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Alphabetical List of Breed Standards

A breed standard (also called bench standard or the standard) in the dog fancy is a set of guidelines covering specific externally observable qualities such as appearance, movement, and temperament for that dog breed. Breed standards are not scientific documents, but are written for each breed by clubs of hobbyists called breed clubs for their own specific requirements. Details and definitions within breed standards for a specific dog breed may vary from breed club to breed club and from country to country. Dog breed standards are similar in form and function to breed standards for other domesticated animals.

The 'breed standard' for each breed of dog is distinct, giving a detailed "word picture"of the appearance and behaviour of an 'idealized' dog of that breed. Included in the breed standard description are externally observable aspects of appearance and behaviour that are considered by the breed club to be the most important for the breed, and externally observable details of appearance or temperament that are considered by the breed club to be unacceptable. In addition most breed standards include an historical section, describing the place of origin and the original work done by the breed or its ancestor Dog type.

 

However, breed standards do not include testing requirements for health, requirements for genetic testing, or requirements for specific types of training or work; breed standards are only intended to 'describe' the breed's 'externally observable' qualities. Breed clubs often make other requirements for health testing or work testing, but these are not covered in the breed standard itself.

Breed Standards and Conformation shows

The basis of judging in conformation dog shows is breed type, the whole of the characteristics that are typical of a breed. Breed type is outlined in the written breed standard for each breed, and the judge looks at the entered dogs for the ones that most perfectly resemble the judge's mental image of ideal breed type. Dogs are judged against the Conformation shows are not intended for the examination of the entered dogs for fitness for purpose (such as hunting skill in a dog traditionally used for hunting), and while dogs may be excused by a judge for obvious lameness or illness, the dogs are not tested in the ring for genetic health or examined for the general health of the animal beyond externally observable appearance and behaviour as described in the breed standard.

Breed standards are not quantified, and are interpreted by the judge in a conformation show according to the judge's experience with the breed and the judge's personal taste. As judges are selected by the exhibitors whose dogs he or she is judging, errors in comprehension of the breed type and breed standard result in the judge not being invited to judge again, so the problem is self-correcting. In addition, breed clubs and national kennel clubs provide regular seminars for the training of judges in the details of the individual breed standards and how they are interpreted. Sports that rely on the judgement of one or more judges, rather than on a system of competitive scores without judges, are sometimes accused of being lesser sports.

Breed standards are written by individual breed clubs, and, if the breed club is a member of a national kennel club, the standard will go through a process of being approved by the national kennel club so that the members of the breed club can take part in the dog activities sponsored by the national kennel club. The national kennel club only directs the form of the breed standard, the breed standard itself is written by the breed club or clubs.

The Fédération Cynologique Internationale is an international group which regulates breed standard formats so that dogs from member countries can compete in shows internationally. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale only approves standards, it does not write the standards; the breed standards for each breed are written by the country of origin (or a sponsoring country, in the case of some breeds). Individual national kennel clubs may still have their own variations in the details of the breed standard used in conformation shows within their own country.

Formats and Details

Each recognised breed of dog has a written standard, many of which have been developed and slowly changed over the last few hundred years. Some breeds were described by fanciers in a written breed standard in order to provide guidelines for breeders participating in the sport of conformation; other breed standards, such as those written by the Spanish veterinarian Manuel Marques in the 1930s, were written to provide a description of a native landrace breeds that were in danger of dying out. Since the origins and purposes of standards vary, the contents, teminology, and organisation of the information in a standard also varies.

Since the purpose of the standard is to assist those who show, live with, or work with the specific breed, lack of a consistent format between standards for different breeds has never been shown to cause any problems for fanciers of the individual breed. Breed standards are not scientific documents, and are not standardised throughout the world.

An example of breed standard variations from country to country is the American Kennel Club standard for the Bull Terrier, which states clearly that a level bite or a scissor bite is acceptable, and the Australian National Kennel Council Bull Terrier standard, which only recognizes the scissor bite. Since an incorrect bite is a serious fault, breeders in one country might cull out puppies that would be acceptable for show in another country, alternately, some competitors might find their local champions unable to compete internationally. During the conformation show at the 2004 Sydney Royal Easter Show an unusually large number of protests against the judges’ decisions were lodged; it was felt by some owners that the international judges did not completely understand the commonly accepted breed standard interpretations of the Australian National Kennel Council. It is up to the exhibitor to know the rules of the governing body under which he or she is showing a dog.

Faults
In breed standards, the term fault does not imply that a dog with a fault cannot be a good companion; it is merely an indication that dogs with faults should not be chosen for breeding unless the dog has desirable qualities that outweigh the fault. Faults may be minor, such as a color the breed club has decided is undesirable, or the fault may be major, such as structural problems that would prevent the dog from doing the work for which it was bred. Fault is used to describe an aspect of appearance or temperament that is considered by the breed club to be detrimental to the breed type of the breed, and dogs with major faults will not finish a kennel club conformation championship.

Faults are described for each breed separately. Individual dog breed articles may cover what is considered a fault in that particular breed.

