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Head - Eyes and rims should be dark in color, moderately small and rather
deep set, full of fire, life and intelligence and as nearly possible
circular in shape. Anything approaching a yellow eye is most objectionable.
Ears should be V-shaped and small, of moderate thickness, and
dropping forward close to the cheek, not hanging by the side of
the head like a Foxhound. The topline of the folded ears should
be well above the level of the skull. Disqualifications - Ears
prick, tulip or rose. The skull should be flat and moderately
narrow, gradually decreasing in width to the eyes. Not much "stop"
should be apparent, but there should be more dip in the profile
between the forehead and the top jaw than is seen in the case
of a Greyhound. It should be noticed that although the foreface
should gradually taper from eye to muzzle and should dip slightly
at its junction with the forehead, it should not "dish" or fall
away quickly below the eyes, where it should be full and well
made up, but relieved from "wedginess" by a little delicate chiseling.
There should be apparent little difference in length between the
skull and foreface of a well balanced head. Cheeks must not be
full. Jaws, upper and lower, should be strong and muscular and
of fair punishing strength, but not so as in any way to resemble
the Greyhound or modern English Terrier. There should not be much
falling away below they eyes. This part of the head should, however,
be moderately chiseled out, so as not to go down in a straight
slope like a wedge. The nose, towards which the muzzle must gradually
taper, should be black. Disqualifications - Nose white, cherry
or spotted to a considerable extent with either of these colors.
The teeth should be as nearly as possible together, i.e., the
points of the upper (incisors) teeth on the outside of or slightly
overlapping the lower teeth. Disqualifications - Much undershot,
or much overshot.
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Correct head, ear and eye type
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Foreign expression, tulip ear, almond eye.
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Large full eye, prick ear.
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Full cheeks, round topskull, rose ear
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Lowset "flat" ears. Ears like this but larger are "houndy".
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Correct head, ear and eye type
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Well-balanced head. Skull and foreface (A and B) should appear equal in length. Top-skull and foreface (C and D) are in parallel planes.
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Dish-faced
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Bumpy skull
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Snippy
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Rounded topskull
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Amplification
The Smooth Standard, unlike the Wire, calls for a flat backskull.
A really good head shows flat, clean planes when viewed from any
angle. A rounded backskull is not typical. The eyebrows should
never be prominent. The cheeks must be flat and smooth, with no
bulging of bone or muscle. Discernible flaring of the cheeks is
most objectionable. Backskull and muzzle should be equal in length.
The muzzle should be slightly chiseled away from the backskull
under the eyes. The stop should not be prominent, lest the dog
appears dish-faced. Neither should the area between the eyes (stop)
be filled in, as in the Bull Terrier. From the joining of the
backskull and muzzle, there should be a slight, but continuous
taper to the tip of the muzzle. An overly-fine muzzle will be
"snippy," while a muzzle that is too heavy, or blocky, in proportion
to the backskull will result in a "brick head" lacking the necessary
refinement, The lower jaw should be well developed and in profile
there should be a distinct "chin" rather than a jawline which
recedes at a sharp angle from the lower front incisors. The lips
should be clean and tight and there should be no loose skin under
the throat. Shape and placement of the eye, together with color,
are very important in creating correct expression. The eye should
be circular in shape, but must not be full… an eye must be small,
dark and round, but if it protrudes or is "poppy," the expression
is mouse-like rather than fiery. Light eyes create an undesirable
soft expression and are most objectionable. Dark eye rims are
always desirable as they contribute greatly to correct expression.
Dogs having much white about the head may have eye rims completely
dark at birth or they might be pink with small dark areas which
gradually enlarge, taking a year or more to fully develop. Eyes
that are not circular in shape may appear to be set on a slant,
creating an unpleasant fault in expression. An over long foreface
creates an undesirable "foreign" expression in which the eyes
are no longer located at their appropriate position - the midpoint
of the head. Ears should be carried so that they break approximately
at the midpoint of the leather. They should face forward, breaking
in a clean fold so that the tip touches the skull near the eye.
It is permissible for ears to vary in size, but the smaller ear
is always to be preferred, providing its carriage owes nothing
to artifice. (But again we bow to all things in moderation…Mary
Blake once said that big ears make a dog look common, but overly
small ears make a dog look foolish!) The inside of the ear should
never be visible when the ear placement and carriage are correct.
Large, hound like ears detract seriously from the desired expression.
The nose must be solid black. (see Disqualifications) A "scissors
bite" is the present day definition of what the Standard demands,
i.e., the points of the upper incisors on the out side of our
slightly overlapping the lower teeth. The disqualification under
this section (mouth much undershot, or much overshot) is a subjective
judgement that each judge must carefully decide for themselves.
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