ABC National Yearbook | Page 132

Tail - Tailless to approximately four inches, natural or docked. The tail not to be so long as to affect the overall balance of the dog. Set on high, actually an extension of the spine at about the same level. Any tail substantially more than four inches shall be severely penalized. Forequarters Shoulders - Shoulder blades should not protrude too much, not too wide apart, with perhaps two thumbs’ width between. Sloping and muscular. Blade and upper arm should form nearly a ninety degree angle. Straight shoulders are a fault. At the shoulders the Brittany is slightly higher than at the rump. Front Legs - Viewed from the front, perpendicular, but not set too wide. Elbows and feet turning neither in nor out. Pasterns slightly sloped. Down in pasterns is a serious fault. Leg bones clean, graceful, but not too ne. Extremely heavy bone is as much a fault as spindly legs. One must look for substance and suppleness. Height at elbows should approximately equal distance from elbow to withers. Feet - Should be strong, proportionately smaller than the spaniels’, with close tting, well arched toes and thick pads. The Brittany is “not up on his toes.” Toes not heavily feathered. Flat feet, splayed feet, paper feet, etc., are to be heavily penalized. An ideal foot is halfway between the hare and the cat foot. Dewclaws may be removed. Hindquarters Broad strong and muscular, with powerful thighs and well bent sti es, giving the angulation necessary for powerful drive. Hind Legs - Sti es well bent. The sti e should not be so angulated as to place the hock joint far out behind the dog. A Brittany should not be condemned for straight sti e until the judge has checked the dog in motion from the side. The sti e joint should not turn out making a cowhock. Thighs well feathered but not profusely, halfway to the hock. Hocks, that is, the back pasterns, should be moderately short, pointing neither in nor out, perpendicular when viewed from the side. They should be rm when shaken by the judge. Feet - Same as front feet. Coat Dense, at or wavy, never curly. Texture neither wiry nor silky. Ears should carry little fringe. The front and hind legs should have some feathering, but too little is de nitely preferable to too much. Dogs with long or profuse feathering or furnishings shall be so severely penalized as to effectively eliminate them from competition. Skin - Fine and fairly loose. A loose skin rolls with briars and sticks, thus diminishing punctures or tearing. A skin so loose as to form pouches is undesirable. Color Orange and white or liver and white in either clear or roan patterns. Some ticking is desirable. The orange or liver is found in the standard parti-color or piebald patterns. Washed out colors are not desirable. Tri-colors are allowed but not preferred. A tri-color is a liver and white dog with classic orange markings on eyebrows, muzzle and cheeks, inside the ears and under the tail, freckles on the lower legs are orange. Anything exceeding the limits of these markings shall be severely penalized. Black is a disquali cation. Gait When at a trot the Brittany’s hind foot should step into or beyond the print left by the front foot. Clean movement, coming and going, is very important, but most important is side gait, which is smooth, efficient and ground covering. Temperament A happy, alert dog, neither mean nor shy. Disquali cations - Any Brittany measuring under 17 1/2 inches or over 20 1/2 inches. - A black nose. - Black in the coat. 130 Approved April 10, 1990 Effective May 31, 1990