General Appearance
The Miniature Bull Terrier must be strongly built,
symmetrical and active, with a keen, determined and intelligent
expression. He should be full of fire, having a courageous, even
temperament and be amenable to discipline.
Size, Proportion, Substance
Height 10 inches to 14 inches. Dogs outside these limits
should be faulted. Weight in proportion to height. In
proportion, the Miniature Bull Terrier should give the
appearance of being square.
Head
The head should be long, strong and deep, right to the
end of the muzzle, but not coarse. The full face should
be oval in outline and be filled completely up, giving the
impression of fullness with a surface devoid of hollows or
indentations, i.e., egg shaped. The profile should curve
gently downwards from the top of the skull to the tip of the
nose. The forehead should be flat across from ear to ear.
The distance from the tip of the nose to the eyes should be
perceptibly greater than that from the eyes to the top of the
skull. The underjaw should be deep and well defined.
To achieve a keen, determined and intelligent expression, the
eyes should be well sunken and as dark as possible with a
piercing glint. They should be small, triangular and obliquely
placed, set near together and high up on the dog's head. The
ears should be small, thin and placed close together,
capable of being held stiffly erect when they point upwards. The
nose should be black, with well developed nostrils bent
downwards at the tip. The lips should be clean and tight.
The teeth should meet in either a level or
scissor bite. In the scissor bite, the top teeth should fit
in front of and closely against the lower teeth. The teeth
should be sound, strong and perfectly regular.
Neck, Topline, Body
The neck should be very muscular, long, and arched;
tapering from the shoulders to the head, it should be free from
loose skin. The back should be short and strong with a
slight arch over the loin. Behind the shoulders there should be
no slackness or dip at the withers. The body should be
well rounded with marked spring of rib. The back ribs deep. The
chest should be broad when viewed from in front. There
should be great depth from withers to brisket, so that the
latter is nearer to the ground than the belly. The underline,
from the brisket to the belly, should form a graceful upward
curve. The tail should be short, set on low, fine, and
should be carried horizontally. It should be thick where it
joins the body, and should taper to a fine point.
Forequarters
The shoulders should be strong and muscular, but without
heaviness. The shoulder blades should be wide and flat and there
should be a very pronounced backward slope from the bottom edge
of the blade to the top edge. The legs should be big boned but
not to the point of coarseness. The forelegs should be of
moderate length, perfectly straight, and the dog must stand
firmly up on them. The elbows must turn neither in nor
out, and the pasterns should be strong and upright.
Hindquarters
The hind legs should be parallel when viewed from behind.
The thighs are very muscular with hocks well let down.
The stifle joint is well bent with a well developed second
thigh. The hind pasterns should be short and upright.
Feet - The feet are round and compact with well
arched toes like a cat.
Coat - The coat should be short, flat and harsh to
the touch with a fine gloss. The dog's skin should fit tightly.
Color - For white, pure white coat. Markings on head and
skin pigmentation are not to be penalized. For colored, any
color to predominate.
Gait - The dog shall move smoothly, covering the ground
with free, easy strides. Fore and hind legs should move parallel
to each other when viewed from in front or behind, with the
forelegs reaching out well and the hind legs moving smoothly at
the hip and flexing well at the stifle and hock. The dog should
move compactly and in one piece but with a typical jaunty air
that suggests agility and power.
Temperament
The temperament should be full of fire and courageous, but even
and amenable to discipline.
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points shall be considered a
fault, and the seriousness of the fault shall be in exact
proportion to its degree.
Approved May 14, 1991
Effective January 1, 1992 |