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Rasstandard
FCI Standard No. 97
05.03.1998/GB
Translation:
C. Seidler
Origin: Germany
Date of Publication of the
Original Valid Standard:
05.03.1998.
Utilization:
Watch and Companion Dog
Classification F.C.I.:
Group 5
Spitz and Primitive Types
Section 4 European Spitz.
Without Working Trial
Brief
historical summary : German
Spitz are descendants of the stone age « Peat Dogs » (Torfhund)
« Canis familiaris palustris Rüthimeyer » and the later Lake
Dweller's (Pfahlbau) Spitz; they are the oldest breed of dog
in Central Europe. Numerous other breeds have been produced
from them. In non-German speaking countries Wolfspitz are
known as Keeshonds and toy Spitz as Pomeranians.
General
appearance: Spitz breeds are
captivating on account of their beautiful coats, made to
stand off by plentiful undercoat. Particularly impressive is
the strong, mane-like collar round the neck (ruff) and the
bushy tail carried boldly over the back. The foxy head with
alert eyes and the small pointed, closely set ears give the
Spitz his unique characteristic, cheeky appearance.
Important
proportions: The ratio of height
at withers to body length is 1 : 1.
Behaviour and
character: The German Spitz is
always attentive, lively and exceptionally devoted to his
owner. He is very teachable and easy to train. His distrust
to strangers and lack of hunting instinct make him the ideal
watchdog for home and farm. He is neither timid nor
aggressive. Indifference to weather, robustness and
longevity are his most outstanding attributes
Head
Cranial region:
The Spitz's medium size head, seen from
above, appears broadest at the back and tapers in wedge
shape to the tip of the nose.
Stop:
Moderate to marked, never abrupt.
Facial region:
Nose: The nose is round,
small and pure black, dark brown in brown Spitz.
Muzzle: The
muzzle is not overlong and stands in pleasing proportion to
the skull. (in Wolfspitz/Keeshond, Giant Spitz and
Medium-size Spitz the ratio length of the muzzle to length
of the skull is approximately 2:3, in Miniature Spitz and
Toy Spitz approximately 2:4.).
Lips:
The lips are not exaggerated, close
fitting to the jaws and do not form any folds to the corner
of the mouth. They are completely black in all colours,
brown in brown Spitz.
Jaws/teeth:
The jaws are normally developed and
show a complete scissor bite with 42 teeth, corresponding to
the teeth formula of the dog, i.e. the upper teeth closely
overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Pincer-bite is permissible in all varieties of Spitz.
Cheeks:
The cheeks are gently rounded, not
protruding.
Eyes:
The eyes are of medium size, longish
shape, slightly slanting and dark. The eyelids are black in
all shades of colour, dark brown in brown Spitz.
Ears:
The small ears are set high and
relatively close to each other, triangular and pointed; they
are always carried upright, stiff at the tips.
Neck:
The medium length neck is set broadly into the shoulders,
slightly arched without throatiness and covered by a thick,
profuse coat forming a large ruff.
Body:
Topline:
The topline starts at the tips of the
erectly carried prick-ears and merges in a gentle curve win
the short, straight back. The bushy, sweeping tail, which
partially covers the back, rounds off the silhouette.
Withers/back:
The high withers drop imperceptibly
into the shortest possible, straight, firm back.
Loin:
Short-coupled, broad and strong.
Croup:
The croup is broad and short, not falling away.
Chest:
The deep chest is well sprung, the
forechest well developed.
Lower line::
The brisket reaches as far back as possible; the belly has
only a slight tuck up.
Tail:
The tail is set on high and of medium
length. It reaches upwards and rolls forward over the back,
straight from the root. It lies firmly over the back and is
covered with very bushy hair. A double curl at tip of tail
is tolerated.
Limbs
Forequarters:
General:
Straight, rather broad front.
