NATIVE AMERICAN VILLAGE DOG Breed Standards
Native American Village Dog (Village Dog)
Goup 6 – Utility
Country of Development – United States of America
Standards Written: November 1, 2007 (revised: February 13, 2009)
GENERAL APPEARANCE - The Native American Village Dog (Village Dog) is a breed that has been bred to offer a representation of the old reservation dogs of the Hare and Plains Indians before the introduction of horses. They were a powerful and substantially built dog with a moderately deep, to deep chest and a strong well muscled body. The sizes will vary dependent on the type being represented, whether of the Hare (smaller), Common Indian or Plains (larger) dog. There uses were to guard the villages, protect the villagers from predators when they were out harvesting their crops or collecting nuts and berries, alert the villagers of advancing enemies, baby sit the young and elderly, help track and hold at bay the Indian Hunters game, as well as help transport the game. They also were beasts of burden and would transport the homes and supplies of the Indian family when they moved to new locations by dragging a travois of substantial weight behind them. These dogs had to be able to do multiple tasks. They needed to be good at herding, guarding and pulling.
The Village Dog should stand well over the pads and should emulate a proud, majestic type of carriage. The head should be set well on the neck and shoulders with eyes that are alert and show interest and curiosity. The neck is of moderate length. The head is triangular and is wider between the ears and narrows as it reaches the nose. There is a mild stop. The nose is not stubby, but is slender and can be long but should be balanced based on the size of the head. The eyes are almond shaped and moderately spaced and set obliquely. The eyes can be of any color but most commonly are light amber, light to dark brown, blue and on rare occasions can be yellow, gold, gray or hazel.
The coat is well furred and can be thick with guard hairs sufficient in length to protect the wholly undercoat. Medium to long coats are acceptable. The body is slightly elongated (rectangular in proportion), powerful and well muscled. They should have medium to heavy bone with sound legs, good feet, moderately deep, to deep chest and powerful shoulders and have all of the other physical attributes necessary for the performance of his job. His characteristic gait is smooth and seemingly effortless. The gait must be steady, balanced and totally efficient. The Village Dogs needed to have speed to keep up with large game but also needed endurance to pull loaded travois for long periods of time. There temperament can be aloof with strangers, which should not be faulted. The Hare-type dogs were more friendly and outgoing. They needed to be ready to take action to protect the village and villagers should the need arise, without fear or timidity.
CHARACTERISTICS: In judging Village Dogs, their function as a utility and working dog should be taken into consideration above all else. They are an all-around working herding, hunting and utility dog.
TEMPERAMENT: The Village Dog should have a well balanced temperament, with steady nerves, be self-assured with a free and easy attitude unless provoked, be completely good natured, as well as alert and tractable. He must have courage but not be combative, be instinctive and have the ability to be a protector, working, hunting, sledding or herding dog. Each temperament is dependent on the characteristics of each individual dog. Not all dogs are required to have each of the temperamental attributes. He does not display the possessive qualities of the guard dog, but can be suspicious of strangers. He should not be aggressive with other dogs. Some measure of reserve and dignity may be noted in the mature dog. It is not uncommon for them to use “warning” body language to try to ward off intruders, such as stomping the front feet or pulling back and lunging forward. They are playful on invitation with their family and those they know and are a loyal and devoted companion. They are friendly, affectionate and loving with family and friends and enjoy being cuddled. There have been instances when these dogs have used their natural instinctive abilities and have been known to use reasoning skills to help protect their human pack from danger.
HEAD AND SKULL: The head is wedge shaped and narrows down to the nose and should be in proportion to the body. The head is moderately broad and is slightly rounded between the ears than tapers gradually from the widest part of the eyes down to the nose. The nose can be black, brown (in red, tortoise shell and some crème colors), spotted or stripped (snow nose).
EYES: The eyes are almond shaped and are set slightly oblique and are small to medium in size. They should not be protruding or overly round. All eye colors are acceptable. The eyelids can be dark and can have the appearance of eyeliner.
EARS: The Village Dog has erect ears of small to medium size which are triangular in shape and can be slightly pointed but typically are rounded at the tips. Tipped ears are not to be faulted. Ears carried laid back during gaiting or when at rest are not faulty. They are set moderately apart on the outside back edges of the skull.
