General appearance: Dog should give the impression of great strength for his size; a well put together dog, muscular, but agile and graceful, keenly alive to his surroundings. He should be stocky, not long-legged or racy in outline. His courage is proverbial
Head: Medium length, deep through.
Cranial region: Broad skull and distinct stop
Facial region: Definitely black nose, lips close and even, no looseness. Medium length muzzle rounded on upper side to fall away abruptly below the eyes. Jaws well defined, under jaw strong and with biting power, upper teeth to meet tightly outside lower teeth in front. Cheeks with very pronounced muscles. Dark, round eyes, low down in skull and set far apart. No pink eyelids. Ears set high, cropped or uncropped, the later preferred. Uncropped ears should be short and held rose or half prick, full drop to be penalised.
Neck: Heavy, slightly arched, tapering from shoulders to back of skull. No looseness of skin. Medium length.
Body:
Topline:
Back fairly short. Slight sloping from withers to rump with gentle short slope at rump to base of tail.
Loins: Slightly tucked
Chest: Deep and broad. Well sprung ribs; close together, deep in rear.
Tail: Short in comparison to size, low set, tapering to fine point; not curled or carried over back. Not docked.
Limbs:
Forequarters: Front legs straight, with large bones. Set rather wide apart to permit chest development. Shoulders strong and muscular with blades wide and sloping. Pastern upright.
Hindguarters:Well muscled. Hocks let down, turning neither in nor out.
Feet:of moderate size, well arched and compact
Gait/movement: Springy but without roll or pace
Coat:
Hair: Short, close, stiff to the touch, glossy
Colour: Any colour, solid, particolour, or patched is permissible; but more than 80%
white, black and tan, and liver not to be encouraged
Size: Height and weight should be in proportion. A height of about eighteen to nineteen inches (46 - 48 cm) at the shoulder for the male and seventeen to eighteen inches (43 - 46 cm) for the female to be considered preferable
Disqualifying faults: Aggressive or overly shy dogs. Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
