meet the... Sussex Spaniel

Head

• General Appearance: Well-balanced, mesaticephalic skull type, moderate in size, and in proportion to the rest of the body. The topskull is fairly broad and exhibits a moderate arch between the ears when viewed from the front. The topskull should appear neither flat nor domed. The brows are strongly developed, giving the appearance of somewhat of a frown. The occiput is well-developed without appearing overly pronounced. The head exhibits good bone and substance. The head is clean-cut and without excess skin or wrinkles.
• Expression: Soft, noble, gentle, intelligent, and sociable.
• Stop: The stop is pronounced.
• Skull: The ideal muzzle-to-skull ratio is approximately 5:4, with the topskull being just longer than the muzzle.
  The ideal muzzle-to-skull axis is slightly convergent.
• Muzzle: The muzzle is full, deep, and strong throughout, giving an almost square appearance. The plane, or bridge of the muzzle, is straight. The upper and lower jaws are well-developed, approximately equal in length, and have good bone substance, never appearing snipy or weak. The muzzle is powerful enough to sufficiently retrieve game all day long.
• Lips or Flews: The lips are clean and fit rather well over the teeth and jaws. The upper lip just covers the lower jaw but should not extend beyond the lower plane of the jaw. They are never loose, pendulous, or “wet.”
• Nose: The nose is well-pigmented and liver. The nostrils are well opened.
• Cheeks: The cheeks are well-developed and well-muscled. They should not appear chiseled or flat.
• 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 is not to be penalized.
• Eyes: Moderately large in size, open-oval, open-almond, or lemon-shaped, and hazel, amber, or medium-brown in color. The eye rims are well fitted and well pigmented with no exposed or visible haws. 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: Moderately long, fairly broad throughout, lobular, and set level somewhat low on the skull, with the base falling even with or just above the level of the eyes. The ears are pendant, hanging close to the head.

Body and Tail

• General Description: Somewhat compact, deep, and of good substance, yet allowing for stamina, endurance, and agility. The body is never racy, refined, heavy, or cloddy. The width at the forequarters is approximately equal to the width at the hindquarters.
• Neck: Moderately long length allows for good head carriage. It is strongly muscled with a slight arch. The neck tapers smoothly from the deeper and broader body toward the head. The neck is clean-cut and without excess skin, throatiness, or dewlap.
• Chest: Deep and broad but never wider than deep. The brisket extends to the point of the elbows.
• Topline: Level or just slightly sloped from withers to croup. The back is broad, strongly muscled, and straight, yet supple. The loin is taut, being flat and level or slightly arched, yet supportive. The back is never short, swayed, or roached.
• Croup: The body croup is 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 somewhat low on the croup. 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, typically at approximately the level of the topline, but never tucked or carried up over the back. The tail may be left natural (preferred) or docked short. Natural tails are 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. Docked tails are customarily surgically cut to 5-7 inches.

Forequarters and Hindquarters

• Forequarters: The forequarters are always balanced with the hindquarters and well-angulated with well-laid-back shoulder blades. The shoulder blades are 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 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 equal in length, strong, 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: 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 and 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 single outer coat is abundant and flat, being short on the face, forehead, and front of the forelimbs, hindlimbs, fore-pasterns, hind pasterns, and feet. It is medium-long in length on the body, with slightly longer furnishings on the ears, underline, chest, tail, and back of the forelegs and hind legs. It may be flat or just slightly wavy, never curly or wooly.
• Coat Color or Pattern: The preferred color is a solid, rich golden liver, although the darker liver is not uncommon and should not be penalized on an otherwise exemplary specimen.

Movement

Due to the stature in comparison to the body width, some individuals may exhibit a very slight (almost imperceptible) roll, which is permissible. Otherwise, the movement is effortless, energetic, efficient, active, and merry, and 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 Sussex Spaniel breed is defined by their easygoing nature, unusually docile disposition, and enthusiasm for life. These dogs are very people-oriented, being friendly, intelligent, and sociable with other dogs and people. They are highly intelligent, taking on most training tasks with enthusiasm. Due to their original purpose of alerting by barking, they tend to be a bit “barkier” than most other spaniel types. They are happiest in a home that allows them ample room for running and plenty of mental and sensory exercise. 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.