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The YORKSHIRE TOFTY the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams 'Eleanor Roosevelt'
Tofty Appearance
This page provides the basic appearance that the project aims for. Each Tofty will however be slightly different due to their diversity.
When breeding Toftys, care is taken to ensure that form is not chosen over function. The most important aspects of the Tofty are their construction, general health, and nature.
Function has to be the first chosen criteria, and the correct form (phenotype) will undoubtedly follow that function.
General appearance and character
Built showing strength and activity, well muscled quarters with a moderate amount of bone, lithe and active in movements. A dog of good anatomical balance and formation, entirely free from cloddiness and able to jump, trot and change direction effortlessly. Movement always light and fluid. A dog with stamina who conserves energy. Hugging the ground when running but moving in a more upright body position on the trot. Standing he gives a dignified elegant appearance. He must be gifted with true expression. Expression comes from within. The tofty has eyes of medium size, brown, blue, green or amber or flecked with several of these. Any colour is acceptable as long as the expression remains true. Adult Tofty should have darker pigment around the eyes. Expression quick, alert and intelligent giving the general appearance of a happy dog gifted with a sweetness that denotes kindness and thinking ability.Eyes should be placed somewhat obliquely but must NEVER be small or set deeply into the head. Expression should never be mean. The TOFTY is a friendly loyal dog, observant and sympathetic to his owners mood. Should the need arise he will ward off intruders. When working stock he is vocal and holds his tail high.
Head and Ears
The skull on a mature dog should ideally be flat in both length and width, moderately wide between the ears, very gradually tapering towards the muzzle which should not be pinched or snipey. There should be a slight depression at the stop and skull and muzzle should be equal in length. The line of skull in profile sits slightly above the line of the muzzle. There should be no excessive depth from the brow to the underside of the jaw, the length and flatness of skull providing sufficient brain room. Cheeks not full or prominent and rather wolf-like. If the stop is too deep the head will be too deep. Under-jaw strong with sufficient width for the teeth to sit squarely. Chin strong and well formed with tight lip line.Teeth should never be over crowded and should be of good size. Ears should be moderately wide at the base,placed not too close together on top of the head but not wide apart either. Preferably tipped but can be pricked, this is down to personal preference. It does not hinder working ability. If your puppies ears prick during teething and you would prefer them to tip, apply grease to them during the teething period.
Neck and Body
Neck is muscular and of good length, it should be arched and never short or straight.Body length slightly longer from sternum to hips than the measurement from shoulder to ground. Ribs behind the elbows well sprung but never round, they should be oval in shape. Shoulders well sloped, elbows sitting underneath the withers in profile. Loins slightly arched and powerful, not long, croup rounded. Front legs straight when viewed from the front with strong pasterns. Body never slab sided, short square or cobby. Nothing exaggerated. Hind legs muscular at the thighs, clean and sinewy below the hock. Well let down hocks and well developed bend of stifle, the TOFTY should never have straight stifles, or stand or move with its bottom higher than the withers. The hock itself should be well let down and not stiff. However the hind feet should not be placed at a curved angle under the dogs body (sickle hocks) nor should the dog be cow hocked. When veiwed from the rear the dog should stand with width between its hind feet, lack of space suggests a narrow pelvis ot loss of muscle. Anything that would compromise a dogs ability to work is a fault.
Feet
Feet are very important, they should be oval in shape with soles well padded. Toes arched and close together, hind feet slightly less arched. Pads strong
Tail
The brush should be long with the bone reaching at least to the hock joint and with an upward swirl at the tip. May be carried gaily or upright when the dog is excited, on heavily coated dogs the hair on the tail will fall over the back. Dogs use their tail to express themselves. Carried low when relaxed.
Coat
Coat is double having a weatherproof top coat and a soft undercoat for insulation against both cold and heat. The coat MUST fit the outline of the dog. Mane and frill should be moderate to abundant but not exaggerated, longer in males than females. Mask or face is smooth but ears carry hair at the base, less at the tips. Forelegs slightly feathered, hind legs above the hock profusely so but clean below the hocks although some dogs will grow a light feathering. Hair on the brush is very profuse. The undercoat should not be visible, it should be very dense but shorter in length than the top coat. Dogs naturally shed coat in summer months, young dogs will shed their puppy coat at around 10-14 months.
Colour
Colour and markings are immaterial providing they are found naturally within the Rough collie/Sheepdog gene pools. There is one exception, the mating of two merle dogs that have been tested and proven to have merle tail lengths that if mated together risk the production of defective white puppies is to be strongly discouraged. No such puppies will be eligible for registration on my data base. Acceptable colours include Black, tan and white, Black and White, Black and Tan, Solid Gold, solid red,shaded gold and shaded red. (Mahogany). Tricolour merle (known to rough collie breeders as blue merle) sable merle and any colour naturally occurring within the Welsh sheepdog gene pool. Colour headed white is also acceptable. All colours can have a black face mask, a white blaze on skull, muzzle or both, any shade os sable/red/gold can have a darker widows peak. White markings vary, but there is always white on the tail tip (lantern)
Height and Weight
The tofty should never be fat. The flesh should be firm in the mature dog. Ideal heights are :
Male when fully mature (2-3 years) 53-61 cm at the shoulder. Weight: 21-28 kg
Females 48-55 cm at the shoulder and 17-22 kg
A fit dog carries no useless timber.
Movement
Keywords are light and effortless. A reasonable long stride but it is important that the length of stride is balanced and equal in distance at both front and back. The gait must be light and fluid. The dog should drive from the rear, it should not pull itself along from the front. The hocks must therefore be strong and flexible, never stiff and cardboard like. This is why the hock should be well let down and powerful (photos to follow) This dog should be able to change direction at speed and also moving up or down a hillside. Moving away there should be a hands width between the hind feet, as the dog accelerates the dogs feet will converge into single tracking. Front feet land relatively close to the central line but the elbows must not stick out (caused by round rib cage), and there should be no actual crossing, plaiting, or rolling. Top line of back should remain level. Avoid exaggerations that would hinder a working dog.
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