East-Siberian Laika

		East-Siberian Laika
		FCI standard Nº 305

Origin		Russia
Translation		Anna Samsonova, edited by Dr. Eugene Yerusalimsky. Revised by Jennifer Mulholland and Renée Sporre-Willes / Original version : (EN)
Group		Group 5 Spitz and primitive types
Section		Section 2 Nordic hunting dogs
Working		With working trial
Acceptance on a definitive basis by the FCI		Tuesday 03 June 1980
Publication of the official valid standard		Wednesday 13 October 2010
Last update		Wednesday 02 March 2011
En français, cette race se dit		Laïka de Sibérie orientale
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Ostsibirischer Laïka
En español, esta raza se dice		Laika de Siberia oriental
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Oostsiberische Laika
In his country of origin, his name is		Vostotchno-Sibirskaïa Laïka

Usage

Hunting dog for all-round purposes.

Brief historical summary

This native Russian hunting breed is one of the principle hunting dogs of the Taiga region as well as mountain areas in Central and East Siberia. The breed evolved from off-spring of Tungus, Yakut, pre-Baikal and pre-Amur Laikas. The first description of the pre-Amur Laika, which later become the basis of the breed standard, dates from the beginning of the 20th century. In 1947 East-Siberian Laika achieved breed status. In 1949 the provisional standard was published and in 1981 the final standard for was approved.
Nowadays the East-Siberian Laika is widespread in its native/original areas. Foundation stock from kennels with dogs well established in type and ability to work has been introduced to the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation.
There is a vast population of the breed in the European part of Russia, especially in the Leningrad, Smolensk, and Tver regions and part of the Moscow region. The East-Siberian Laika is also appreciated in Scandinavia.

General appearance

Dog of medium size with strong and compact built. The length of the body, from the forechest to the buttocks, is slightly superior to the height at the withers. The head is rather big and very strong.
The muscles are well developed. Strong bone structure; more powerful in males than in females. Sexual dimorphism is clearly pronounced.

Important proportions

Males almost rectangular to rectangular and female slightly longer.
Index of format (height/length): Males: 100/104-109. Females: 100/106-111.
The height at the withers exceeds the height at the croup by 1-2 cm (males) and is equal to or exceeds the height at the croup by 1 cm (females).
The length of the muzzle is slightly less than half the length of the head.
The height from ground to elbow is equal to half the height at the withers.

Behaviour / temperament

Steady, balanced temperament. A vigorous dog with a very well developed sense of scent and detection of game and a pronounced passion for hunting, especially larger prey. Very independent when hunting. Friendly, kind and trustful towards people.

Head
Cranial region
Head		Strong, rather big in proportion to the body; wedge-shaped: it forms an equilateral triangle when viewed from above. Cranial area is relatively broad, especially in males.
Skull		The length of the skull is slightly more than the width. Superciliary arches only slightly developed; saggital crest and occiput are well pronounced.
Stop		Gradually and moderately pronounced.

Facial region
Nose		Black of medium size. In white and fawn dogs a brownish nose is tolerated.
Muzzle		The length of the muzzle is a little less than the length of the skull. Viewed in profile the muzzle is wedge-shaped, moderately blunt.
Lips		Moderately tight, but not pendulous.
Jaws and teeth		Teeth white, large, strong, well developed and evenly positioned. Complete (42 teeth) dental formula; scissor bite.
Cheeks		Cheekbones pronounced but not exaggerated.
Eyes		Medium sized, oval shaped, slanting, neither deep set, nor protruding, with truthful and friendly expression. The eyes are dark brown or any shade of brown in accordance with coat colour.
Ears		Pricked, mobile, V-shaped with pointed or slightly rounded tips. Ears set wide, in line with the eyes. Ear-lobes are developed slightly. Inner part of the ear is well coated.

Neck

Muscular, dry, round or slightly oval in cross-section; the length is equal to that of the head or a little bit shorter. The neck is set at approximately 40° - 50° to the horizontal.

Body
Topline		Firm and straight, sloping from the withers to the tail-set.
Withers		Well developed, pronounced, especially in males, rising above the topline by 1-2 cm; moderately developed in females.
Back		Straight, strong, well-muscled, moderately broad.
Loin		Short, moderately broad, well-muscled and slightly prominent.
Croup		Broad, slightly sloping, relatively long.
Chest		Broad, deep (the chest reaches the point of the elbow or 1-2 cm below, especially in males), long; oval-shaped in lateral (cross) section.
Underline and belly		Tucked up; the underline from the chest to the abdominal cavity rises slightly.

