ORIGINAL BREED STANDARD (1885)

APPEARANCE: Body short, muscular, compact; great symmetry; elastic gallop; ambling or pacing characteristic of trot or walk. EARS: Medium-sized; carried flat to head; moderately arched. NECK: Fairly long; arched gracefully; well-coated with hair. LOIN: Stout; gently arched. TAIL: Preferably none; should never exceed 1 1/2-2 in. in adults; puppies' tails docked at first joint if born with tails. SKULL: Capacious, squarely formed; well-covered with hair; well-arched parts over eyes. EYES: Vary with colour; very dark preferred. NOSE: Black; large; capacious. TEETH: Strong, large; evenly placed; level. JAW: Fairly long; strong; square; cut off. STOP: Well-defined.

SHOULDERS: Sloping, narrow at points; lower at shoulder than at loin. FORELEGS: Straight; good bone; length medium; not leggy; well-coated. FEET: Small, round; toes well-arched; pads thick, hard. HINDQUARTERS: Round, muscular; hams densely coated. HOCKS: Well let-down. RIBS: Well-sprung; brisket deep; capacious. COAT: Profuse; good hard texture, not straight; shaggy, free from curl; undercoat waterproof. COLOUR: Grey, grizzle, blue or blue-merled with or without white markings or in reverse. Shades of brown or fawn objectionable. SIZE: Height, males 22in and up; females slightly less; measurement from shoulder to stern practically same as height. Type, soundness, balance,character more important than size.

BRITISH BREED STANDARD (1986) GENERAL APPEARANCE: Strong, square-looking dog with great symmetry and overall soundness. Absolutely free from legginess, profusely coated all over. A thick-set, muscular, able-bodied dog with a most intelligent expression. The natural outline should not be artificially changed by scissoring or clipping. CHARACTERISTICS: Of great stamina, exhibiting a gently rising topline and a pear-shaped body when viewed from above. The gait has a typical roll when ambling or walking. Bark has a distinctive toned quality. TEMPERAMENT: A biddable dog of even disposition. Bold, faithful and trustworthy, with no suggestion of nervousness or unprovoked aggression.

HEAD AND SKULL: In proportion to the size of the body. Skull capacious, rather square. Well arched above eyes, stop well defined. Muzzle strong, square and truncated, measuring approximately half of the total head length. Nose large and black. Nostrils wide. EYES: Set well apart. Dark or wall eyes. Two blue eyes acceptable. Light eyes undesirable. Pigmentation on the eye rim is preferred. EARS: Small and carried flat to side of head. MOUTH: Teeth strong, large and evenly placed. Scissor bite - jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Pincer tolerated but undesirable. NECK: Fairly long, strong, arched gracefully.

FOREQUARTERS: Forelegs perfectly straight, with plenty of bone, holding body well from ground. Elbows fitting close to brisket. Shoulders should be well laid back, being narrower at the point of withers than at the point of shoulder. Loaded shoulders undesirable. Dog standing lower at withers than loin. BODY: Rather short and compact, with well sprung ribs, and deep capacious brisket.

HINDQUARTERS: Loin very sturdy, broad and gently arched, quarters well covered, round and muscular, the second thigh is long and well developed, the stifle well turned, and the hocks set low. From the rear the hocks should be quite straight, with the feet turning neither in nor out.

FEET: Small, round and tight, toes well arched, pads thick and hard. Dew claws should be removed.

TAIL: Customarily completely docked.

GAIT/MOVEMENT: When walking, exhibits a bear-like roll from the rear. When trotting, shows effortless extension and strong driving rear action, with legs moving straight along line of travel. Very elastic at the gallop. At slow speeds, some dogs may tend to pace. When moving, the head carriage may adopt a naturally lower position.

COAT: Profuse, of good harsh texture, not straight, but shaggy and free from curl. Undercoat of waterproof pile. Head and skull well covered with hair, ears moderately coated, neck well coated, forelegs well coated all round, hindquarters more heavily coated than rest of body. Quality, texture, and profusion to be considered above mere length.

