West-Siberian Laïka

		West-Siberian Laïka
		FCI standard Nº 306

Origin		Russia
Translation		Anna Samsonova, edited by Dr. Eugene Yerusalimsky Revised by 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 occidentale
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Westsibirischer Laïka
En español, esta raza se dice		Laika de Siberia occidental
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Westsiberische Laika
In his country of origin, his name is		Zapadno-sibirskaïa Laïka

Usage

Hunting dog for all-round purposes.

Brief historical summary

This native Russian hunting breed comes from to the Ural, West and East Siberia forest area and was selected from Khanty and Manci hunting dogs. In the beginning of the 20th century the first standards of Vogul (Mansi) and Ostyak (Khanty) Laikas were created by Russian cynologists. In 1947 the new qualification of Laika breeds was offered and closely related Khanty and Mansi off-springs were united into one breed. The new breed standard for Zapadno-Sibirskaya Laika was approved in 1952.
Nowadays Zapadno-Sibirskaya Laika is the most prevalent hunting breed in Russia and widely spread in all wooden areas of the country from Karelia to Kamchatka. The breed seems to be especially popular in its native/original areas. Foundation stock from kennels of dogs with stable inheritance of work and well established quality in type and ability to work has been introduced in all cynological centres of the Russian Federation.

General appearance

Dog of medium to slightly larger size; substantial with strong and clean built. The length of the body, measured from the forechest to the buttocks is slightly superior to the height measured from the withers to ground. Sexual dimorphism is clearly pronounced. Males are bigger than females and clearly masculine. Muscles are well developed and bone strong.

Important proportions

Body length exceeds height at the withers as 100 to 103-107%, in males and as 100 to 104-108 % in females.
Height at withers exceeds height at the croup by 1-2 cm (males) and it is equal to, or exceeds the height at the croup by 1 cm (females).
Length of the head exceeds considerably the width of the head.
Length of the muzzle is equal to, or a little less than half the length of the head.
Legs height from ground to elbow slightly exceeds half the height at the withers.

Behaviour / temperament

Steady, evenly-tempered. A vigorous dog with very well developed sense of scent and detecting game, with an alert, sensitive and pronounced passion for hunting, is equally keen to hunt feathered as furred game. Self-confident and alert towards strangers.

Head
Cranial region
Head		Lean, wedge shaped, in proportion to the size of the dog. It is similar in shape to an equilateral triangle when viewed from above. Cranial part is moderately broad; lesser in females than in males.
Skull		Elongated, obviously longer than broad; when seen from front flat or slightly rounded. The bridge of muzzle is parallel to topline of skull. The sagittal crests and occiput are well pronounced. Occipital part of the skull is rounded. Superciliary arches slightly developed.
Stop		Slightly pronounced.

Facial region
Nose		Of medium size, black. In white dogs a slightly lighter (brownish) nose colour is tolerated.
Muzzle		Moderately pointed, broadening in the fang area. The length of the muzzle is half, or slightly shorter, than the length of the head. Viewed in profile the muzzle is moderately wedge-shaped.
Lips		Tight.
Jaws and teeth		White, large, strong, well developed, evenly positioned and un-crowded; complete (42 teeth) dental formula; scissor bite.
Cheeks		Clean in cheekbones.
Eyes		Not large, oval shaped, slanting, set fairly deep (more so than in the other Laika breeds) with intent and intelligent expression. The eye colour is dark brown or brown in accordance with coat colour.
Ears		Pricked, set on high, V-shaped with pointed tips, mobile. Ear lobes are slightly developed.

Neck

Muscular, dry and long; length equal to length of head. Oval in cross-section. The neck is set at approximately 45°-55° to the horizontal line.

Body
Topline		Firm and solid, slightly slopping from the withers to the tail-set.
Withers		Well pronounced, especially in males.
Back		Strong, straight, well-muscled, moderately broad.
Loin		Short, moderately broad, well-muscled, with a slight arch.
Croup		Broad, moderately long, slightly sloping.
Chest		Moderately deep, broad (the chest reaches the point of the elbow), long; oval-shaped in lateral section.
Underline and belly		Tucked up; the underline from the chest to the abdominal cavity rises slightly.

