The standard
The general look
Powerful, heavy, well-developed body and skeleton. The muzzle expression is serious but friendly.
The characteristics
Sociable watch and guard dog. Comes of age slowly — female dogs at
The temperament
Quiet, sociable with guarding instinct.
The head
The skull is massive with expressive forehead and back of the head. Proportions from the forehead to the end of the nose and from the back of the head to the forehead are equal. However the nose part can be a bit shorter. The muzzle is wide, well-filled, snub, looks quadrangle from all sides. The nose is fully pigmented with open nostrils. The adult has several folds running from the eyes to the corners of the mouth.
The eyes
Very expressive of medium size, all shades of brown are possible. The eyes are located rather far from each other, oval, with a light slant.
The ears
Of medium size, triangle, hanging, low-set, falling a bit forward, stuck to the head. Rise when excited. The ears are covered with small short hair.
The mouth
Scissors bite. Strong jaws with usually perfect level bite. Level bite and undershot bite are admissible. It is essential that the bite is level so that the jaw could keep its quadrangle form.
The neck
Strong, muscular, embowed, skin is enough but not too much. The hair on the neck is thick, sticking up like mane.
The forward part
Muscular, with strong bones, the blades are at an angle. Straight front legs, strong pads, slightly turned outward, also covered with thick hair.
The body
Strong with straight back, muscular chest, rather deep, of moderate width. The front ribs make heart-shaped chest. The chest part reaches the elbows. The body is a bit longer than the withers height.
The back part
Powerful, muscular, with good angles of stifle joints. Hind legs are parallel if looked at from behind. The exception is dewclaw — their amputation is not necessary.
The pads
Rather big, strong, compact — cat's paws. Covered with hair between claws.
The tail
From medium to long, but not lower than the knees. Set high. Rounded to one side in ring fashion, fluffy.
Walk
Free, always light and springy. Trots, when walks the dog looks powerful and calculating.
The hair
Male dogs have much more hair than female ones. The hair is of medium length, fluffy. In winter with thick underhair, in warm seasons — with thin. The guard hairs are thin but hard. Rather strong, straight and loose. Never silky, curly or wavy. On the neck and the shoulders the thick layer of hair looks like mane. The tail is fluffy, the back part of the legs is fluffy too.
The colour
Charcoal black, grey, orange-tawny with different golden shades. Different grey shades, grey with golden spots. White spots on the chest are admissible. Minimal white spots on the paws are admissible. Tawny and golden shades above the eyes, in the lower parts of the legs and on the tip of the tail are frequent.
Height
Male dog — 66 cm, female dog — 61 cm.
Male dog has both testicles lowered in the scrotum.