EXPLANATION OF THE LOWCHEN BREED STANDARD

by Robyn Bennett

GENERAL APPEARANCE - Coat clipped in traditional lion clip, tail also clipped, topped with plume, giving appearance of a little lion.  Strongly built, active, well balanced and alert. 

To say a Lowchen is strongly built, active and alert is only part of the story. Lowchen are a very robust little dog, they love to jump and play and are not prone to breaking bones when doing this, so as a judge you should look for this characteristic and not lean towards weedy, fine boned Lowchen. Any signs of weakness or lack of strength should be considered as undesirable.

Worldwide Lowchen do well in agility which is a reflection of not only their attitude to life but also their strength. It is very hard to stop a Lowchen from running and jumping and if you have steps or a terrace this can leave your heart in your mouth when watching them at play or when they run towards you.

Lowchen are clipped, but should not be scissored. The coat should not be dead straight, it should have a very slight wave to it, and have a natural feathered look at the ends. If the coat appears to be scissored to enhance the outline or shape of any part of the dog, this should be penalised. The Lowchen is traditionally clipped on the feet, front legs, hindquarters to the last rib and about one third up the tail, the balance of the tail is carried happily over the animals back, but if the dog rests the tail when relaxed, that should not be penalised. A dog that tucks the tail between the legs however is not showing the characteristic gay nature of the breed and should be penalised.

CHARACTERISTICS- Gay, happy, lively little dog. 

This description of the Lowchen agrees with the General Appearance, string all these words together and you have a ‘strongly built, gay, happy, lively, active, well balanced, alert little dog’. Sometimes referred to as the clown of group 1, a Lowchen should never be nervous, aggressive or frightened. Keeping in mind, puppies will go through certain stages where they may appear a little reserved or unsure, a Lowchen puppy will be more likely to be over playful than quiet. Upon reaching a mature age Lowchen should be confident and happy with no signs of nervousness or aggression.

TEMPERAMENT- Intelligent, affectionate showing no sign of aggression. 

Lowchen are extremely intelligent, and perform very well at obedience, agility and I must say I have even seen video of a Lowchen herding. They are fast learners, but sometimes their exuberance gets in the way of learning as they would rather be playing. I cannot stress enough that the happy and athletic nature of this little dog must be highly regarded. Always look for this in your specimens. A sound body is only good if the mind is also sound and this breed should always appear kind, happy and as previously stated never should they show any signs of aggression or nervousness.

HEAD AND SKULL- Short fairly broad..  Skull flat between the ears head carried proud and high.   Well defined stop; short, strong muzzle. 

Lowchen breeders, as with most breeds, will tell you the Lowchen head is the most important feature of the breed. Short and Fairly Broad – therefore I look for a head that is broad compared to its length, but not quite square. The overall appearance of the head can be square as the muzzle must be short. I look for a muzzle that is no longer than the skull but certainly not so short as to give a Shih-Tzu like appearance.  In my opinion, the muzzle should be about 2/3 the length of the skull. Short Strong Muzzle - The muzzle should never be of equal or longer length than the skull. If the muzzle is long this gives a totally wrong expression and quite often the Lowchen will appear down faced. One must also keep in mind, that we do not want a Lowchen that has a Bichon or Havanese expression, so tendencies to be like either of those breeds is discouraged. Long muzzles also often mean the Lowchen does not have adequate stop. Well Defined Stop - The stop should be quite well defined and of moderate depth. The skull should be flat between the ears, therefore you expect the ears to be set about level with the eye. Carried proud and high - Lowchen carry their head proudly, and this goes with their cheeky nature. A lowchen again should not appear stuffy or carry their head in a manner that appears to give a submissive appearance to this breed.

EYES- Round, dark, relatively large and intelligent.  Unbroken pigmentation of eye rims, pigment to be in accordance with coat colour. 

Take special note of the first part of the eye description, the eyes should be round, dark, large and intelligent. Therefore almond eyes are not correct, small eyes and light eyes also are incorrect. The standard calls for a round eye which relates to the shape of the head. If you see a Lowchen with almond eyes, you will note it may have a narrower, longer head and more than likely a too long muzzle. As the muzzle shortens, the eyes become more frontally placed and rounder in shape.

You may get a lighter eye in a chocolate or liver coloured animal, but even in these cases, the darker the eye the better. I would certainly not wish to have a chocolate or liver coloured dog with yellow or green eyes. It is always preferable to have a larger eye than a smaller one.

The eyes should always be forward looking. Ensure also that the eyes are not too close together or too wide apart. Either of these aspects would indicate the head itself is incorrect. The expression is your guiding factor as this should be gentle, playful, intelligent and inquisitive. A forthright tender look is expected.

The pigmentation should not be broken, and generally will be black, however in the cases of the brown colours it may be self coloured. Although the standard asks for round eyes, the eye should never appear to protrude. They should have a dark soft lustre, which gives a soft gentle yet playful expression. In Lowchen with white coat colouring around the eye – the pigment takes longer to appear. I would only fault lack of pigment in this case if the animal had reached full maturity.

EARS- Pendant, of moderate length with long fringing. 

Pendant ears are usually set either low or level with the eyes. In the Lowchen we do not want a low set ear as this would affect the appearance of the flat skull, therefore we like the ears to be set level with the eye. Additionally, if set too high, the skull will not look flat. The ears should be of moderate length with long fringing. How much fringing is comparative to the overall appearance of the dog keeping in mind that the dog must always appear balanced. Until you put your hands on the dog, you really will not be able to see the ear placement as the fringing will blend in with the hair from the skull. The ears should not look as though they have been scissored, the feathering should blend with the overall appearance of the coat.

MOUTH- Jaws strong, with perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws. 

