FCI Breed Standard

ORIGIN: France, Belgium.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE CURRENT STANDARD: 17 September 1990.

CLASSIFICATION: Toy dogs.

F.C.I. CLASSIFICATION: Group 9 Toy and Companion Dogs. Section 9 Continental Toy Spaniels.

 

GENERAL APPEARANCE: A small, luxurious, ornamental spaniel, correctly and harmoniously built, with a long coat; the moderately long muzzle is shorter than the skull. Lively, graceful and yet strong. It carries itself proudly with fluid, elegant movement. The body length of the Continental Toy Spaniel is slightly greater than its height.

 

HEAD: Proportional to the body; proportionally lighter and shorter than in large and medium-sized spaniels.

 

CRANIAL REGION: Skull: Not overly rounded – either in profile or from the front. A faint outline of the frontal furrow may be visible. Stop: The depression is clearly defined. In heavier dogs, this depression is less pronounced, though still visible. In very small dogs, the stop is clearly defined, but never forms a sharp break.

 

FACIAL REGION: Nose: Small, black, round, but slightly flattened at the top. Muzzle: Shorter than the skull, delicate, tapering and not concave at the sides; it must not be upturned. Bridge of the nose: Straight. Lips: Strongly pigmented, thin and dry. Jaws/Teeth: Teeth fairly strong; closing tightly in a normal bite. Tongue: Must not be visible. A tongue that is constantly visible or does not retract when touched with a finger is a fault. Eyes: Fairly large, wide-open, large almond-shaped; not protruding, set fairly low; the inner corner of the eye lies at the intersection of the skull and muzzle. Dark in colour, very expressive, with strongly pigmented eyelids. Ears: Fairly delicate, but strong. Regardless of whether the ears are erect or drooping, the cartilage must not feel too sharp to the touch. The ears are set quite far back on the head – sufficiently far apart to reveal the slightly rounded shape of the skull.

  • The variety with drooping ears is known as the PHALÈNE. At rest, the ear is set high – considerably higher than the eye line; it hangs down, yet is quite mobile. It is covered with wavy hair, which may be quite long – this gives the dog a lovely appearance.
  • The variety with erect ears, known as the PAPILLON. The ear is set high; the auricle is wide open and turned to the side. The inner edge of the ear forms an angle of approximately 45° with a horizontal line. Under no circumstances may the ear be raised straight upwards, as is characteristic of a Spitz – this is strictly unacceptable. The inside of the auricle is covered with fine, wavy hair. The longest hairs extend slightly below the edge of the ear; the outer surface of the ear, however, is covered with hanging fringes extending well beyond the edge of the ear. Crossbreeding these two varieties often results in a dog with semi-erect ears with folded tips – this intermediate ear carriage is a serious fault.

NECK: Of medium length; the nape of the neck is slightly arched.

TORSO: Topline: Neither too short, nor convex, nor arched, but not entirely flat either. Loins: Strong and slightly arched. Chest: Broad, fairly deep. The chest circumference, measured between the last two ribs, must be approximately equal to the height at the withers. Ribs well sprung. Belly: Slightly tucked up.

 

TAIL: Set rather high; fairly long; the abundant fringe forms a beautiful plume. When the dog is in motion, the tail should be carried along the line of the back and curled; the tip may touch the hindquarters; it must never be coiled; nor must it lie flat against the back.

 

LIMBS: Legs straight, sturdy yet delicate. The dog must not appear too high on its legs. Viewed from the front or rear, the limbs are parallel.

FOREQUARTERS

Shoulders: Well developed; well connected to the body. Upper arm: Of a length corresponding to that of the shoulder blade; correctly angulated and well connected to the shoulder blade; lying close to the body. Wrists: Clearly visible in profile.

 

HIND LIMBS

Hock joint: Correctly angulated.

FEET: Fairly long, known as ‘hare feet’, standing firmly on the pads. Strong claws, preferably black, lighter in colour in dogs with a brown or white coat (white claws in white dogs or those with white limbs are not a fault, provided the dog is otherwise well pigmented). Toes strong, with hard pads. Between the toes, abundant hair protrudes beyond the toes and forms the tip of the foot.

GAIT/MOVEMENT: Proud, free, light and elegant.

 

COAT: Without undercoat, lush, glossy, wavy (not to be confused with curly), not soft but slightly coarse to the touch, with a silky sheen. The coat lies flat; the hair is quite fine, slightly raised by the wave. The coat is similar to that of the English Toy Spaniel, but differs significantly from that of the Pekingese; nor should it resemble the coat of a Spitz. The hair on the head, muzzle, front legs and below the hock is short. On the body, the hair is of medium length, longer on the neck – forming a ruff and frill, falling in waves onto the chest; it forms fringes on the ears and the rear parts of the forelegs; the back of the thighs is profusely covered with soft hair, forming ‘trousers’. There may be small tufts of hair between the toes, which may protrude slightly, provided that this does not give the paws a heavy appearance, but rather lends them a subtle look, making them appear elongated. In some well-conditioned specimens of the breed, the coat reaches a length of 7.5 cm at the withers, whilst the tail fringes measure 15 cm.

 

COAT COLOUR: Any coat colour against a white background is permitted. White must predominate on the body and legs. White on the head, in the form of a more or less broad arrow-shaped mark, is desirable. A white mark on the lower part of the head is permissible; however, white as the dominant colour on the head is a fault. In all cases, the lips, eyelids and, in particular, the nose must be pigmented.

 

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT:

Height at the withers: Approximately 28 cm.

Weight: two categories:

  1. Less than 2.5 kg for males and females.
  2. From 2.5 to 4.5 kg for males and from 2.5 to 5 kg for females.

Minimum weight: 1.5 kg.

FAULTS: Any deviation from the above-mentioned characteristics shall be considered a fault, the assessment of which should be proportional to its degree and extent.

  • A flat, apple-shaped or convex skull, as seen in English toy spaniels.
  • A stop that is too pronounced or too faint.
  • A nose of any colour other than black.
  • A snub or concave muzzle.
  • Depigmentation of the lips.
  • Undershot bite and – particularly – overshot bite.
  • Small, overly round, protruding eyes, of a light colour, showing the whites when the dog looks straight ahead.
  • Depigmentation of the eyelid rims.
  • A carp-like or arched back.
  • A curled or flat tail, drooping to one side (i.e. the tailbone, not the fringe, which – due to its length – falls in curls).
  • Bent forelegs.
  • Thickened wrists.
  • Weak hind limbs.
  • Hind limbs, viewed from behind, deviating from the vertical line at the stifles and feet.
  • A single or double dewclaw on the hind legs is undesirable and constitutes a fault; they should therefore be removed.
  • Feet that are turned inwards or outwards.
  • Nails not touching the ground.
  • Poor coat, soft or fluffy; hair standing on end or straight; a woolly coat and undercoat indicate crossbreeding with a Spitz.

 

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:

  • Aggression or excessive shyness.
  • A pink nose or one with pink patches.
  • Excessive prognathism, undershot or overshot bite so severe that the incisors do not touch.
  • Paralysis of the tongue or a tongue that is constantly visible.

 

Any dog exhibiting physical or mental abnormalities should be disqualified.

Note: Males should have two normally developed testicles, fully descended into the scrotum.