FCI-Standard N° 221 / 05. 02. 1999 / GB
FRISIAN WATER DOG
(Wetterhoun)
TRANSLATION : Yoka ten Berge and Prof. Triquet.
ORIGIN : The Netherlands.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 30.05.1989.
UTILIZATION : Dog for otter hunting.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 8 Retrievers-Flushing Dogs-Water Dogs. Section
3 Water Dogs. With working
trial.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : A well balanced dog, traditionally used for otter
hunting. A sturdy animal, but
neither plump nor clumsy, square and thick set in overall build, with close
fitting skin, free from throatiness or dewlap.
Lips not pendulous.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Quiet dog with stubborn character, reserved about
strangers, an ideal guard-dog.
HEAD : Dry, size in balance to the body, strong and powerful.
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Slightly rounded, giving the impression of being wider than long,
gently sloping into the cheeks.
Skull and muzzle of the same length.
Stop : The skull falls gently away into the foreface, stop only slightly
indicated.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Well developed, not split.
Black for dogs with black ground colour and brown for dogs with brown
ground colour. Nostrils well
developed and open.
Muzzle : Powerful, tapering slightly to the nose, not pointed, but truncated.
Nasal bridge broad and straight, neither concave nor convex when
viewed from the side.
Lips : Tightly fitting, not overhanging.
Jaws/Teeth : Teeth powerful, scissor bite.
Cheeks : Musculature moderately developed.
Eyes : Of medium size, oval, with tightly fitting lids, without showing the
conjunctiva; placed slightly slanting, causing a somewhat grim expression.
They are neither bulging nor deep-set.
Colour dark-brown for dogs with a black ground colour, and brown for
dogs with a brown ground colour.
Bird of prey eyes are objectionable.
Leathers : Set rather low. The
auricle is so little developed that ears hang flat along the head without
any break. Objectionable are
strongly developed auricles with the break not immediately at the set on,
but further down causing the ear lobe not to hang close to the head.
The ears are moderately long and have the form of a mason’s trowel.
The coating of the ear is a typical characteristic of the breed.
It is curled, rather long at the set-on of the ear, decreasing in
length to the lower 1/3 part where the ear is covered with short hair.
NECK : Short, strong, round, merging into the topline in a very blunt angle,
i.e. the head is mostly carried low.
The neck slightly arched.
No throatiness or dewlap.
BODY : Very powerful.
Back : Short and straight.
Loin : Strong.
Croup : Only slightly sloping.
Chest : Wide, showing more width than depth, so that the forefeet are rather
wide apart, rounded, not reaching lower than the elbow.
Ribs well rounded and well developed towards the rear.
Underline and belly : Only moderately tucked up.
TAIL : Long, carried as ring tail over or alongside the croup.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS :
Shoulders :. Shoulder blade,
well-laid against the chest; obliquely placed and well angulated.
Forearm : Powerful and straight.
Pasterns : Straight, not obliquely set.
Fore feet : Round, toes well developed and arched, pads thick.
HINDQUARTERS : Powerful, moderately angulated.
Lower thigh : Not too long.
Hock joint : Placed low.
Rear pasterns : Short.
Hindfeet : Round with well developed pads.
COAT
HAIR : With the exception of the head and legs, the body is covered with
tight curls consisting of firm, strong tufts of hair.
Sparse curls or curls of thin hair tufts give the dog a woolly
appearance, which must be considered a serious fault.
The coat itself is rather coarse in texture and has a greasy touch.
COLOUR : Solid black or brown, or black with white markings, or brown with
white markings. Ticking or roan
in the white are permitted.
SIZE : Ideal size for dogs
: 59 cm, for bitches : 55 cm.
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.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be
disqualified.
N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully
descended into the scrotum.
