THE ILLUSTRATED STANDARD FOR THE

LAKELAND TERRIER

I. 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.

II. SIZE, PORPORTION, SUBSTANCE

The ideal height of the mature dog is 14 1/2 inches from the withers to the ground, with up to a 1/2 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 lbs. 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.

Dog of correct type, balance & proportion

Bitch of correct type, balance & proportion

II. 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 and fairly wide apart. In liver or liver and tan dogs they 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 over long 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 undershot are to be disqualified.

Correct head, ears and expression in profile and full face

The character and type of a breed are often reflected, to a large degree, in the head and expression. The Lakeland head is moderate in length and breadth. It should be strong and workmanlike without coarseness. The expression should be bright and alert without meanness of fear. The ears should be close to the side of the head, not sitting on top of it. There should be no suggestion of the Fox Terrier's long, narrow head in the proper Lakeland. Conversely, lumps and bumps, coarseness, or lack of appropriate length of the head or large, lazy, or fly-away ears destroy the Lakeland's neat rectangular head and alert expression.

The eyes reflect the character and mood of the Lakeland. They should be small and dark. The combination of the eye's relatively wide placement and the "fall" of hair that covers them from above tend to soften the Lakeland's expression a bit when compared to their other whiskered terrier cousins.