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ORIGIN
Germany
PURPOSE
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 Ruthimeyer", 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 Wolfsspitz 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 around 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, and
cheeky appearance.
Important Proportions
the ration 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 of strangers
and lack of hinting 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 overly long and stands in pleasing proportion to the skull. (In
Wolfspitz/Keeshond, giant Spitz and Medium-size Spitz the ratio length of muzzle to length
of the skull is approximately 2:3, in Miniature-size Spitz and Toy Spitz the ratio length
of the muzzle to length of the skull is 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, except brown in brown
Spitz.
Jaws/teeth: The jaws are normally developed and show a complete scissors 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 shaped, 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 with 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, cottony, 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/Keeshond: 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 the top must be a shining black without any white or other
markings.
Brown Spitz: The brown Spitz should be uniformly dark brown.
White Spitz: The coat should be pure white without any trace of yellow, which often
occurs, especially on the ears.
Orange Spitz: The orange Spitz should be evenly coloured in the medium colour range.
Grey-shaded Spitz (Keeshond): Grey-shaded is a silver grey with black hair-tips. Muzzle
and ears dark in colour; around the eyes - well defined "spectacles", shown as a
delicately penciled 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; forelegs and hindlegs - without any black marking under the elbows or
stifles, except slight penciling on the toes; black tip of tail; underside of tail and
trousers pale silver grey.
Other coloured Spitz: the term "other colours" covers all shades of
colour, such
as: cream, cream-sable, orange-sable, black and tan; and parti-colour (with white always
as main colour.) The black, brown, grey or orange patches must be distributed over the
whole body.
SIZE
(1" = 2.54 cm)
Height at the withers:
a) Wolfspitz/Keeshond 49 cm. +/- 6 cm. (19 1/4 " +/-
2 1/3")
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.
WEIGHT
Each variety of German Spitz should have a weight corresponding to its size.
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.
Serious faults
· Faults in construction.
· Head too flat; distinct apple head.
· Flesh-coloured nose, eyelids and lips.
· In Wolfspitz/Keeshond, Giant Spitz and Medium-size Spitz - missing teeth.
· Faults in movement.
· In grey-shaded Spitz - missing of distinct markings of the face.
Eliminating faults
· Gap in fontanel.
· Overshot or undershot bite.
· Ectropion or entropion.
· Semi-pricked ears.
· Definite white patches in all non-white Spitz.
Note - Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles
fully descended into the scrotum.
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