Shoulders::
The shoulder-blade is long and well laid back. The upper
arm, which is approximately the same length, forms an angle
of 90 degrees to the shoulder-blade. The shoulder is well
muscled and firmly connected to the brisket.
Elbow:
The elbow joint is strong, close
fitting to the brisket and turns neither in nor out.
Forearm
The forearm is of medium length in
relation to the body, sturdy and completely straight. The
back of the forearm is well feathered.
Metacarpus (Pastern):
The strong, medium length front pastern
stands at an angle of 20 degrees from the vertical.
Front feet:
The front feet are as small as possible, round and closed,
so called cat feet, with well arched toes. Toe-nails and
pads are black in all shades of colour, but dark brown in
brown dogs.
Hindquarters:
General:
The hindquarters are very muscular and
abundantly feathered to the hocks. The hind legs stand
straight and parallel.
Upper and lower thigh:
Upper and lower thigh are of about
equal length.
Stifle:
The stifle joint is strong with only
moderate angulation and is turned neither in nor out in
movement.
Metatarsal (Hock):
The hock is of medium length, very
strong and vertical to the ground.
Hind feet:
The hind feet are as small as possible, tightly closed with
well arched toes, so called cat feet. The pads are coarse.
The colour of nails and pads is as dark as possible.
Gait/movement:
The German Spitz moves straight
ahead with good drive, fluid and springy.
Skin:
The skin covers the body tightly
without any wrinkles.
Coat:
Hair:
The German Spitz has a double coat:
long, straight, stand off top coat and short, thick,
cotton-wool-like undercoat. Head, ears, front side of front
and hind legs and the feet are covered by short, thick (velvety)
hair. The rest of the body has a long rich coat. Not wavy,
curly or corded, not parted on the back. Neck and shoulders
are covered by a thick mane. The backside of the front legs
is well feathered, the hind legs have ample feathering from
croup to hocks. The tail is bushy.
Colour:
A) Wolfspitz/Keeshound :
grey shaded.
B) Giant-Spitz:
black, brown, white.
C: Medium-size Spitz:
black, brown, white, orange, grey-shaded, other colours.
D) Miniature Spitz:
black, brown, white, orange,
grey-shaded, other colours.
E) Toy Spitz/Pomeranian:
black, brown, white, orange,
grey-shaded, other colours.
Black Spitz:
In the black Spitz, the undercoat and
skin must also be black and the colour on top must be a
shining black without any white or other markings.
Brown Spitz:
The brown Spitz should he uniformly dark brown.
White Spitz::
The coat should be pure white without any trace of yellow in
particular, which often occurs, specially on the ears.
Orange Spitz:
The orange Spitz should be evenly
coloured in the medium colour range.
Grey-shaded Spitz Keeshond /
Keeshond: Grey-shaded is a
silver grey with black hair-tips. Muzzle and ears dark in
colour; round the eyes well defined « spectacles » shown as
a delicately pencilled black line slanting from outer corner
of eye to lower corner of ear, coupled with distinct
markings and shading forming expressive short eyebrow; mane
and ring on shoulder lighter; fore- and hindlegs without any
black marking under the elbows or stifles, except slight
pencilling on the toes; black tip of tail; underside of tail
and trousers pale grey.
Other coloured Spitz:
The term « other colours » covers all
shades of colour, such as: cream, cream-sable, orange-sable,
black and tan and particolour (with white always as main
colour). The black, brown, grey or orange patches must be
distributed over the whole body.
Size and weight:
Height at the withers :
a)
Wolfspitz/Keeshond 49 cm +/- 6 cm
b) Giant Spitz 46 cm +/-4 cm
c) Medium size Spitz 34 cm +/- 4 cm
d) Miniature Spitz 26 cm +/- 3 cm
e) Toy Spitz/Pomeranian 20 cm +/-2 cm
Dogs under 18 cm undesirable.
Weight::
Each variety of German Spitz should have a weight
corresponding to its size.
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