GENERAL
APPEARANCE:
The Cesky Terrier was developed in 1949 by
Frantisek Horak, by breeding a Sealyham Terrier to a Scottish
Terrier. Through selective breeding of the offspring of this
cross, the Cesky Terrier breed evolved and was recognized by the
Federation Cynoligique Internationale (FCI) in 1963. The Cesky
Terrier was bred to hunt foxes and badger, and to go to ground.
Short-legged, long-haired, and muscular, the Cesky Terrier
has an overall rectangular appearance. The Cesky Terrier's
distinctive grooming style, with a fall of hair over the eyes, and
long hair on the legs and underside, served to protect it while
hunting. Because the
Cesky Terrier was bred to hunt both singularly and in packs, he
normally gets along well with other dogs, and is markedly calmer
than other terriers. Today, the Cesky Terrier is seen most often
as a pleasant and devoted companion dog.
SIZE,
PROPORTION, SUBSTANCE:
Height – Cesky Terriers usually
measure 10 to 12 ½ inches at the withers, with the ideal being 11
½ for males and 10 ¾ for females.
Weight – Ideal weight range is from 13-22 pounds. Length
– The Cesky Terrier is approximately 1 ½ times as long
as he is high (measured from sternum to buttocks and top of
withers to ground). However,
overall balance is more important than specific measurements.
Substance – The Cesky Terrier is a solidly
built little dog, well muscled, full of strength and quality.
The breed has substance and bone without being heavy or
coarse.
HEAD:
The head is shaped like a long, blunt,
not-too-broad wedge. Eyes
– Medium size, deep set with a friendly expression,
partially covered by a fall of hair over the eyes.
Brown, or dark brown, in blue-gray dogs, light brown or
yellow in brown dogs. The eye rims are black in blue-gray dogs and liver colored in
brown dogs. Ears
– The ears, a typical terrier drop ear, are of medium
size, folding in such a way as to well cover the orifice.
They are set on rather high and fall flat along the cheeks.
The ears are shaped like a triangle, with the shorter side
of the triangle at the fold of the ear.
Skull – The skull is medium long, balanced
and not coarse, not too broad between the ears.
The planes are level and parallel with no protrusions.
Cheekbones are moderately prominent.
Muzzle and Jaws – The muzzle to back skull
ratio is balanced, with strong upper and lower jaws.
The Cesky Terrier should never have a weak, short, or
snipey foreface. Stop
– Very little or none.
Nose – Black in blue-gray dogs and liver
colored in brown dogs. Teeth
– Teeth strong, regularly aligned and set square to the
jaw. There should be
a fully developed under jaw with a scissors or level bite and full
dentition.
NECK,
TOPLINE AND BODY:
Neck – Medium
in length, arched, strong, and set on rather high. The skin on the throat should be loose, but without a dewlap.
Topline – Distinctive to the breed.
Not level, with a slight arch over the loins and hips
slightly higher than the withers.
Body – Medium build, with a substantial,
slightly curved appearance. Withers are not very pronounced and
blending smoothly into the line of the back.
There
should be no recession or softness behind the withers. Chest and
Ribs – The brisket is more cylindrical than deep with
well-sprung ribs. There
is only moderate tuck-up. Tail
– The tail is undocked and is 7 to 8 inches long, thick,
well coated, and set relatively low. At rest the tail is carried
down with a slight bend at the tip.
In movement, it may be carried down with a slight bend at
the tip, or at a level, or at a high position.
A gay or squirrel tail should be penalized.
FOREQUARTERS:
Shoulder
– Shoulders
are well laid back, flexible and muscular.
Forelegs – Straight and strong. Elbows are
loose, but should not protrude.
HINDQUARTERS:
The upper thighs
are muscular and the lower thighs are short and well angulated.
The hocks are well let down and set parallel to each other.
Croup strongly developed, muscular, pelvis moderately
slanting. Ideally, hip bones are slightly higher than the withers.
FEET:
The
front feet are larger than the back feet. Feet have well arched
toes and strong toenails. The
toenails may be any color. The
pads are well developed, strong and full.
Dewclaws may be removed.
COAT:
The texture of
the hair is soft, not hard or harsh, and is long, fine but firm,
slightly wavy with a silky gloss. Longer hair is wavy.
No preference is given to either thick or sparse
furnishings. The Cesky Terrier coat is clipped and trimmed, never
stripped. Grooming
– A distinctive fall of hair over the eyes blends into
the beard. On the
lower parts of the legs, under the chest and belly the hair is
long. In show
condition, the hair at the upper side of the neck, and on the back
should be approximately ½ inch long.
It should be tapered down the sides of the body, blending
into the longer furnishings. Hair on the shoulders and thighs may
be somewhat shorter. The hair should be quite short on the ears, cheeks, and
throat, and around the vent.
The transition between the areas with longer and shorter
hair should be pleasing to the eye, never abrupt and well blended
without any hard lines or edges.
COLOR:
Blue-gray
(born black). Light brown (born chocolate) is acceptable, but very
uncommon. The overall color of the mature blue-gray Cesky Terrier
will range from dark charcoal (almost black) to a very pale
platinum (not be confused with white). There is no color
preference within the acceptable blue-gray color range.
Individual dogs may manifest more than one shade of gray. A
brindle coat on a dog more that two years old should be penalized.
Shades of beige, silver/lighter gray, or off white on the
lower part of the head, neck, ribcage, stomach, lower legs and
under the tail are acceptable, and should not be confused with
white markings. White markings are only permitted on the chest,
feet, legs, and lower parts of the head and neck. An occasional white tip on the tail or white collar on the
neck is also acceptable. The basic gray color, or colors, must
predominate. No more than 20 percent of the coat color should be
white. The skin is gray on the blue-gray dogs and pink on light
brown dogs. If white coloring is present on the coat of blue-gray
dogs, the skin underlying the white hair will be pink.
GAIT:
The
Cesky Terrier gait is lively, with forelegs moving freely
alongside the body, not under it, in a straight forward motion.
Elbows must not protrude.
The trot is such that the dog can easily follow the normal
walking pace of a human. The
gallop is slow but with staying power.
TEMPERAMENT:
The Cesky Terrier is a pleasant dog which
exhibits much less aggressiveness than other terriers and gets
along well with other dogs as well as people.
He should never be asked to spar in the show ring.
He is alert and friendly, balanced, pleasant and cheerful.
While somewhat reserved towards strangers, the Cesky Terrier is of
calm and kind disposition. The
Cesky Terrier should not be overly aggressive or overly shy.
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 and its effect upon the
health and welfare of the dog.
