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Comparison of FCI, AKC and CKC standards

FCI AKC CKC GENERAL APPEARANCE Longhaired tricoloured working dog, of above medium size, sturdily built, yet agile; well balanced in all parts The Bernese Mountain Dog is a striking. tri-colored, large dog. He is sturdy and balanced. He is intelligent, strong and agile enough to do the draft and droving work for which he was used in the mountainous regions of his origin. Dogs appear masculine, while bitches are distinctly feminine. Large, sturdy, well-balanced working dog of substantial bone. Square in appearance from withers to ground and withers to tail set. Heavy-coated with distinctive characteristic markings. In comparison with the opposite sex, dogs appear masculine, bitches feminine without loss of type. TEMPERAMENT Self confident, attentive, vigilant, fearless in situations of every day life, good natured and devoted to his own people, self-assured and friendly towards strangers; of average and docile temperament The temperament- is self-confident, alert and good-natured, never sharp or shy. The Bernese Mountain Dog should stand steady, though may remain aloof to the attentions of strangers. The Bernese temperament is one of the breed's strongest assets. Consistent, dependable, with a strong desire to please. Self-confident, alert, good natured. Attached and loyal to human family; may be aloof or suspicious with strangers, but never sharp or shy. A dog must stand for examination when required to do so by its handler. SIZE & PROPORTION Males 64 - 70 cm at withers, ideal size 66 - 68 cm Females: 58 - 66 cm at withers, ideal size 60 - 63 cm proportions - Height at withers : length of body = 9 : 10 compact rather than long Measured at the withers, dogs are 25 to 27 1/2 inches; bitches are 23 to 26 inches. Though appearing square, Bernese Mountain Dogs are slightly longer in body than they are tall. Dogs 24.4-27.6 inches (62-70 cm), best size 26-26.8 inches (66-68 cm); bitches 22.8-26 inches (58-66 cm) best size 23.6-24.8 inches (60-63 cm). Height measured at withers. Approximately square from withers to ground and withers to tail set. The stocky, well-balanced appearance must be maintained. HEAD strong; skull - viewed from front and in profile very slightly rounded; facial-cranial depression (stop) well defined without being too pronounced; frontal furrow slightly marked. Nose - black. Muzzle - strong, of medium length; nasal bridge straight. Lips - not much developed; well fitting to the jaws; with black pigmentation. Mouth - strong, complete dentition, scissor bite. Eyes - dark brown, almond shaped, with well fitting eyelids. Ears - triangular shape, slightly rounded at the tip, set high, medium sized, in repose hanging flat and close to the head. The skull - is flat on top and broad, with a slight furrow and a well-defined, but not exaggerated stop. The nose - is always black. The muzzle - is strong and straight. The lips - are clean and, as the Bernese Mountain Dog is a dry-mouthed breed, the flews are only slightly developed. The teeth - meet in a scissors bite. An overshot or undershot bite is a serious fault. Dentition is complete. The eyes - are dark brown and slightly oval in shape with close-fitting eyelids. Inverted or everted eyelids are serious faults. Blue eye color is a disqualification. The ears - are medium sized, set high, triangular in shape, gently rounded at the tip, and hang close to the head when in repose. When the Bernese Mountain Dog is alert, the ears are brought forward and raised at the base; the top of the ear is level with the top of the skull. Expression - is intelligent, animated and gentle. Skull - Flat and broad with a slight furrow; defined, but not exaggerated stop. Nostrils - well open and black in colour. Muzzle - strong and straight; roughly square proportions, tapering only very slightly. Muzzle is slightly shorter than length of skull. Lips - are fairly clean and tight; black in colour. Teeth - jaw is strong with good teeth meeting in a scissors bite. Dentition should be complete. Eyes - dark brown in colour, almond shaped, and well set apart; tight eyelids. Ears - middle-sized triangular in shape with rounded tip. Set above eye level high on side of head; hanging close to the head in repose, brought forward at the base when alert. Expression - is intelligent, animated and gentle. NECK, BODY & TAIL Neck - strong, muscular, of medium length. Body - compact and sturdy. Back - firm, straight and level. Loins - broad and strong. Rump - slightly rounded. Chest - broad and deep, reaching to the elbows; forechest