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proportionate to the muzzle, well developed and always black. In profile, the nose must be in line with the upper lip. Disqualifications - Split nose, nose color other than black or with unpigmented areas. Lips - The lips are firm and always well pigmented. The upper lip overlaps the lower lip without any looseness. At their juncture, the lips form very slight but firm flews. Teeth - A full complement of strong white teeth, evenly set, and meeting in a scissors bite. Disqualifications - Overshot or undershot with loss of contact; absence of three or more teeth (the first premolars not counting). Neck, Topline and Body: Neck - The neck is muscular, of good length, united harmoniously with the shoulders, enabling the head to be carried proudly while standing in an alert posture. Topline - The back is straight and strong. The withers are well defined. The loin is broad, short and muscular. The croup is well muscled and slightly sloped in the direction of the attachment of the tail. Body - The length of the body from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock is slightly more than the height of the dog at the withers. Chest - The chest is wide, deep, long, and descends to the point of the elbow. The girth of the chest is greater than the height at the withers by more than 20 percent. Ribs - The ribcage extends well back with long, flexible, and moderately curved ribs. The abdomen is moderately drawn up but still presents good volume. Tail - The tail is strong at the base, carried down, descending at least to the point of the hock, forming into a slight J without deviating to the right or to the left. In action, the tail can be carried higher, becoming an extension of the topline. Disqualification - Docked tail, or tail carried over the back. Forequarters: The construction of the forequarters is of the utmost importance, determining the dog's ability to work and his resistance to fatigue. The legs are vertical when viewed from the front or in profile. Shoulder - The shoulders are moderately long, muscular but not loaded, with good layback. Forearm - The forearms are muscular. Feet - The feet are large, round, and compact with black nails. The pads are firm yet supple. Hindquarters: The angulation of the hindquarters is balanced with the forequarters. The hindquarters are powerful, providing flexible, almost tireless movement. They are vertical when viewed from profile and from behind. Legs - The thighs are wide and muscled. Hock joint is substantial, not too close to the ground, the point situated roughly at ¼ the height at the withers, forming a well open angle with the second thigh. Metatarsals are upright, slightly further back than the point of the buttock. When viewed from behind, metatarsals are perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other. Feet - The feet are large, round, compact, and the rear toes turn out very slightly. Dewclaws - Double dewclaws form well separated "thumbs" with nails, placed rather close to the foot. Disqualification - Anything less than double dewclaws on each rear leg. Coat: Outer coat is 1¼ to 1½ inches, coarse, dense and lying close to the body. It is short and smooth on the head, ears and lower legs. The hair is somewhat longer around the neck. The tail and back of thighs are lightly fringed. The undercoat is short, fine, dense and downy, mouse gray in color and does not show through the outer coat. The Beauceron is exhibited in the natural condition with no trimming. Disqualification - Shaggy coat. Colors: Black and Tan - The black is very pure; the tan markings are squirrel red; the markings are: dots above the eyes; on the sides of the muzzle, fading off on the cheeks, never reaching the underside of the ears; two spots on the chest are preferred to a breastplate; on the throat; under the tail; on the legs the markings extend from the feet to the pasterns, progressively lessening, though never covering more than one-third of the leg, rising slightly higher on the inside of the
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