.
The head must be strong and of Terrier character, being moderately broad
between the ears.
CRANIAL
REGION :
Skull :
Flat and without fullness between the eyes, with fine silky top-knot,
not falling over the eyes, (a long fall of hair on the foreface or
cheeks is very objectionable).
FACIAL
REGION :
Nose :
Black.
Lips :
Tight and clean.
Jaws/Teeth
: Strong jaws, teeth even and not cramped, the upper incisors fitting
closely over the lower (scissor bite).
Eyes :
Shall be small, oval never round or prominent,
dark as possible in colour with a keen intelligent expression.
Ears :
Should be small, V-shaped with fine leather, set high on the skull,
pricked, and entirely free from long hair.
NECK :
Medium length, refined and slightly crested, fitting gracefully into the
shoulders. Well covered
with long silky hair.
BODY :
Should be moderately long in proportion to the height of the dog.
Topline :
Level topline at all times
(both standing and moving).
A topline showing a roach or dip is a serious fault.
Loin :
Strong.
Chest : Of
moderate depth and breadth.
Ribs : Well
sprung extending back to strong loins.
TAIL :
Preferably docked, set on
high and carried erect but not over-gay.
Should be free of feathering.
If undocked,
the first three vertebrae to be carried erect or slightly curved but not
curved over back.
Must not be curled. The
length to give an overall balanced appearance.
In accordance with the description of the docked tail the
undocked tail also to be free of feathering.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS :
The
forelegs have refined, round bone and are straight and set well under
the body with no weakness in the pasterns.
Shoulders :
Fine and well laid back, fitting with well angulated upper arms snugly
to the ribs.
Elbows :
Turned neither in nor out.
HINDQUARTERS :
Thighs :
Must be well developed.
Stifles :
Should be well turned.
Hocks :
Well bent. When viewed from
behind the hocks should be well let down and parallel with each other.
FEET :
Small, well padded, cat-like with closely knit toes, the toenails must
be black or very dark.
GAIT /
MOVEMENT : The movement should be free and true without slackness at
shoulders or elbows, there should be no turning in or out of the feet or
pasterns. The hindquarters
should have strong propelling power with ample flexibility at stifles
and hocks. Viewed from
behind the movement should be neither too close nor too wide.
COAT
HAIR : Must
be flat, fine and glossy and of a silky texture.
The length of coat must not be so long as to impede the dog’s
action and should allows daylight to be seen under the dog.
The front and rear feet to be free from long hair.
COLOUR :
All shades of blue and tan are acceptable, the richer these
colours and more clearly defined the better.
Silver and white not acceptable.
Blue on the tail to be very dark.
Silver blue or fawn top-knot desirable.
Distribution of blue and tan as follows : tan around the base of
the ears, muzzle and on the sides of the cheeks; blue from the base of
the skull to tip of tail, running down the forelegs to near the wrists
and down the thighs to the hocks; tan line showing down the stifles and
from the wrists and hocks to the toes and around the vent.
The blue body colour must be free from tan or bronzing. Tan
markings must be free from smuttiness. Black colouring is permissible in
puppies, blue colour must be established by 18 months of age.
SIZE :
Height :
Dogs : 23
to 26 cm (9 to 10 ins) at the
withers. Bitches can be
slightly less.
Weight :
Weight in proportion to height.
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.
Any dog
clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be
disqualified.
N.B. : Male
animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into
the scrotum.
