General Appearance
The Lakeland Terrier was bred to hunt vermin in the rugged
shale mountains of the Lake District of northern England. He is a
small, workmanlike dog of square, sturdy build. His body is deep
and relatively narrow, which allows him to squeeze into rocky
dens. He has sufficient length of leg under him to cover rough
ground easily. His neck is long, leading smoothly into high
withers and a short topline ending in a high tail set. His
attitude is gay, friendly, and self-confident, but not overly
aggressive. He is alert and ready to go. His movement is lithe
and graceful, with a straight-ahead, free stride of good length.
His head is rectangular, jaws are powerful, and ears are
V-shaped. A dense, wiry coat is finished off with longer
furnishings on muzzle and legs.
Size, Proportion, Substance
The ideal height of the mature dog is 14-1/2 inches from the
withers to the ground, with up to a one-half inch deviation
either way permissible. Bitches may measure as much as one inch
less than dogs. The weight of the well balanced, mature male in
hard show condition averages approximately 17 pounds. Dogs of
other heights will be proportionately more or less. The dog is
squarely built, and bitches may be slightly longer than dogs.
Balance and proportion are of primary importance. Short-legged,
heavy-bodied dogs or overly refined, racy specimens are atypical
and should be penalized. The dog should have sufficient bone and
substance, so as to appear sturdy and workmanlike without any
suggestion of coarseness.
Head
The expression depends on the dog's mood of
the moment; although typically alert, it may be intense and
determined, or gay and even impish. The eyes,
moderately small and somewhat oval in outline, are set squarely
in the skull, fairly wide apart. In liver or liver and tan dogs,
the eyes are dark hazel to warm brown and eye rims are brown. In
all other colors, the eyes are warm brown to black and eye rims
are dark. The ears are small, V-shaped, their
fold just above the top of the skull, the inner edge close to the
side of the head, and the flap pointed toward the outside corner
of the eye. The skull is flat on top and
moderately broad, the cheeks flat and smooth as possible. The
stop is barely perceptible. The muzzle is strong
with straight nose bridge and good fill-in beneath the eyes. The
head is well balanced, rectangular, the length of skull equaling
the length of the muzzle when measured from occiput to stop, and
from stop to nose tip. The proportions of the head are critical
to correct type. An overlong foreface or short, wedge shaped head
are atypical and should be penalized. The nose
is black. A "winter" nose with faded pigment is
permitted, but not desired. Liver colored noses and lips are
permissible on liver coated dogs only. A pink or distinctly
spotted nose is very undesirable. The lips are dark. Jaws are
powerful. The teeth, which are comparatively
large, may meet in either a level, edge to edge bite, or a
slightly overlapping scissors bite. Specimens with teeth overshot
or undershot are to be disqualified.
Neck, Topline, Body
The neck is long; refined but strong; clean
at the throat; slightly arched, and widening gradually and
smoothly into the shoulders. The withers, that point at the back
of the neck where neck and body meet, are noticeably higher than
the level of the back.
The topline, measured from the withers to the
tail, is short and level. The body is strong and
supple. The moderately narrow oval chest is deep, extending to
the elbows. The ribs are well sprung and moderately rounded off
the vertebrae. The Lakeland Terrier is a breed of moderation. A
barrel-chested, big-bodied dog or one which is slab-sided and
lacking substance is atypical and should be penalized. The loins
are taut and short, although they may be slightly longer in
bitches. There is moderate tuck-up. The tail is
set high on the back. It is customarily docked so that when the
dog is set up in show position, the tip of the tail is level with
the occiput. In carriage, it is upright and a slight curve toward
the head is desirable. Behind the tail is a well-defined, broad
pelvic shelf. It is more developed in dogs than in bitches. The
tail tightly curled over the back is a fault.
Forequarters
The shoulders are well angulated. An imaginary line drawn from
the top of the shoulder blade should pass through the elbow. The
shoulder blade is long in proportion to the upper arm, which
allows for reasonable angulation while maintaining the more
upright "terrier front." The musculature of the
shoulders is flat and smooth. The elbows are held close to the
body, standing or moving. The forelegs are strong, clean and
straight when viewed from the front or side. There is no
appreciable bend at the pasterns. The feet are round and point
forward, the toes compact and strong. The pads are thick and
black or dark gray, except in liver colored dogs where they are
brown. The nails are strong and may be black or self-colored.
Dewclaws are removed.
Hindquarters
The thighs are powerful and well muscled. The hind legs are
well angulated, but not so much as to affect the balance between
front and rear, which allows for smooth efficient movement. The
stifles turn neither in nor out. The distance from the hock to
the ground is relatively short and the line from the hock to toes
is straight when viewed from the side. From the rear the hocks
are parallel to each other. Feet same as front. Dewclaws, if any,
are removed.
Coat
Two-ply or double, the outer coat is hard and wiry in texture,
the undercoat is close to the skin and soft and should never
overpower the wiry outer coat. The Lakeland is hand stripped to
show his outline. (Clipping is inappropriate for the show ring.)
The appearance should be neat and workmanlike. The coat on the
skull, ears, forechest, shoulders and behind the tail is trimmed
short and smooth. The coat on the body is longer (about one-half
to one inch) and may be slightly wavy or straight. The
furnishings on the legs and foreface are plentiful as opposed to
profuse and should be tidy. They are crisp in texture. The legs
should appear cylindrical. The face is traditionally trimmed,
with the hair left longer over the eyes to give the head a
rectangular appearance from all angles, with the eyes covered
from above. From the front, the eyes are quite apparent, giving
the Lakeland his own unique mischievous expression.
Color
The Lakeland Terrier comes in a variety of colors, all of
which are equally acceptable. Solid colors include blue, black,
liver, red, and wheaten. In saddle marked dogs, the saddle covers
the back of the neck, back, sides and up the tail. A saddle may
be blue, black, liver, or varying shades of grizzle. The
remainder of the dog (head, throat, shoulders, and legs) is a
wheaten or golden tan. Grizzle is a blend of red or wheaten
intermixed in varying proportions with black, blue or liver.
Gait
Movement is straightforward and free, with good reach in front
and drive behind. It should be smooth, efficient and
ground-covering. Coming and going, the legs should be straight
with feet turning neither in nor out; elbows close to the sides
in front and hocks straight behind. As the dog moves faster he
will tend to converge toward his center of gravity. This should
not be confused with close movement.
Temperament
The typical Lakeland Terrier is bold, gay and friendly, with a
confident, cock-of-the-walk attitude. Shyness, especially
shy-sharpness, in the mature specimen is to be heavily penalized.
Conversely, the overly aggressive, argumentative dog is not
typical and should be strongly discouraged.
DISQUALIFICATIONS
Teeth overshot or undershot.
This information from the AKC
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