Not covered by breed standards

Breed standards only cover externally observable characteristics of the dog, and even there breed clubs can be very contentious about the exact definition of details. The breed club for each breed may set additional requirements, ones covering qualities not covered by the breed standard, such as rules and guidelines for health testing and work testing. However, since breeders are free to leave and join (or form) another club if the breed club's requirements for breeding become too troublesome to them, there is no effective control over health and working qualities that are not described in the breed standard. Breed club members have no control over the quality, health, or fitness for work of dogs being bred by non-members. Even when breed clubs require health testing before breeding their dogs, and raise funds for research on specific disorders, such as syringomyelia in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels or dermoid sinus in Rhodesian Ridgebacks, volume puppy producers and breeders who are not members of the breed club cannot be compelled to contribute to research or to perform the tests. Breed standards can only be used to determine by appearance whether or not volume puppy producers and breeders who are not members of the breed club are breeding dogs that appear to be of the advertised breed.

Acknowledgement: Wikipedia.org

 

Affenpinscher

Afghan Hound

Airedale Terrier

Akita

Alaskan Malamute

American Eskimo Dog

American Hairless Terrier

American Staffordshire Terrier

American Water Spaniel

Anatolian Shepherd

Australian Cattle Dog

Australian Shepherd

Australian Terrier

Barbet

Basenji

Basset Hound

Beagle

Bearded Collie

Beauceron

Bedlington Terrier

Belgian Laekenois

Belgian Malinois

Belgian Sheepdog

Belgian Tervuren

Berger Picard

Bernese Mountain Dog

Bichon Frise

Black And Tan Coonhound

Black Russian Terrier

Bloodhound

Bluetick Coonhound

Border Collie

Border Terrier

Borzoi

Boston Terrier

Bouvier Des Flandres

Boykin Spaniel

Boxer

Bracco Italiano

Braque du Bourbannais

Briard

Brittany

Broholmer

Brussels Griffon

Bull Terrier

Bulldog

Bullmastiff

Cairn Terrier

Canaan

Cane Corso

Cardigan Welsh Corgi

Caucasian Shepherd

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Cesky Terrier

Chesapeake Bay Retriever

Chihuahua

Chinese Crested

Chinese Shar-pei

Chinook

Chow Chow

Clumber Spaniel

Cocker Spaniel

Collie

Coton De Tulear

Curly-coated Retriever

Czechoslovakian Vlcak

DEF
ABC

Dachshund

Dalmatian

Doberman Pinscher

Dogue De Bordeaux

English Cocker Spaniel

English Setter

English Springer Spaniel

English Toy Spaniel

Estrela Mountain Dog

Field Spaniel

Finnish Lapphund

French Bulldog

French Spaniel

GHI

German Pinscher

German Shepherd Dog

German Shorthaired Pointer

German Wirehaired Pointer

Giant Schnauzer

Glen Of Imaal Terrier

Golden Retriever

Gordon Setter

Great Dane

Great Pyrenees

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog

Greyhound

Harrier

Havana Silk Dog

Havanese

Ibizan Hound

Icelandic Sheepdog

Irish Red & White Setter

Irish Setter

Irish Water Spaniel

Irish Wolfhound

Italian Greyhound

JKL

Japanese Chin

Keeshond

Kerry Blue Terrier

Komondor

Kuvasz

Labrador Retriever

Lagotto Romagnolo

Lhasa Apso

Leonberger

Lowchen

MNO

Maltese

Manchester Terrier

Maremma Sheepdog

Mastiff

Mi-ki

Mini American/mini Australian Shepherd (American)

Miniature Bull Terrier

Miniature Pinscher

Miniature Schnauzer

Mudi

Neapolitan Mastiff

Nederlandse Kooikerhondje

Newfoundland

Norfolk Terrier

Norrbottenspets

Norwegian Buhund

Norwegian Elkhound

Norwich Terrier

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Ret.

Old English Sheepdog

Otterhound

PRS

Papillon

Parson Russell Terrier

Pekingese

Pembroke Welsh Corgi

Peruvian Inca Orchid

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

Pharaoh Hound

Pointer

Polish Lowland Sheepdog

Pomeranian

Poodle (Standard)

Portuguese Podengo Pequeno

Portuguese Pointer

Portuguese Water Dog

Pug

Puli

Pumi

Pyrenean Shepherd

Rat Terrier

Redbone CoonHound

Rhodesian Ridgeback

Rottweiler

Russell Terrier


Saluki

Samoyed

Schipperke

Scottish Deerhound

Scottish Terrier

Sealyham Terrier

Shetland Sheepdog

Shiba Inu

Shih Tzu

Siberian Husky

Silky Terrier

Sky Terrier

Sloughi

Smooth Fox Terrier

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

Spanish Water Dog

Spinone Italiano

St. Bernard

Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Standard Schnauzer

Sussex Spaniel

Swedish Vallhund

TVW

Tibetan Mastiff

Tibetan Spaniel

Tibetan Terrier

Toy Fox Terrier

Treeing Walker Coonhound

Vizsla

Weimaraner

Welsh Springer Spaniel

Welsh Terrier

West Highland White Terrier

Whippet

Wire Fox Terrier

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

Wirehaired Vizsla

XY

Xoloitzcuintli

Yorkshire Terrier

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