FEDERATION CYNOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE
SECRETERIAT GENERAL. 13, Place Albert I - B 6530 THUIN (Belg.)
FCI-Standard N⁰ / / GB

STANDARD FOR : APPENZELL MOUNTAIN DOG

ORIGIN AND PURPOSE: A cattle driving and watch dog, capable and incorruptible defender of his master. Origin not given.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Dog of medium size, well proportioned; nearly square in shape, well muscled and lively, with a humorous facial expression.

TEMPERAMENT: Fearless, self assured, full of temperament, loyal, intelligent with a natural bonding instinct. A cattle driving and watch dog, capable and Incorruptible defender of his master. Easy to train as guard and avalanche dog.

SIZE: Height at the withers:

48 - 58cm or 18.5 to 23 Inches, desired size: females 48 - 54cm or 28.5 - 20.5"; males 52 - 58cm or 20.5 to 23".

COAT AND COLOR: Basic color is black with symetrical and regular white and tan markings. A tan spot above each eye is mandatory. Well defined blaze on the forehead extending between the eyes and all around the muzzle band. Furthermore, a clean, white broad streak should run from the chin down to and over the forechest. The four feet should be white as well as the tip of the tail. Tan at the legs, cheeks and chest, always placed between the black and the white. A white spot on the nape, and a lightly defined half collar are permissible; a very thin full white collar is tolerated but not desirable.

HEAD: In harmonious proportion to the body. Skull: Rather flat, narrowing evenly from the broadest part between the ears and the muzzle. Slight furrow between the eyes and on the forehead.

Stop slightly defined, cheeks moderately prominent. Muzzle: Relatively strong; Its length would be In a proportion of 4:5 to the skull, slightly converging from all sides. Nose: Black.

Mouth: Scissor bite, (level bite permissible). Lips should be clean and tight fitting. Eyes: Rather small, almond shaped, not bulging, dark brown, lively, placed slightly obliquely.

Ears: Rather high, V-shaped with rounded tips, in response hanging close to the head, when alert raised at base and brought slightly forward so that when seen from above and In profile the whole head together with the ears has he characteristic triangular shape.

NECK: Of medium length, strong and dry. Chest broad and deep, with good forechest.

FOREQUARTERS: Strong boned.

Shoulders long and sloping. Upper arm almost equal in length to the scapula. Lower arm straight as viewed from the front and In profile.

BODY: Back strong and straight. The cross section of the ribcage is oval in shape. The topline, the legs, and the ground should form a rectangle, the proportion between height at withers to body length being 9:10. Lions strong.

HINDOUARTERS: Rear legs well

angulated metatarsus relatively long. Feet short, arched, toes well closed (cat feet). Dewclaws at the rear legs must be removed.

TAIL: Set rather high, strong, of medium length, densely covered with hair, which is slightly longer on the lower part of the tail. In action, the tall is carried curled over and to the side of the croup.

GAIT: Far-reaching, elastic, with a powerful rear drive.

FAULTS: Any deviation from the standard; I.e., lack of type and Insufficiently pronounced sex characteristics, over or under size, too long In body or out of balance, too high In the croup and loins. Obesity.

Head too large or too small, domed skull, muzzle too short or too long, too narrow, snipey or dish faced. Overshot or undershot bite, missing teeth, stop, lips and cheeks too pronounced. Round, bulging and too light eye. Ears too short, with pointed tips, set too high, standing off or badly carried.

Dip In the back, tucked-up belly, flatsidedness, out at elbows, down in the pastern, insufficient angulation, splay feet, clumsy and narrow gait. Sickle shaped or hanging tail.

Colors and markings not conforming to the standard: Interrupted white blaze, interrupted white from the chin to chest, blaze merging with the white spot on the nape, white on the chest Intermixed with black and brown sots of extending laterally, missing tan eye spots, no tan on cheeks, visible brown or gray undercoat, broad full white collar. White extending over the pastern joints of the forelegs and an missing between the white and black (boots) on legs. Lack of self-assurance and temperament, shyness, viciousness.

DISQUALIFICATIONS: Under or over size, several missing molars and premolars, overshot or undershot bite, hanging tail, missing tan markings, colors not conforming to the standard, wide full collar, boots, shyness or viciousness. Cryptorchids and monorchids.

Note: Males should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

Printed with permission of the FCI