meet the... Griffon Nivernais

Head

• General Appearance: Somewhat elongated and substantial, but not heavy. Always in proportion to the rest of the body. The back skull is flat and only moderately broad, with a slightly defined zygomatic arch and occiput. The head is light, dry, and clean-cut, without excess skin, wrinkles, or folds.
• Expression: Somewhat unruly, capable of piercing gaze.
• Stop: The stop is slight but appears more abrupt than it is due to coat furnishings.
• Skull: The ideal muzzle-to-skull ratio is 1:1, with the long plane of the topskull being equal to the long plane of the muzzle.
  The ideal muzzle-to-skull axis is parallel.
• Muzzle: The muzzle is full, deep, broad, and rectangular throughout, or with just a slight (almost imperceptible) taper toward the end of the muzzle. The plane, or bridge of the muzzle, is straight and level. The upper and lower jaws are well developed, approximately equal in length, and have good bone substance, never appearing snipey or weak.
• Lips or Flews: The lips are fairly clean and dry and fit somewhat tightly over the teeth and jaws, giving the muzzle a very slight taper, or the lips may appear somewhat clean and fit well over the teeth and jaws. The upper lip should extend to just cover the lower jaw without protruding well below it or appearing pendulous and “wet.”
• Nose: The nose is well-pigmented and black. The nostrils are well opened.
• Cheeks: The cheeks may appear flat and smooth, or some padding of the cheeks may be present to denote strength.
• Dentition and Bite: Forty-two strong, clean, and white teeth. The bite may be level, scissor, or reverse-scissor. Contact must be made between the top and bottom incisors. Missing or broken teeth due to routine work are not to be penalized.
• Eyes: Moderate in size, oval, open almond, medium to dark brown in color, with darker eyes preferred. 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. Any signs of entropion or ectropion are incorrect for this breed.
• Ears: Moderate to fairly long in length, set somewhat back and slightly low on the skull, with the base falling between the plane of the skull and eye level. They are drop or pendant-shaped and may hang flat or rolled/folded. Both types of ears should be held close to the head. The tips of the ear leathers should extend to approximately the point of the nose but never beyond. They are highly mobile.

Body and Tail

• General Description: Deep, robust, and substantial, never cloddy or racy. The width at the forequarters is approximately equal to the width at the hindquarters.
• Neck: Fairly dry, moderate length allows for good head carriage and movement. It is powerfully muscled with a slight arch. The neck tapers smoothly from the deeper and broader body toward the head. The neck is fairly clean-cut, without excess skin folds, heavy throatiness, or pendulous dewlap.
• Chest: Deep and broad but never wider than deep, with forechest slightly developed, never overly prominent. The brisket extends to the point of the elbows.
• Topline: Level from withers to croup. The back is short, broad, strongly muscled, and straight, yet supple. The loin is taut, flat, level, or slightly arched yet supportive. The back is never elongated, swayed, or roached.
• Croup: Broad and gently sloped.
• Underline: A slight to moderate tuck-up is present. The underline is taut and firm, without any indication of sagging or excess weight.
• Ribs: Long, well-sprung, well-laid-back, and oval-shaped, never barrel-chested or slab-sided.
• Tail: Set fairly high. It is thick at the base and tapering toward the tip. The tail is carried in accordance with the dog’s mood and energy level, often just below the horizontal when relaxed or at a right angle with the topline or sickled over the back when working. It is never tucked. The tail is of a moderate length, with the tip of the last vertebrae extending to the hock joints when held down. The tail may be straight or gently curved.

Forequarters and Hindquarters

• Forequarters: The forequarters are always balanced with the hindquarters and slightly angulated and feature laid-back shoulder blades. The shoulder blades are long and approximately equal in length to the upper arm and forearm.
• Elbows: The elbows are close to the body. The point of the elbows is approximately half the dog’s height at the withers.
• Forelegs: Frontal View: Straight, of good muscle, of moderate yet sturdy 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 long, equal in length, strong, of moderate yet sturdy 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: Sufficiently 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 hare, 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: Medium length, shaggy, tousled, rough, and harsh, and may be straight to slightly waved but never woolly or curled. The head furnishings are strong, with pronounced eyebrows and a slight mustache and beard.
• Coat Color or Pattern: Various shades of black-based agouti (hare, wolf-agouti), including black agouti and tan, black agouti and red, and black agouti and cream.

Movement

Smooth, easy, effortless, efficient, and steady, 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 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 centerline 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 good drive. Dogs that exhibit any sign of breathing or locomotive difficulty shall be disqualified from the show ring.

Temperament

The Griffon Nivernais is a sociable yet independently thinking dog. They enjoy interaction with their family as a companion, but they also enjoy the challenge of the field, especially that of challenging terrain. They are, for the most part, even-tempered and get along well with other dogs and children. In the field, they are steady, confident, and enjoy working at their own pace. 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.