COLOUR: Any shade of grey, grizzle or blue. Body and hindquarters of solid colour with or without white socks. White patches in the solid area to be discouraged. Head, neck, forequarters and underbelly to be white with or without markings. Any shade of brown undesirable.

SIZE: Height: dogs: 61 cms (24 inches) and upwards; bitches: 56 cms (22 inches) and upwards. Type and symmetry of greatest importance, and on no account to be sacrificed to size alone.

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.

NOTE: Male animals should have two appearantly normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

AMERICAN BREED STANDARD (1990) GENERAL APPEARANCE - A strong, compact, square, balanced dog. Taking him all around he is profusely, but not excessively coated, thickset, muscular and able-bodied. These qualities, combined with his agility, fit him for the demanding tasks required of a shepherd's or drover's dog. Therefore, soundness is of the greatest importance. His bark is loud with a distinctive "pot-casse" ring in it. SIZE, PROPORTION, SUBSTANCE - Type, character and balance are of greater importanceand are on no account to be sacrificed to size alone. Size - Height (measured from top of withers to the ground), Dogs: 22 inches (55.8 cm) and upward. Bitches: 21 inches (53.3 cm) and upward. Proportion - Length (measured from point of shoulder to point of ischium /tuberosity/) practically the same as the height. Absolutely free from legginess or weaselness. Substance - Well muscled with plenty of bone. HEAD - A most intelligent expression. Eyes - Brown, blue or one of each. If brown, very dark is preferred. If blue, a pearl, china or wall-eye is considered typical. An amber or yellow eye is most objectionable. Ears - Medium sized and carried flat to the side of the head. Skull - Capacious and rather squarely formed giving plenty of room for brain power. The parts over the eyes (superorbital ridges) are well arched. The whole, well covered with hair. Stop - Well defined. Jaw - Fairly long, strong and truncated. Attention is particularly called to the above properties, as a long, narrow head or snipy muzzle is a deformity. Nose - Always black, large and capacious. Teeth - Strong, large and evenly placed. The bite is level or tight scissors.

NECK, TOPLINE, BODY - Neck - Fairly long and arched gracefully. Topline - Stands lower at the withers than at the loin with no indication of softness or weakness. Attention is particularly called to this topline as it is a distinguishing characteristic of the breed. Body - Rather short and very compact, broader at the rump than at the shoulders, ribs well sprung and brisket deep and capacious. Neither slab-sided nor barrel- chested. The loin is very stout and gently arched. Tail - Docked close to the body, when not naturally bobtailed. FOREQUARTERS - Shoulders well laid back and narrow at the points. The forelegs dead straight with plenty of bone. The measurements from the withers to the elbow and from the elbow to the ground are practically the same. HINDQUARTERS - Round and muscular with well let down hocks. When standing, the metatarsi are perpendicular to the ground when viewed from any angle. FEET - Small and round, toes well arched, pads thick and hard, feet pointing straight ahead. COAT - Profuse, but not so excessive as to give the impression of the dog being overly fat, and of a good hard texture; not straight, but shaggy and free from curl. Quality and texture of coat to be considered above mere profuseness. Softness or flatness of coat to be considered a fault. The undercoat is a waterproof pile when not removed by grooming or season. Ears coated moderately. The whole skull well covered with hair. The neck well coated with hair. The forelegs well covered all around. The hams densely coated with a thick, long jacket in excess of any other part. Neither the natural outline nor the natural texture of the coat may be changed by any artificial means except that the feet and rear may be trimmed for cleanliness. COLOR - Any shade of gray, grizzle, blue or blue merle with or without white markings or in reverse. Any shade of brown or fawn to be considered distinctly objectionable and not to be encouraged. GAIT - When trotting, movement is free and powerful, seemingly effortless, with good reach and drive, and covering maximum ground with minimum steps. Very elastic at a gallop. May amble or pace at slower speeds. TEMPERAMENT - An adaptable, intelligent dog of even disposition, with no sign of aggression, shyness or nervousness.