meet the... Affenpinscher

Head

• General Appearance: Somewhat brachycephalic skull-type, never completely flat in profile. The head is moderate in size, always in proportion to the rest of the body. The skull is rounded, somewhat high, and domed rather than elongated. The forehead is pronounced. The head is clean-cut without excess skin or wrinkles. It is smoothly muscled, never overly coarse or light.
• Expression: Lively, alert, charming, endearing, intent watchfulness, rather “pouty,” and simian-like.
  
• Stop: The stop is clear and definite, forming a 90-degree angle between the topskull and muzzle.
  
• Skull: The ideal skull-to-muzzle ratio is 1:5, with the topskull being longer than the muzzle. The length of the muzzle is ideally equal to the distance between the eyes. The ideal skull-to-muzzle axis is convergent.
• Muzzle: Shorter than the domed topskull. The upper and lower jaws have good bone substance, are strong, well developed, and never appear snipy or weak. The plane of the muzzle is straight, turned neither up, as in “snub-nosed” breeds, nor down. Nor should the muzzle be so short as to create a flat profile. The muzzle tapers just slightly to a somewhat blunt end. The lower jaw is slightly curved, allowing the lower lip to protrude just slightly in a pouting manner.
• Lips or Flews: The lips are clean and fit tightly over the teeth and jaws. Lips meet in the front of the incisors. The top lip never covers the lower lip in the front. The lower lip is prominent, giving the Affen his characteristic “pout.”
• Nose: The nose is either well-pigmented, black, or self-colored (liver or flesh-colored), according to the coat. The nostrils are well-opened.
• Cheeks: Like the rest of the body, the cheeks are smoothly muscled. The cheeks should not be chiseled or coarse.
• Dentition and Bite: Forty-two strong, clean, and white teeth. A reverse-scissors bite or a level bite is permissible if the correct expression is retained. The teeth and tongue must not be visible when the mouth is closed. Contact must be made between the top and bottom incisors.
• Eyes: Moderate in size, full and round shaped, and dark colored. The eye rims are well-fitted and well-pigmented. The eyes are never bulging. There should be sufficient bone in the surrounding orbital sockets to protect the eyes.
• Ears: Small (preferred) to medium in size, set high, close to the skull, and v-shaped. Ears may be erect, semi-erect, drop, or mismatched. Cropped ears are also permissible. The ears are never long or overly large.

Body and Tail

• General Description: Compact, solid, and good of substance. The body is never racy or refined. The width at the forequarters is approximately equal to the width at the hindquarters.
• Neck: Moderate in length to allow for proud head carriage and well-muscled. The neck tapers just slightly from the deeper and broader body toward the head. The neck is clean-cut without excess skin or dewlap.
• Chest: Deep and broad but never wider than deep. The brisket extends to the point of the elbows or just below.
• Topline: The withers are prominent. The topline is straight and may be level or just slightly sloped from withers to croup. The back is of a moderate length, broad, strongly muscled, and straight, yet supple. The loin is short, firm, and strong. The topline is never swayed or roached.
• Croup: Short, broad, and slightly sloped.
  
• Underline: A slight tuck-up may be present, or the underline may run parallel to the topline. The underline is taut and firm, without any indication of sagging or excess weight.
• Ribs: Long, well-sprung, well-laid-back, oval-shaped, never barrel-chested or slab-sided.
  
• Tail: Set high on the croup, thick at the base, and tapering toward the tip. Carried in accordance with the dog’s mood and energy level, often high and carried gently curved over the back, never tucked. The tail may be left natural (preferred) or docked short. Natural tails are of a medium length, with the tip of the last vertebrae extending to the hock joints when held down. Straight, saber, or sickle tails are permissible. Docked tails are cut between 1-2 inches long.

Forequarters and Hindquarters

• Forequarters: The forequarters are always in balance with the hindquarters and well-angulated with well-laid-back shoulder blades. Shoulder blades are of a moderately long length and approximately equal in length to the upper arm and forearm.
• Elbows: The elbows are close to the body. The distance from the withers to the brisket may be equal to, or just greater than, the distance from the elbows to the ground.
• Forelegs: Frontal View: Straight, of good muscle and bone, and parallel to one another.
  Side View: The forelimbs appear straight with strong pasterns.
• Pasterns: Never weak or broken.
• Hindquarters: The upper and lower thighs are equal in length, strong, sturdy, of good bone, and well-muscled.
  Rear View: When viewed from the rear, the rear pasterns are parallel to one another.
  Side View: Good angulation will allow the rear toes to align with the point of the rump or within one to two paw-lengths behind the point of the rump, with the rear pasterns remaining perpendicular to the ground and parallel to one another.
• Stifle Joint: Well-angulated with a good bend to well-let-down rear pasterns.
• Stifle Joint: The angulation of the hindquarters is always in balance with the angulation of the forequarters.
• Feet: Oval to round, compact, with well-arched toes and tough pads.

Coat

• Skin: Well-fitted, yet supple. The skin should never obstruct the outline of the dog.
  
• Coat Type: The skin is closely fitted over the entire body. The coat is dense, rough, harsh, and wiry with longer and less harsh hair on the head (including eyebrows, beard, mustache, and head furnishings), neck, chest, stomach, and legs; never silky, soft, with curl. The hair on the ears is cut short.
• Coat Color or Pattern: CKC recognizes two color varieties of the Affenpinscher breed: the standard and nonstandard.
  
  Standard coat color: Pure black with a black undercoat, rusty black, grey, silver, all with or without cream, silver, tan, or red points. Belge (sable with black tips), red, tan, or beige with (referred to as fawn) or without a melanistic mask. A small amount of white on the chest and toes is permissible.
  
  Nonstandard coat color: Liver, with or without cream, tan, or red points.

Movement

Sound, balanced, confident, energetic, effortless, efficient, and light. The characteristics of a healthy structure are evident. When moving away, the forelegs and rear pasterns should remain parallel to one another. When viewing movement from the front, the forelegs should remain parallel, with elbows and paws moving neither moving in nor out. From the rear, the back pads should be visible when the rear legs are extended. As speed increases, the forelimbs and hindlimbs will converge to the center line of gravity. From the side, the topline should remain firm and level. Good reach of movement in the front allows the forepaw to extend out in line with the nose. When extended, the width between the forefeet should be approximately equal to the width between the hindfeet when extended, indicating balance, good reach, and a good drive. Dogs that exhibit any sign of breathing or locomotive difficulty shall be disqualified from the show ring.

Temperament

Fearless, plucky, alert, inquisitive, and confident. They are loyal and devoted to their people or family but can become excitable and quick-tempered when they feel threatened. Their devotion and ability to bond strongly with their people make them great family companions. Any unprovoked aggressive or fearful behavior toward people is incorrect for this breed.

Faults

All dogs should be in proper healthy condition, free from disease or defect. Any departure from this description is considered a fault. Unless altered, all male dogs should have two fully descended testicles.