well developed; chest and ribcage of wide-oval cross-section. Tail - bushy, reaching at least to the hocks; hanging straight down when at rest; carried level with back or slightly above when moving. Belly - not tucked up. The neck - is strong, muscular and of medium length. The body - is full. The back - is broad and firm. The topline is level from the withers to the croup. The loin - is strong. The croup - is broad and smoothly rounded to the tail insertion. The chest - is deep and capacious with well-sprung, but not barrel-shaped, ribs and brisket reaching at least to the elbows. The tail - is bushy. It should be carried low when in repose. An upward swirl is permissible when the dog is alert, but the tail may never curl or be carried over the back. The bones in the tail should feel straight and should reach to the hock joint or below. A kink in the tail is a fault. Neck - Strong, muscular, of medium length, well set on. Dew-laps are very slightly developed. The body - is sturdy. The back - is firm and level. Loins - are strong and muscular. The croup - is broad, well muscled. The chest - is broad, with good depth of brisket reaching at least to the elbows; ribs are well sprung. Tail - Bushy, hanging straight, with bone reaching to the hock joint or slightly below. Carried low in repose, higher when the dog is in motion or alert. An upward arc is permissible, but the tail should never curl over itself or be carried over the back. FOREQUARTERS Shoulders - shoulder-blades long, strong and well laid back, forming a not too open angle with the upper arm, well attached to the chest, well muscled. Forequarters - Rather wide apart, straight and parallel. Pasterns - almost vertical (or very slightly oblique), firm. Feet - short, round and tightly bunched; well arched toes. The shoulders - are moderately laid back, flat-lying, well muscled and never loose. The legs - are straight and strong. Sturdy bone is of great importance. The elbows are well under the shoulder when the dog is standing. The pasterns - slope very slightly, but are never weak. The feet- are round and compact with well-arched toes. Dewclaws - may be removed. Shoulders - are well muscled, flat lying and well laid back. Forelegs - are straight with substantial bone; parallel stance. Elbows are well under shoulders. Pasterns - are slightly sloping, but not weak. Feet - are proportionate in size, round and compact. Dew claws - are preferably removed. HINDQUARTERS Hindquarters - Seen from the rear straight and not too narrow; Thighs - rather long, strong, broad and well muscled, with well bent stifles Hocks - strong, well angulated; hocks and feet - neither turning in nor out dewclaws - must be removed The thighs - are broad, strong and muscular. The stifles- are moderately bent and taper smoothly into the hocks. The hocks - are well let down and straight as viewed from the rear. Feet - are compact and turn neither in nor out. Dewclaws - should be removed. The hindquarters are powerful, with broad, well-muscled thighs and substantial bone. Stifles - are well angulated. Hocks - are well let down, turning neither in nor out. Pasterns are wide and straight, standing parallel. Feet - are proportionate in size, round and compact. Dew claws - must be removed in the first few days of life. GAIT/MOVEMENT Sound and balanced movement in all gaits covering a lot of ground; free stride reaching well out in front, with plenty of drive from behind; at the trot coming and going, legs moving forward straight and parallel. The natural working gait of the Bernese Mountain Dog is a slow trot. However, in keeping with his use in draft and droving work, he is capable of speed and agility. There is good reach in front. Powerful drive from the rear is transmitted through a level back. There is no wasted action. Front and rear legs on each side follow through in the same plane. At increased speed, legs tend to converge toward the center line. The natural travelling gait of the breed is a slow trot, but it is capable of speed and agility. Good reach in front. Strong drive from the rear, flexing well at the stifles. The level backline is maintained; there is no wasted action. Front and rear feet of each side travel in lines parallel to direction of motion, converging towards a centre line at increased speeds. COAT Long, smooth or slightly wavy The coat is thick, moderately long and slightly wavy or straight. It has a bright natural sheen. Extremely curly or extremely dull-looking coats are undesirable. The Bernese Mountain Dog is shown in natural coat and undue trimming is to be discouraged. The adult coat is