Tail

Curled or in sickle shape carried over the back. A sickle shape tail carried without touching the back or semi-dropped is acceptable. When fully straightened it reaches the hock joint or may be 1 to 2 cm shorter.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Legs lean, muscular; viewed from the front are straight, moderately wide set and parallel. The height of the forelegs from the elbow to the ground is equal to half the height at the withers.
Shoulders		Shoulder blades are long, muscular and moderately laid back.
Upper arm		Long, moderately oblique, muscular. The angle between the shoulder blade and the upper arm is well pronounced.
Elbows		Fitting close to the body; point of the elbows are well developed and placed back parallel to the axis of the body.
Forearm		Straight, dry, muscular, round in cross-section, viewed from the front moderately wide and parallel.
Pastern		Not long, slightly inclined when viewed from the side.
Forefeet		Round or slightly oval, arched with tightly knit toes.

Hindquarters
Generality		Muscular, with well defined angulations of all articulations. When viewed from the rear the legs are straight and parallel.
Upper thigh		Moderately long, placed slightly obliquely.
Lower thigh		Long, placed obliquely, not shorter than the upper thighs.
Stifle		Well bent.
Metatarsus		Placed almost vertically. Seen from the side, a perpendicular line, from the buttocks to ground, should fall close to the front of the rear pastern, or slightly further of it.
Hind feet		Round or slightly oval, arched with tightly knit toes. Hind feet are slightly smaller than forefeet.

Gait and movement

Free mover. Typical movement is a far-reaching trot, alternating with gallop or walking pace.

Skin

Sufficiently thick and elastic; without any folds and subcutaneous cellular tissue.

Coat
Hair		Outer coat is harsh and straight. Undercoat is well developed, soft, rich and woolly. The coat on the head and ears is dense, short and shining. The coat on shoulders and the neck is longer than on the body and forms a collar; on the cheekbones it forms side-whiskers. In males the coat on the withers is longer. Limbs are covered with short, harsh, dense coat, which is only slightly longer on the back side of the fore limbs. The coat on the back of the rear legs forms trousers without feathering. There is a protective growth of brush-like hair between the toes. The tail is profusely covered with straight and harsh hair that is just slightly longer on the underside but without feathering.
Colour		The most typical colours are black and tan, black, black and white, white and white with patches – piebald. Slight specks in shades of the main colour are permitted on the legs.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Males 57 - 64 cms. Females 53 - 60 cms.

Faults

• Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

General faults

Deviation from the sexual characteristics.

Prominent forehead and snipy muzzle.

Partly missing pigmentation of the nose, lips, and eyelids.

Pale pigmented nose.

Absence of notmore than 4 premolars PM1- PM2.

Pincer bite after the age of 6 years.

Teeth small and sparsely set.

Light or amber coloured eyes in dogs with all black coat colour.

Big ears; set low; soft in ear carriage; not enough hair inside ears.

Neck too oval in cross section.

Soft or roached back.

Long in loin; straight; arched loin.

Croup horizontal or steep.

Flat ribbed chest; narrow; lacking forechest; shallow.

Straight shoulders, bowed forearms, elbows turned out- or inwards.

Up-right or weak in pasterns.

East-west pointing feet; pigeon-toed feet.

Hindquarters slightly lacking correct angulations; cow hocked.

Splayed or soft feet, insufficiently developed hair between the toes.

Rear dewclaws.

Restricted gait.

Colour specks in nuances of base colour, on the body or head.

Serious faults

Obvious deviation from the sexual characteristics.

Slight intolerance to people.

Obese or meagre.

Coarse in head.

Short muzzle; snipy nose.

Deep or hardly visible stop.

More than 4 missing premolars, including PM1 & PM2.

Round protruding eyes.

Ears with rounded tips, overdeveloped ear-lobes.

Square bodied.

Overbuilt.

Light in bone.

Over-angulated or straight in hindquarters.

Narrow in hindquarters; knees or hocks turning out.

Heavy, erratic movement or pacing.

Wrinkled, loose skin.

Long coat on the back-side of the forequarters and pronounced feathering on the back of thighs and the tail.

Wavy, curly, soft or too long coat; coat parting in the middle on the back and the withers during shedding.

Specks on the body which are not in the nuance of the main colour.

Deviation from the size by more than +- 2 cm.

Disqualifying faults

Aggressive or overly shy dogs.

Incorrect bite.

Wry mouth.

4 or more missing teeth regardless, including PM1-PM2s or M3s, excess incisors.

Wall eye, flecked eyes.

Ears dropped; semi-dropped.

Stumpy tail.

Too short or too long coat; no undercoat.

Coat colour that is genetic brown; genetic blue; brindle or albino.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Bibliography

http://www.fci.be/

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East-Siberian Laika