Tail

Tight curl; carried over back or hips. When full straightened can reach the hock joint, or may be 1-2 cm shorter.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Viewed from the front straight, set moderately wide apart and parallel. The height of the forelegs from the elbow to the ground is a little superior to half of the height at the withers.
Shoulders		Long and well laid back.
Upper arm		Long, place obliquely, muscular. Well angulated between the shoulder blade and the upper arm.
Elbows		Fitting close to the body; points of the elbows are well developed and placed back, parallel to the body axis.
Forearm		Long, straight, not coarse, muscular, oval in cross-section.
Pastern		Not long, slightly sloping when viewed from the side. Dewclaws are not desirable.
Forefeet		Oval, arched with tight toes. Middle toes are a little longer.

Hindquarters
Generality		Muscular, strong, with well defined angulations of all articulations. When viewed from the rear legs are straight and parallel.
Upper thigh		Moderately long, placed obliquely.
Lower thigh		Moderately long, placed obliquely, not shorter than the upper thigh.
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. Dewclaws are not desirable.
Hind feet		Slightly smaller than forefeet. Oval, arched with tight toes. Middle toes are slightly longer.

Gait and movement

Free, energetic. Typical movement is short trot, alternating with gallop.

Skin

Thick and elastic, without any folds and subcutaneous cellular tissue.

Coat
Hair		Outer coat is dense, harsh and straight. Undercoat is well developed, soft, abundant and woolly. The coat on the head and ears is short and dense. 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 slightly longer on the back side of the fore limbs. The coat on the back of 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		Grey with reddish-brown, red with reddish-brown, grey, red, fawn and reddish-brown in all shades. Pure white or parti-colour i.e. white with patches of any colour mentioned above similar to the ground body colour.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Males 55 - 62 cms. Females 51 - 58 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

Deviations from sexual dimorphism.

Slightly nervous or lacking confidence with strangers.

Lack of sagittal crests and pronounced occiput, roman nose.

Light coloured eyes.

Pale pigmentation on nose, lips and eyerims.

Lack of teeth: Absence of not more than 4 Premolars regarding PM1 & PM2.

Pincer bite after the age of 6 years.

Ears set low; soft with weak ear carriage; not mobile.

Croup horizontal; slightly sunken.

Straight shoulders, elbows turned in- or outward.

Flat-ribbed chest, slightly shallow in chest.

Flat feet, splayed feet.

Flecking (roaning) of same shade as base coat colour on head and limbs.

Lack of undercoat, absence of coat-collar and side-whiskers (except for natural shedding).

Restricted movement.

Exceeding the maximum height with +2 cms in females; 2 cms below the minimum height in males.

Serious faults

Obvious deviation from sexual dimorphism.

Excitability too high.

Males of feminine type; females of masculine type.

Obesity or meagre.

Abrupt stop, snub-nosed muzzle, short muzzle; loose lips.

De-pigmentation of nose, lips or eye-rims.

Round eyes; horizontal set; bulging; yellow eyes; loose eye lids.

Lack of teeth; small, sparsely set teeth.

Ears standing out from sides of the head; round-tipped; too big; over-developed ear-lobes.

Hollow back; roached back.

Long loin; narrow; sagging or arched loin; overbuilt.

Shallow in chest.

Tail too long or too short or not touching back or hips.

Obvious east-west pointing feet; pigeon-toed or bandy front.

Down in pastern.

Overangulated or straight in hindquarters; knees turning out; cow-hocked or narrow in rear.

Heavy, restricted movement; stilted or mincing gait.

Too long coat on the back-side of the forequarters; pronounced feathering on the upper thighs and the tail.

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

Excessive flecking (roaning) of same nuance as base coat colour, on head and limbs.

Flecks of different colour than the ground colour.

Black or black and white colour.

Deviation from the size by more than +- 2 cms; height at the withers less than height at the croup.

Disqualifying faults

Aggressive or overly shy dogs.

Incorrect bite.

Wry mouth.

4 or more missing teeth, including PM1 or M3.

Excess incisors.

Wall eye.

Flecked eyes.

Ears dropped; semi-dropped.

Plumed tail; otter- or sabre tail; stumpy tail.

Too short or too long coat.

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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West-Siberian Laïka