The Kennel Club & FCI
English Toy Terrier
General Appearance
Well balanced, elegant and
compact, sleek and cleanly built.
Characteristics
Toy with Terrier characteristics.
Temperament
Alert, remembering that historically he could acquit himself
satisfactorily in the rat pit. Never unduly nervous.
Head
and Skull
Head long, narrow, flat skull, wedge-shaped
without emphasis of cheek muscles, well filled up under eyes. Top and
bottom jaws held tightly together within compressed lips. Slight stop.
Foreface tapers gently to provide wedge-shaped impression, in profile
similar to that seen when viewed from front. Although an illusion of
being overshot can result, any suggestion of snipey appearance is
undesirable. Nose black.
Eyes
Dark to black,
without light shading from iris. Relatively small, almond shaped,
obliquely set and sparkling, not prominent.
Ears
Candle-flame shape, slightly pointed tips, placed high upon back of
skull and proportionately close together. A guide to size can be
obtained by bending ear forward - it should not reach eye. From nine
months of age ear carriage must be erect. Entire inside of ear should
face front. Leather of ear thin.
Mouth
Jaws
strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper
teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Teeth
level and strong.
Neck
Long, graceful,
slightly arched. Shoulders well laid back. Line of neck flowing into
shoulders, and sloping off elegantly. Throatiness undesirable.
Forequarters
Legs falling straight from shoulders
with elbows close to chest providing a straight front. Fine bone
eminently desirable.
Body
Body compact, head
and legs proportionate thus producing correct balance. Back very
slightly curving from behind shoulder to loin, falling again to root of
tail. Chest narrow and deep with ribs well sprung. Loins well cut up.
Buttocks gently rounded.
Hindquarters
Well
rounded loin leading to a good turn of stifle; hocks well let down;
turning neither in nor out; a ‘tucked under’ appearance undesirable.
Feet
Dainty, compact; split up between toes;
well arched, with jet black nails, two middle toes of front feet rather
longer than others, hind feet cat-like. Hare feet undesirable.
Tail
Thick at root, tapering to point. Set low and
not reaching below hock. ‘Gay’ tail undesirable if displayed to excess.
Gait/Movement
Ideal fore-movement akin to the
‘extended trot’; hackney action not desirable; equally a ‘shuffling
gait’ undesirable. Hind action smooth with ease and precision combined
with drive, there should be flowing quality to indicate true soundness.
Coat
Thick, close and glossy. A density of short
hair required.
Colour
Black and Tan. The
black ebony, the tan likened to a new chestnut deeply rich. Colours not
running or blending into each other, but meeting abruptly, forming clear
and well defined lines of colour division. Forelegs tanned to knees in
front. The tan then continuing inside and at back of forelegs to point
just below elbows, the thin black line up each toe (pencilling) and a
clearly defined black mark (thumb mark) on centre of each pastern, and
under chin. Hindlegs well tanned in front and inside with black bar
dividing tan at centre of lower thigh. Heavy tan on outside of
hindquarters (breeching) undesirable. Muzzle well tanned. Nose black,
the black continuing along top of muzzle, curving below eyes to base of
throat. A tan spot above each eye and a small tan spot on each cheek.
Under-jaw and throat tanned, lip line black. Hair inside ears tan (tan
behind ears undesirable). Each side of chest has some tan. Vent and
under root of tail, tan. White hairs forming a patch anywhere totally
undesirable.
Size
Ideal weight 2.7-3.6 kgs
(6-8 lbs). Ideal height 25-30 cms (10-12 ins) at the shoulder.
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.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.
Last Updated - January 2009