standard

AKC LHASA APSO STANDARD

Character
Gay and assertive, but chary of strangers.

Size
Variable, but about 10 inches or 11 inches at shoulder for dogs, bitches slightly
smaller.

Color
All colors equally acceptable with or without dark tips to ears and beard.
The following are the current color choices offered by AKC for registration. There
are 8 standard colors, 5 alternate colors and 6 markings.

Standard colors:
Black
Golden (pale gold to wheaten)
Grizzle (bluish-gray or iron gray color due to an mixture of black and white hairs.
Red grizzle is a mixture of black and red hairs.)
Red Gold (Dark apricot to light red)
White
Black and Tan (Typical black and tan markings; i.e. black body color with tan
spots above eyes, on cheeks, on muzzle, chest, legs and vent)
Cream (Almost white to darker shades of cream)
Red (Solid red with shades of Viszla red to Irish Setter red)

Alternate colors:
Gray (Light charcoal or blue or grizzle)
Silver (a mixture of cream and black, charcoal or gray; i.e. cream sable or cream
grizzle)
Liver (or brown or chocolate - deep reddish brown with self-colored liver skin
pigment)
Charcoal (Dark slate gray, i.e. faded black)
Blue (A dilution of black, either light of dark blue gray with self-colored blue skin
pigment)

Markings:
Brindle (A color pattern produced by the presence of darker hairs froming bands
and giving a striped effect on a background of cream, gold or red)
Sable (A color pattern produced by black tipped hairs overlaid upon a
background of gold, cream, red or red gold)
Parti-color (A color pattern broken up into two or more colors, of which is white,
in more or less equal portions)
White markings (White on a colored background usually on one area or a
combination: chest, collar, blaze, muzzle, feet or tail tip)
Black tips (black tipped hairs)
Black mask with tips (Dark shading of varying degrees about the head, ears, and
tail)

Body Shape
The length from point of shoulders to point of buttocks longer than height at
withers, well ribbed up, strong loin, well-developed quarters and thighs.

Coat
Heavy, straight, hard, not woolly nor silky, of good length, and very dense.

Mouth and Muzzle
The preferred bite is either level or slightly undershot. Muzzle of medium length; a
square muzzle is objectionable.

Head
Heavy head furnishings with good fall over eyes, good whiskers and beard; skull
narrow, falling away behind the eyes in a marked degree, not quite flat, but not
domed or apple-shaped; straight foreface of fair length. Nose black, the length
from tip of nose to eye to be roughly about one-third of the total length from nose
to back of skull.

Eyes
Dark brown, neither very large and full, nor very small and sunk.

Ears
Pendant, heavily feathered.

Legs
Forelegs straight; both forelegs and hind legs heavily furnished with hair.

Feet
Well feathered, should be round and catlike, with good pads.

Tail and Carriage
Well feathered, should be carried well over back in a screw; there may be a kink
at the end. A low carriage of stern is a serious fault.

Approved July 11, 1978

FOR A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE BREED STANDARD WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND
THE FOLLOWING LINK ALAC ILLUSTRATED BREED STANDARD pdf

BREED STANDARDS

AKC GREAT DANE STANDARD

General Appearance
The Great Dane combines, in its regal appearance, dignity, strength and elegance
with great size and a powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body. It is one of
the giant working breeds, but is unique in that its general conformation must be so
well balanced that it never appears clumsy, and shall move with a long reach and
powerful drive. It is always a unit-the Apollo of dogs. A Great Dane must be
spirited, courageous, never timid; always friendly and dependable. This physical
and mental combination is the characteristic which gives the Great Dane the
majesty possessed by no other breed. It is particularly true of this breed that there
is an impression of great masculinity in dogs, as compared to an impression of
femininity in bitches. Lack of true Dane breed type, as defined in this standard, is a
serious fault.

Size, Proportion, Substance
The male should appear more massive throughout than the bitch, with larger frame
and heavier bone. In the ratio between length and height, the Great Dane should be
square. In bitches, a somewhat longer body is permissible, providing she is well
proportioned to her height. Coarseness or lack of substance are equally
undesirable. The male shall not be less than 30 inches at the shoulders, but it is
preferable that he be 32 inches or more, providing he is well proportioned to his
height. The female shall not be less than 28 inches at the shoulders, but it is
preferable that she be 30 inches or more, providing she is well proportioned to her
height. Danes under minimum height must be disqualified.

Head
The head shall be rectangular, long, distinguished, expressive, finely chiseled,
especially below the eyes. Seen from the side, the Dane's forehead must be
sharply set off from the bridge of the nose, (a strongly pronounced stop). The
plane of the skull and the plane of the muzzle must be straight and parallel to one
another. The skull plane under and to the inner point of the eye must slope without
any bony protuberance in a smooth line to a full square jaw with a deep muzzle
(fluttering lips are undesirable). The masculinity of the male is very pronounced in
structural appearance of the head. The bitch's head is more delicately formed.
Seen from the top, the skull should have parallel sides and the bridge of the nose
should be as broad as possible. The cheek muscles should not be prominent. The
length from the tip of the nose to the center of the stop should be equal to the
length from the center of the stop to the rear of the slightly developed occiput. The
head should be angular from all sides and should have flat planes with dimensions
in proportion to the size of the Dane. Whiskers may be trimmed or left natural.
Eyes shall be medium size, deep set, and dark, with a lively intelligent expression.
The eyelids are almond-shaped and relatively tight, with well developed brows.
Haws and Mongolian eyes are serious faults. In harlequins, the eyes should be
dark; light colored eyes, eyes of different colors and walleyes are permitted but not
desirable. Ears shall be high set, medium in size and of moderate thickness, folded
forward close to the cheek. The top line of the folded ear should be level with the
skull. If cropped, the ear length is in proportion to the size of the head and the ears
are carried uniformly erect.

