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FCI Standard For Labrador Retrievers
The Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) is the World
Canine Organization. Eighty countries throughout the world, Russia being
the newest member, are part of
this organization. The United States of America is not
a
member.
The FCI recognizes 330 breeds. Each of them is the "property" of a
specific country. The "owner" countries of the breeds write the standard
of these breeds (description of the ideal type of the breed) which all member
countries use as their breed standard and the reference on which their judges
base themselves when judging shows held in FCI member countries.
LABRADOR RETRIEVER
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Strongly built,
short coupled, very active; broad in skull; broad and deep through chest and
ribs; broad and strong over loins and hindquarters.
CHARACTERISTICS: Good tempered, very
agile. Excellent nose, soft; keen lover of water. Adaptable,
devoted companion.
TEMPERAMENT: Intelligent, keen and
biddable, with a strong will to please. Kindly nature, with no trace of
aggression or undue shyness.
HEAD & SKULL: Skull broad with defined
stop; clean cut without fleshy cheeks. Jaws of medium length, powerful
not snipey. Nose wide, nostrils well-developed.
EYES: Medium size, expressing
intelligence and good temper; brown or hazel.
EARS: Not large or heavy, hanging
close to head and set rather far back.
MOUTH: Jaws and teeth strong with a
perfect, regular and complete scissor bite; i.e., upper teeth closely
overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
NECK: Clean, strong, powerful, set
into well-placed shoulders.
FOREQUARTERS: Shoulders long and
sloping. Forelegs well-boned and straight from elbow to ground when
viewed from either front or side.
BODY: Chest of good width and depth,
with well sprung barrel ribs. Level top line. Loins wide, short
coupled and strong.
HINDQUARTERS: Well developed not
sloping to tail; well turned stifle. Hocks let down, cow hocks are highly
undesirable.
FEET: Round, compact, well-arched toes
and well-developed pads.
TAIL: Distinctive feature, very thick
towards base, gradually tapering towards tip, medium length, free from
feathering, but clothed thickly all round with short, thick, dense coat, thus
giving "rounded" appearance described as "Otter" tail. May be carried
gaily, but should not curl over back.
GAIL/MOVEMENT: Free, covering adequate
ground; straight and true in front and rear.
COAT: Distinctive feature, short dense
without wave or feathering, giving fairly hard feel to the touch; weather
resistant undercoat.
COLOUR: Wholly black, yellow or
liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small
white spot on chest permissible.
SIZE: Ideal height at withers:
dogs 56 - 57 cms (22 - 22.5 ins); bitches 54 - 56 cms (21.5 ins).
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.
NOTE: Male animals should have two
apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Approved by the General Assembly on the 23rd
and 24th of June 1987 in Jerusalem.
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