The American
Terrier comes in 3 varieties, toy, miniature and standard. With
all varieties being hairless or coated. The ideal American Terrier
has an alert, intelligent & ready for anything attitude. The
dog should present a lively active appearance with a regal carriage.
The American Terrier carries itself in a graceful confident manner
that projects the health and vigor of an Olympic athlete. American
Terriers are social, sensitive and loyal to their families. They
are protective of their home, and when threatened will guard it
as a terrier should. The tendency to spar is acceptable, but not
preferred.
Miniature Variety
The body is
neat, trim and compact, resembling a small deer. Desirable proportion
of the height to length of body is 9 to 10. Size is 12" to
16" at the shoulder.
Disqualification: Monorchid or Cryptorchid males.
Head: Should form a blunt shaped wedge, have a flat skull and
medium stop. Medium length to the muzzle, which is somewhat pointed,
and is the same length as the head. Lips are tight.
Fault: Exaggerated stop, muzzle being longer than the length of
the head.
Ears: Are V shaped, set on the outside edges of the head, carried
erect, tipped, button or semi-button, all are acceptable. The
tips of the ears can be rounded or pointed.
Faults: Tulip shape, ears set to close together, non matching
ear carriage.
Disqualification: Cropped or dropped ears.
Nose: Must be solid color, black or self colored.
Fault: Spotted or pink nose.
Neck: Moderately long, graceful and slightly arched, strong and
muscular, widening into the shoulder. The neck blends smoothly
into well laid back shoulders.
Teeth: Full dentition, scissor bite is preferred. Level bites
are acceptable.
Fault: Overshot, undershot, any missing teeth other than premolars.
Topline: Level, strong back.
Forequarters: Strong straight legs pointing neither in nor out.
Forearm is slightly longer than upper arm. Elbows are tight to
chest.
Fault: Legs turning in or out, bowlegged.
Feet: Compact, oval, semi-hare foot. Turning neither in nor out.
Medium length nails.
Tail: Carried up in a graceful curve is preferred. Corkscrew tail
is acceptable. Tail is naturally long, thick at the base tapering
towards the tip.
Fault: Crooked tail, bobtail, docked tail.
Skin: Color may be any color or combination of colors. Pale color
markings shall not be faulted. A soft barely visible down of vellus
hair covers the body and must not exceed 1 mm in length. Whiskers
are not to be removed.
Disqualification: Vellus hair exceeding 1 mm in length or any
other type of hair on a hairless variety.
Coat: Short, dense, close to the body. Sleek and shiny, showing
good health. All coat colors or variations are acceptable, provided
that one white patch of fur is clearly visible. A white coat must
have at least one patch of contrasting color clearly visible.
A slight moth eaten appearance may appear in dogs under 2 years
of age.
Toy Variety
Only the
basic differences are stated here, for the most part the miniature
standard will apply.
Height: Not
to exceed 12" at the shoulder. Toy dogs over 10 pounds should
be faulted.
Head: Is rounded to conical with a well defined stop. Erect ears
are preferred. Tipped or button are allowed.
Faults: Domed skull, open fontanel.
Standard
Variety
The standard
for the standard size shall be identical to the miniature variety
with the exception of height. Height is between 16" to 20"
at the shoulders.
Summary
Faults: The
foregoing is a description of the ideal American Terrier any fault
listed must be penalized to the extent of the deviation. Old scars
and injuries resulting from work or accident shall not prejudice
the American Terriers chances in the show ring, unless it interferes
with movement.
Disqualifications:
Monorchid or Cryptorchid males. Cropped ears, dropped ears. Vellus
hair
longer than 1 mm in length or any other type of hair in the hairless
variety.