|
standard of st. bernard
FCI-Standard
N° 61 / 21. 01. 2004 / GB
ST. BERNARD
(St.Bernhardshund,
Bernhardiner)
ORIGIN :
Switzerland.
DATE OF
PUBLICATION OF THE VALID ORIGINAL STANDARD :
29.10.2003.
UTILIZATION :
Companion-, watch- and farmdog.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I.:
Group 2 Pinscher
and Schnauzer
type, Molossians,
Swiss
Mountain-and
Cattledogs.
Section 2.2 Molossian
type,
Mountain type.
Without working
trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SURVEY :
At the height of the Great St. Bernard Pass, 2469 metres above sea
level, a hospice was founded by monks in the 11th century as a place
of refuge for travellers and pilgrims. There, large mountain dogs
have been kept since the middle of the 17th century for guarding and
protection. The existence of such dogs has been documented
pictorially since 1695 and in a written document at the hospice in the
year 1707. The dogs were soon in use as companion dogs and specially as
rescue dogs for travellers lost in snow and fog. The chronicles about
the numerous human lives saved by these dogs from the « white death »,
published in many languages, and the verbal reports of the soldiers who
crossed the pass with Bonaparte’s army in 1800, spread the fame of the
St. Bernard, called Barry-dog at that time, throughout Europe during the
19th century. The legendary dog « Barry » became the epitome of the
rescue dog. The direct ancestors of the St. Bernard were the large
farm dogs common in that region. Within a few generations and aiming
to a defined ideal type, these dogs were developed to the present day
type of breed. Heinrich Schumacher from Holligen near Bern
was the first who began to issue genealogical documents for his dogs in
1867.
In February 1884 the "Schweizerisches
Hundestammbuch"(SHSB), the Swiss Dog Stud Book, was started. The
very first entry was the St.Bernard "Leon", and the following 28
registrations also concerned St.Bernards. On the 15th March 1884, the
Swiss St.Bernards-Club was founded in Basle. On the occasion of an
international Canine Congress on June 2nd 1887, the St. Bernard dog was
officially recognized as a Swiss breed and the breed standard was
declared as binding. Since then , the St.Bernard has been regarded
as the Swiss national dog.
GENERAL
APPEARANCE :
There are two
varieties of the St.Bernard :
· Short-haired
variety (double coat, “Stockhaar”):
· Long-haired
variety.
Both varieties are
of considerable size and of impressive general apperance. They have a
balanced, powerful, sturdy, muscular body with impressive head and an
alert facial expression.
IMPORTANT
PROPORTIONS :
· Ideal
relation of height at withers to length of body (measured from the point
of the shoulder to the point of buttocks) = 9 : 10.
· Ideal
relation of height at withers to depth of chest see sketch below.
· The
total length of the head is slightly more than one third of the height
at withers.
· The
relation of depth of muzzle (measured at its root) to length of muzzle
is almost 2:1.
· Length
of muzzle slightly longer than one third of the total length of the
head.
BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT:
Friendly by nature.
Temperament calm to lively; watchful.
HEAD :
General :
Powerful, imposing and very expressive.
CRANIAL
REGION :
Skull :
Strong, broad, seen in profile and from the front slightly rounded.
When the dog is alert, the set-on of the ears and the top of the skull
form a straight line which slopes at the sides in a gentle curve to the
strongly developed high cheek bones. Forehead falling away steeply
towards the muzzle. Occipital bone only moderately developed,
superciliary ridges strongly developed. The frontal furrow, which
starts at the base of the forehead, is distinctly developed and runs up
right in the middle of the skull.
The skin of the
forehead forms slight wrinkles above the eyes that converge towards
the frontal furrow. When the dog is at attention, they are moderately
visible; otherwise they are rather inconspicuous.
Stop :
Dinstinctly pronounced.
FACIAL
REGION :
Nose :
Black, broad and square. Nostrils well opened.
Muzzle :
Of even width. Nasal bridge straight, with slight groove.
Lips :
Edge of lips black pigmented. Flews of upper jaw strongly developed,
firm and not too pendulous, forming a wide curve towards the nose.
Corners of mouth remain visible.
Jaws/Teeth :
Upper and lower jaw strong, broad, equal in length. Well developed,
regular and complete scissor or pincer bite. Close fitting undershot
mouth without any space between the lower and the upper incisors
acceptable. Absence of PM 1 (premolar 1) and M3 tolerated.
Eyes :
Of medium size. Colour dark brown to nut-brown. Moderately deep set
with a friendly expression. Natural tightness of lids desired. A
small angular fold on the lower lids with the haws only slightly visible
as well as a small fold on the upper lids are permitted. Eyerims
completely pigmented.