thick, moderately long, possibly with a slight wave but never curly. It has a bright natural sheen. In texture it is soft rather than harsh, but is weather resistant, easily kept and resists matting. There is a soft, seasonal undercoat. COLOR AND MARKINGS Jet black with rich tan markings on cheeks, over the eyes, on all four legs and on the chest, and with white markings as follows: clean white symmetrical markings on the head: blaze extending towards the nose on both sides to a muzzle band; the blaze should not reach the tan markings above the eyes, and the white muzzle band should not extend beyond the corners of the mouth moderately large, unbroken white markings on throat and chest desirable: white feet, white tip of tail tolerated: small white patch on nape of neck, small white anal patch. The Bernese Mountain Dog is tri-colored. The ground color is jet black. The markings are rich rust and clear white. Symmetry of markings is desired. Rust appears over each eye, on the cheeks reaching to at least the corner of the mouth, on each side of the chest, on all four legs, and under the tail. There is a white blaze and muzzle band. A white marking on the chest typically forms an inverted cross. The tip of the tail is white. White on the feet is desired but must not extend higher than the pasterns. Markings other than described are to be faulted in direct relationship to the extent of the deviation. White legs or a white collar are serious faults. Any ground color other than black is a disqualification. Compulsory markings - Jet-black ground colour. Rich russet markings (dark reddish brown is most favoured) appear on the cheeks, in a spot over each eye, in a patch above each foreleg, and on all four legs between the black of the upper leg and the white of the feet. Clean white markings as follows: On chest extending uninterrupted to under chin; also a slight- to middle-sized blaze extending into a muzzle band which is not so wide as to obliterate the russet on the cheek (and which preferably does not extend past the corners of the mouth). Preferable markings: White feet with white reaching at the highest the pasterns and a white tip of tail. Marking should be symmetrical. Too little white is preferable to too much. FAULTS & DISQUALIFICATIONS Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault which should be penalized in proportion to its seriousness and importance. Light bone structure; undershot or overshot bite; absence of teeth other than 1 or 2 PM 1 (first premolar), M 3 (third molar) not to be considered; entropion, ectropion; sway back, rump higher than withers, sloping backline; curled tail, kink tail; distinctly curled coat; faults of colour and markings - absence of white on head, blaze too large and/or muzzle band reaching noticeably beyond the corners of the mouth, large white patch on nape of neck, white collar, white markings on forelegs reaching distinctly beyond half-way of pasterns ("boots"), disturbingly asymmetrical white markings on head and chest, black ticks and stripes on white of chest, "dirty" white (strong spots of pigmentation), black coat with a touch of brown or red; weak temperament, aggressiveness. Disqualifying faults - split nose; wall eye; short coat, double coat (Stockhaar); other than tricoloured coat; other than black main colour. N.B. Males should have two apparently normally developed testicles fully descended into the scrotum. Markings other than described are to be faulted in direct relationship to the extent of the deviation. White legs or a white collar are serious faults. A kink in the tail is a fault. Inverted or everted eyelids are serious faults. An overshot or undershot bite is a serious fault. Disqualifications - Blue eye color. Any ground color other than black. A fault is any deviation from the standard, to be weighed in accordance with the degree of deviation. In addition and in particular, Major faults - ectropion or entropion; undershot or overshot mouth; tail rolled over back. Minor faults (subject to degree of fault) - deficiency of type, particularly lack of substance; overly long or thin body; light or round eyes; level bite; incomplete dentition; too narrow or too snipey muzzle; too massive or too light head; too light russet markings or impure colour; grey colouring in black coat; nonsymmetrical markings, especially facial; white neck patch; white anal patch; curly coat in adult dog; splayed feet; kink in tail. Disqualifications - Cryptorchid or monorchid males; split nose; absent markings as described in compulsory markings; white neck ring; blue eye; ground colour other than black.