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lips are clean, dry and tight, without flews; fully pigmented and matches nose color. The jaws are powerful with well-muscled cheeks, hinged well back. Scissor bite is preferred. Teeth are well developed, strong and evenly spaced. Whiskers must not be trimmed or removed. Honorable scars or broken/missing teeth resulting from field work are not to be penalized. Neck, Topline, Body: The neck is clean, moderately long, slightly arched, tapering slightly from the shoulders to the head and is well set. The line of the back is strong and level. The loin is short, slightly arched and muscular. The croup is slightly sloping with the tail set on at the end of the croup. The tail may be docked, natural bobtail or natural full tail without preference. The natural tail is thick at the base and tapers toward the tip. Tail carriage is dependent upon attitude, from an upward curve to straight out behind. Viewed from the front, the chest between the forelegs is well filled in on either side of a prominent sternum and is of moderate width with a pronounced forechest. The ribs extend well back and are well sprung, forming a broad, strong back, then curving down and inward to form a deep body. The brisket extends to just below the elbow. The underline of the rib cage curves gradually into a waist. Forequarters: Forechest should be well developed with a pronounced sternum. Shoulders should be strong and muscular but without heaviness; length of the Shoulder Blade is slightly longer than the upper arm. Elbows are close to the body, being neither loose nor tied and falling directly beneath the highest point of the shoulder blade. The forearms are short, slightly curved and well boned; forearms do not appear straight, the distance between the wrists is slightly narrower than the distance between the elbows; toes point forward. Pasterns are strong, short and nearly vertical. Leg length from elbow to ground is approximately one third the height from withers to ground. The feet are compact, oval in shape, turning neither in nor out; pads are thick with strong nails. The front dewclaws may be removed. Hindquarters: Hindquarters are strong and flexible with well muscled thighs; the length of the upper thigh is somewhat longer than the lower thigh. The hindquarters and forequarters are in balance. Stifles are well bent and hocks are well let down. Pasterns are short, strong and perpendicular to the ground; when viewed from the rear are parallel. Rear declaws are removed. The feet are compact, similar in shape and slightly smaller than the front; the two middle toes longer than outer toes, toes neither turn in or out; thick pads and strong nails. Coat: The coat is short, dense, medium-hard to smooth, with sheen. Whiskers must not be trimmed or removed. Disqualification - Wire, broken coat, long coat, hairlessness, or any suggestion of kink or curl. Color: Any bi-color or tri-color, without preference, but must always have some white, which may be of any size and located anywhere on the dog. Ticking in any white portion is acceptable as long as white is predominant. Disqualification - Merle pattern or absence of white. Gait: A lively, effortless ground covering trot that displays an air of agility and power. Forelegs reach well and extend forward without too much lift and in unison with the strong driving power of the rear quarters. The front legs do not move in exact parallels but incline slightly inward to compensate for the shortness of leg and width of chest. Viewed from any position, legs turn
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