Ears :
Of medium size, set on high and wide. Strongly developed burrs. Flaps
pliable, triangular with rounded tips. The rear edges slightly
standing off, the front edges lying closely to the cheeks.
NECK :
Strong and of sufficient length. Dewlap and loose skin on the neck
moderately developed.
BODY :
General :
General appearance imposing, balanced, impressive and well muscled.
Withers :
Well defined.
Back :
Broad, strong, firm. Topline straight and horizontal up to
the loins.
Croup :
Long, hardly sloping, merging gently with the root of the tail.
Chest :
Brisket moderately deep with well sprung ribs, but not
barrel-shaped. Not projecting below elbow level.
Belly and
underline :
Slight tuck up towards rear.
TAIL :
Set-on broad and strong. Tail long and heavy. The last vertebra
reaching at least to the hock joint. When in repose, the tail
hangs straight down
or slightly upturned in the lower third. When animated, it is carried
higher.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS :
General :
Forelegs straight and parallel seen from the front. Standing
moderately broad.
Shoulders :
Shoulder blades oblique, muscular and well attached to the chest wall.
Upper arm
: Longer than the shoulder blade. Angle between shoulder blade and
upper arm not too blunt.
Elbow :
Close fitting.
Forearm :
Straight, strong in bone, with lean musculature.
Pasterns :
Seen from the front vertical in prolongation of the forearms; slightly
oblique seen from the side.
Forefeet :
Broad, with strong, tight, well arched toes.
HINDQUARTERS :
General :
Muscular with moderate angulation. Seen from the back, hind legs are
parallel, not standing closely together.
Upper thigh :
Strong, muscular, broad.
Stifle :
Well angulated, turning neither in nor out.
Lower thigh :
Slanting and rather long.
Hock joints :
Slightly angulated, firm.
Metatarsus :
Straight and parallel when seen from behind.
Hind feet :
Broad, with strong, tight, well arched toes. Dewclaws tolerated if they
do not hinder the movement.
GAIT /
MOVEMENT :
Harmonious far reaching movement with good drive from the hindquarters,
the back remaining stable and firm. Front and hind feet move forward in
a straight line.
COAT
HAIR :
· Short-haired
variety (Stockhaar, double coat) :
Topcoat dense, smooth; close-lying and coarse. Plenty of undercoat.
Thighs with slight breeches. Tail covered with dense hair.
· Long-haired
variety :
Topcoat plain, of medium length with plenty of undercoat. Short hair
on face and ear; hair over the haunches and the croup usually somewhat
wavy. Front legs feathered. Thighs with good breeches. Bushy tail.
COLOUR :
Primary colour white with smaller or larger reddish-brown patches
(splash-coated dogs) up to an unbroken reddish-brown mantle covering
back and flanks (mantle dogs). A broken reddish-brown mantle is of
equal value. A brindle reddish-brown colour permissible.
Brownish-yellow tolerated. Dark shadings on head desirable. Slight
touch of black on body tolerated.
Required
white markings :
Chest, feet, tip of tail, muzzle band, blaze and patch on neck.
Desirable
markings :
White collar. Symmetrical dark mask.
SIZE :
Height at
withers :
For dogs minimum 70 cm,
for bitches minimum 65 cm.
For dogs maximum 90 cm,
for bitches maximum 80 cm.
Dogs which exceed the
maximum height will not be penalised, provided their general appearance
is balanced and their movement is correct.
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.
· Lack
of sexual characteristics.
· Unbalanced
general appearance.
· Too
short legs in relation to size (short-legged).
· Heavy
folds on head and neck.
· Muzzle
too short or too long.
· Flews
of the lower jaw turning outwards.
· Missing
teeth other than PM 1 (premolar 1) and M3. Small teeth (especially
incisors).
· Slightly
undershot mouth.
· Light
eyes.
· Eyelids
too loose.
· Sway
back or roach back.
· Croup
higher than withers or falling away.
· Tail
carried curled on the back.
· Absence
of required markings.
· Crooked
or severely turned out front legs.
· Poorly
angulated, open-hocked or cow-hocked hindquarters.
· Faulty
movement.
· Curly
coat.
· Incomplete
or totally absent pigmentation on nose leather, around the nose, on the
lips or the eyelids.
· Faulty
primary colour e.g. reddish-brown dots or ticks in the white.
ELIMINATING
FAULTS
· Weak
temperament, aggressiveness.
· Overshot
mouth, distinctly undershot mouth.
· Wall
eye.
· Ectropion,
entropion.
· Solid
white or solid reddish-brown coat (absence of the primary colour).
· Coat
of any other colour.
· Height
at withers below minimum size.
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.
|