Nose shall be black, except in the blue Dane, where it is a dark blue-black. A
black spotted nose is permitted on the harlequin; a pink colored nose is not
desirable. A split nose is a disqualification.

Teeth shall be strong, well developed, clean and with full dentition. The incisors of
the lower jaw touch very lightly the bottoms of the inner surface of the upper
incisors (scissors bite). An undershot jaw is a very serious fault. Overshot or wry
bites are serious faults. Even bites, misaligned or crowded incisors are minor faults.

Neck, Topline, Body
The neck shall be firm, high set, well arched, long and muscular. From the nape, it
should gradually broaden and flow smoothly into the withers. The neck underline
should be clean. Withers shall slope smoothly into a short level back with a broad
loin. The chest shall be broad, deep and well muscled. The forechest should be
well developed without a pronounced sternum. The brisket extends to the elbow,
with well sprung ribs. The body underline should be tightly muscled with a
well-defined tuck-up.

The croup should be broad and very slightly sloping. The tail should be set high
and smoothly into the croup, but not quite level with the back, a continuation of the
spine. The tail should be broad at the base, tapering uniformly down to the hock
joint. At rest, the tail should fall straight. When excited or running, it may curve
slightly, but never above the level of the back. A ring or hooked tail is a serious
fault. A docked tail is a disqualification.

Forequarters
The forequarters, viewed from the side, shall be strong and muscular. The shoulder
blade must be strong and sloping, forming, as near as possible, a right angle in its
articulation with the upper arm. A line from the upper tip of the shoulder to the
back of the elbow joint should be perpendicular. The ligaments and muscles
holding the shoulder blade to the rib cage must be well developed, firm and
securely attached to prevent loose shoulders. The shoulder blade and the upper
arm should be the same length. The elbow should be one-half the distance from the
withers to the ground. The strong pasterns should slope slightly. The feet should be
round and compact with well-arched toes, neither toeing in, toeing out, nor rolling
to the inside or outside. The nails should be short, strong and as dark as possible,
except that they may be lighter in harlequins. Dewclaws may or may not be
removed.

Hindquarters
The hindquarters shall be strong, broad, muscular and well angulated, with well let
down hocks. Seen from the rear, the hock joints appear to be perfectly straight,
turned neither toward the inside nor toward the outside. The rear feet should be
round and compact, with well-arched toes, neither toeing in nor out. The nails
should be short, strong and as dark as possible, except they may be lighter in
harlequins. Wolf claws are a serious fault.

Coat
The coat shall be short, thick and clean with a smooth glossy appearance.

Color, Markings and Patterns

Brindle--The base color shall be yellow gold and always brindled with strong
black cross stripes in a chevron pattern. A black mask is preferred. Black should
appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip.
The more intensive the base color and the more distinct and even the brindling, the
more preferred will be the color. Too much or too little brindling are equally
undesirable. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted, dirty colored
brindles are not desirable.

Fawn--The color shall be yellow gold with a black mask. Black should appear on
the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The deep
yellow gold must always be given the preference. White markings at the chest and
toes, black-fronted dirty colored fawns are not desirable.

Blue--The color shall be a pure steel blue. White markings at the chest and toes
are not desirable.

Black--The color shall be a glossy black. White markings at the chest and toes
are not desirable.

Harlequin--Base color shall be pure white with black torn patches irregularly and
well distributed over the entire body; a pure white neck is preferred. The black
patches should never be large enough to give the appearance of a blanket, nor so
small as to give a stippled or dappled effect. Eligible, but less desirable, are a few
small gray patches, or a white base with single black hairs showing through, which
tend to give a salt and pepper or dirty effect.

Mantle--The color shall be black and white with a solid black blanket extending
over the body; black skull with white muzzle; white blaze is optional; whole white
collar is preferred; a white chest; white on part or whole of forelegs and hind legs;
white tipped black tail. A small white marking in the blanket is acceptable, as is a
break in the white collar.

Any variance in color or markings as described above shall be faulted to the extent
of the deviation. Any Great Dane which does not fall within the above color
classifications must be disqualified. There are many registrable colors however
they are not allowed to be shown in conformation events. Click here to see the list
and codes for registration

Gait
The gait denotes strength and power with long, easy strides resulting in no tossing,
rolling or bouncing of the topline or body. The backline shall appear level and
parallel to the ground. The long reach should strike the ground below the nose
while the head is carried forward. The powerful rear drive should be balanced to
the reach. As speed increases, there is a natural tendency for the legs to converge
toward the centerline of balance beneath the body. There should be no twisting in
or out at the elbow or hock joints.

Temperament
The Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, always friendly and dependable,
and never timid or aggressive.   Disqualifications Danes under minimum height.
Split nose. Docked Tail. Any color other than those described under "Color,
Markings and Patterns."

Approved March 8, 1999
Effective April 28, 1999

For and illustrated version of the breed standard please follow this link
http://www.gdca.org/illustrated.htm