Dutch Smoushond

FCI-Standard N°308 / 19. 12. 2001 / GB

DUTCH SMOUSHOND

(Hollandse Smoushond)

TRANSLATION : Brought up to date by Dr. Paschoud.

Revised by the Hollandse Smoushond Club (H.S.C.).

ORIGIN : The Netherlands.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 25.08.2001.

UTILIZATION : Companion.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 2 Pinscher and Schnauzer type- Molossian and Swiss  Mountain-and Cattledogs.  Section 1 Pinscher and Schnauzer  type.   Without working trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Roughcoated, lively, active, strong and squarely built.  Bitches are allowed slightly more length of body.  Built and muscled so as to be able to follow horse and carriage, as well as to catch rats in the stable the Smous was formerly referred to as « Gentleman’s Stabledog » or coachman’s dog.  Consequently there should be no suggestion of coarseness or ungainliness.

BEHAVIOUR/CHARACTER : Affectionate, gay, friendly, free ; nor nervously over-active, nor easily frightened, yappy or prone to running off by itself.  The Smous should be a pleasant and easy family dog.

HEAD : The head is one of the most typical features of the Dutch Smousdog.  Seen from above it is broad and short.

CRANIAL REGION :

Skull : Slightly domed.  Forehead slightly rounded.

Stop : Distinct.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : Black and broad.

Muzzle : Full, with strong, fairly short jaws ( the relation between length of the skull, from occiput to stop, and length of the muzzle, from stop to nose-tip is 2 :1).

Lips : Thin and tight; with black rims.

Jaws/Teeth : Strong, preferably with a scissor bite, the upper teeth closely overlapping to lower teeth.  A level bite or a just undershot mouth are acceptable.

Eyes : The eyes are very typical of the breed, with a friendly and lively  expression ; they are dark, large and round, and neither bulging nor deep-set ; the rims are black, the eyelashes dark and well developed.

Ears : The high-set ears, dropping with the front edge close to  the cheeks, are small and thin and triangular with slightly rounded tips.  When the dog is alert, the points of the ears lean a little forward against the cheeks.

NECK : On the short side and muscular.

BODY : The body must give an impression of sturdiness ; both coarseness and ranginess should be frowned upon.

Back : Broad, muscular and straight.

Loin : Slightly arched.

Croup : Well muscled.

Chest : Broad, not unduly deep, with well sprung ribs.

Belly : Hardly tucked-up.

TAIL : Undocked; it should be rather short, carried gaily, but not curled over the back.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Straight, not too close together and yet well under the body.  Strong, oval bone.

Shoulders : Moderately sloping according to the moderate angulation of fore-and hindquarters.

HINDQUARTERS : Moderately angulated, strong and muscular.

Hocks : Well let down.

Feet : Round, neat and small ( cat-feet) with strong toes and black nails.

COAT

HAIR : This is a very important feature :

a) On the body : Coarse, wiry, harsh, straight and with on unkempt look about it, approx. 4-7 cm ( 1 ½ - 2 ¾ inches) long ;not curly, wavy or woolly ; a tendency to mat is a serious fault.  Sufficient undercoat to protect the dog from the weather.  A parting on the back is an indication that the coat is too long and soft and lacking undercoat.

b) On the legs : Coat of medium length, not dense, pointing backwards, thus suggesting slight feathering.  Fault : a dense and woolly coat all over the legs, thus hiding the true outline.

c) On the tail : Bushy, without fringe.

d) On the head : This is covered with the same  wiry hair as the body but slightly shorter, at least on the skull.  There is long hair  to be found on the cheeks, moustache, beard and eyebrows.  The eyebrows may drop a little over the eyes as long as they do not hide the eyes or interfere with the sight.  A topknot is a fault, as is a parting on the muzzle.  The hair on the ears is shorter than on the body.

COLOUR : Self-coloured yellow in all shades, with a preference for a dark straw colour.  Ears, moustache, beard and eyebrows may be of a darker shade of yellow than the rest of the dog.  Any other colour than yellow in its different shades is unacceptable.

SIZE AND WEIGHT :

Height at the withers  between  35 and  42 cm  ( 14-16,5 inches) ; males approx.                 37 - 42 cm (14,5 to 16,5 inches), females                 approx. 35 - 40 cm (14    to 16        inches).

Weight : 9-10 kg.

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.