This description indicates a Lowchen should have full dentition and a scissor bite. The mouth and jaw should be strong as is indicated by the first paragraph of the standard where the Lowchen is described as ‘strongly built’. A strongly built dog will not have a snipey or weak jaw. The teeth should not be crowded as the strong square jaw gives plenty of room for complete dentition. The teeth should be strong and white and for a small dog the teeth appear to be rather larger than you might expect. The mouth should never appear crowded, this would reflect a poor or narrow jaw.

NECK- Good length, proudly arched. 

The overall appearance of the Lowchen will determine what is a good length of neck. As the head should be carried proudly, the Lowchen should never look stuffy or have a short neck. A balanced Lowchen will instantly appeal as a proud yet cheeky little dog and their head will be carried high.

FOREQUARTERS- Shoulders well laid. Forequarters straight with round bone, not too fine.

Lowchen are an active dog and therefore rely on having excellent structure to get around. Although in the Toy group and a small dog, the Lowchen loves to run and jump. In order to fulfil these playful activities, the dog needs to be constructed well. He needs the well laid shoulders with excellent and strong bones. At no time should a Lowchen look fine or weak. 

BODY- Short, strong and well proportioned.  Level topline.  Ribs well sprung.  Strong loin with moderate tuck up. 

Once again the description seems to be one of a larger dog, strong is a word used throughout this standard. “Ribs well sprung” also indicates a strong and lithe animal. This dog is compact, just a little off square and always appears to have strength of bone and muscle. Well sprung ribs indicate a well bodied dog of substance. He will have a strong well muscled loin and hindquarter and the tuck up accentuates this. It is important to note the shortness required in ‘short, strong and well proportioned’ must come from a shortness of the loin, not the ribcage, nor should the loin and the rib cage be of equal length

HINDQUARTERS- Hindlegs well-muscled. Good turn of stifle without exaggeration; straight when viewed from rear. 

If the front of the Lowchen is angulated correctly, the hindquarters should follow in the same vein. They show well developed muscles and the Lowchen appears to have strength well beyond that which is required from a toy dog. As the Lowchen loves to run, jump and play, it relies on the strength of bone and muscle in the hindquarters along with the balanced body and front structure to achieve these results. Straight stifles affect the ability to have good reach and drive and therefore should be penalised, the standard calls for ‘good’ turn of stifle

FEET- Small, round. 

Long flat feet are a sign of weakness, a strong small compact and round foot once again fits the overall image of a strong, agile and lively animal. You will also find in many cases that these little lions have very strong toenails. They grow rapidly and obviously assist them in their quick turning ability when on the move.

TAIL- Medium length, clipped with tuft of hair to resemble a plume.  Carried gaily on move. 

The tail is clipped to about one third its length with a plume left on the end. One third clipped, two thirds plume is more desirable When on the move the tail should always be carried gaily over the back, when the dog is standing or is at rest, the tail may be held lower. Do not penalise a dog for looking relaxed and at ease. However the tail should never be tucked between the hind legs as if the dog is fearful or timid.

GAIT/MOVEMENT- Free, parallel movement for and aft, no hackneyed action. 

Lowchen appear to cover quite a bit of ground with little effort, they can reach well as they are structured correctly for and aft to do so, they are very active and lithe and the movement should be fluid in order to reflect their active nature. If you were to think a Lowchen was a very small working dog when on the move – then you should be well pleased with the exhibit before you in regards to its gait. Good reach and drive is essential, ‘pitter patter’ movements should be penalised

COAT- Fairly long, wavy, never curly.  Single coat of silky texture. 

Lowchen do not shed, and have a soft silky coat that should grow quite long, it may be wavy but never curly. Ideally the coat should not be dead straight, a slight wave is preferred. The coat must NEVER appear to be scissored, it should always look natural even though the Lowchen is clipped. The slightly shaggy look is their characteristic appearance which in part makes them appear so endearing.

COLOUR- Any colour or combination of colours permissible. 

As all colours are permissable, equally, no preference should be given for one colour over another.Please do not discriminate against the purple and green Lowchen that may enter the ring under you, take off your blinkers and remember all colours are equal, only the pigmentation may vary in the chocolate or liver colours. You may also see this pigmentation colour in some of the cream coloured Lowchen as they can be derived from the chocolates. In all other colours the pigmentation must be black, other than that there is no poor or good colour!

it is however wise to take care with an all white Lowchen as it is possible this dog may suffer from deafness. Most breeders are wary of breeding mostly white dogs to other mostly white dogs for this reason, and try and produce whites with coloured ears.

Good breeders do not breed purely for colour and will breed for type and soundness, they will take whatever colour comes their way.

SIZE- Height: 25-33 cm (10-13 ins) at withers. 

This is quite a height variation for a small breed, but please become familiar with the sizes as a too large or too small Lowchen will not truly characterise the breed. It is not unusual to see a Lowchen that is quite small but because of short legs it will appear long. Equally a Lowchen that is too leggy will not give a true impression of this breed. Lowchen were intended to be a ladies companion and plaything. If they are too large, a lady would have difficulty picking a Lowchen up and would also find it uncomfortable to have them in their lap. Also as Lowchen were 'hot water bottles' for under the blankets and under the skirts of ladies, size would affect their ability to perform this task.

Do not however penalise a smaller Lowchen if it is correctly balanced and proportioned, equally when a dog is up to size it must have correct balance. Additionally, a dog that is slightly over the Standard, but an otherwise excellent specimen should be preferred over an ‘in size’ less typical example of the breed.  The balance and breed type is paramount.  Lowchen that are quite obviously over the standard though, should be penalised as this prevents them from performing as a ladies companion. Too large a Lowchen will not show true type and will almost always have 'too much' in other areas which will take away the beauty  and overall expression this breed offers.

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. 

NOTE- Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.