MOUTH: The upper and lower jaws are broad with large teeth. Teeth should meet in a scissor bite. Awry bites are not to be faulted. The lips are tight in front but can have looseness on the sides but should never hang open. These dogs do not drool.
NECK: The neck is to be strong and of moderate length and should be free of throatiness.
FOREQUARTERS: The shoulders are moderately sloped. Forelegs are moderately spaced, parallel with elbows close to the body. Straight legs are preferred but front feet that have mild toeing out should not be faulted. Pasterns are short and strong, but flexible, with a slight slope when viewed from the side. Bone should be moderately heavy to heavy. The length of the leg from the elbow to ground is slightly more than the distance from the elbow to the top of the withers.
HINDQUARTERS: The rear legs are broad and heavily muscled through the thighs and are moderately spaced. Straight legs are preferred but mild cow hocking should not be faulted. The stifles and hocks are moderately bent.
BODY: The chest is well developed and strong but not to broad with the deepest point being just behind and level with the elbows. The top-line should be straight. They are rectangular in proportion. The loin is strong and well muscled. The croup is short with a slight slop away from the spine at an angle but never so steeply as to restrict the rearward thrust of the hind legs. The larger type dog will have a longer body and back with legs proportionate to support and balance the frame.
FEET: The feet are webbed with well cushioned pads that are thick and tough, nails are short and strong. The feet can be of the snowshoe type or be more rounded. Both have a protective growth of hair between the toes.
TAIL: The tail is moderately set and follows the line of the spine at the base. It reaches at least to the hock, however, not below the middle of the rear pastern. A precaudal scent gland should be visibly noticeable 1/3 of the way down from the dock of the tail and contains a combination of hair
colors ranging from black, gray, silver white or auburn or any combination thereof on tails that are ¾ white. Those with darker tails will still have the precaudal scent gland but it may not be visible and should not be faulted if it cannot be seen. The preferred tail set is carried down when at rest but can be carried higher in excitement and during movement. It can be carried horizontally or above the horizontal with the tail having a slight curl that is carried high over the back. It should never be curled tightly. It is acceptable to have a tail set that is similar to the Husky or Malamute breeds. It should be well furred on the medium and wholly varieties. On the short haired dogs the hair on the underside of the tail is slightly longer.
(**A major scent gland, called the precaudal gland or violet gland, is located near the top of the tail, about 10 cm (4 inches) down from the croup. Again the actual purpose of this gland is unknown, but it is believed that the oily bluish pheromone it produces may indicate the mood or level of sexual receptivity during mating season).
GAIT/MOVEMENT: The gait of the Village Dog should be steady, powerful, balanced, smooth and seemingly effortless, never clumsy or heavy. When in the show ring he should be gaited on a loose lead at a moderately fast trot, exhibiting good reach in the forequarters and good drive in the hindquarters. When viewed from the front or from the rear, the legs move true in line, not too close nor to wide. At a fast trot the feet will converge toward the centerline of the body. For those with a slight toeing out in front and/or mild cow hocking in the hindquarters when viewed from the front or from the rear the legs will move toward the outside but will then converge toward the centerline.
COAT: There are three coat lengths in the Village Dog. Short, medium or long Wholly coats. Around the ears should be well furred on the wholly dogs and moderately furred on the short coat. The Village Dog should be double coated with guard hairs, which can be coarse or soft. Softness is not to be faulted. The coat should not have any doggy odor to it.
The short coats should have a top coat that is dense, straight and close lying. It should be short on the head, inside the ears (some furring is acceptable), on the front of the legs and on the top of the feet. The hair should be a little longer and heavier around the neck. The hair may be longer on the back of the legs to the pastern or hock. The back of the thighs should have moderate to heavy breeching.
In the medium to long whollies, there should be a definite mane that frames the face. It should be short on the head and the ears should be well furred. The hair on the front of the legs should be shorter with longer more wholly hair along the back of both the front and rear legs. There can be a part down the middle of the back. The back of the thighs should have a good amount of breeching.
The Village Dog is shown naturally. Trimming the fur between the toes and around the feet to present a neater appearance is permissible. Trimming the fur on any other part of the dog should be penalized. It should be noted that the absence of undercoat during the shedding season or for those dogs residing in warmer climates is normal and should not be penalized.
COLOUR: All colors from black to pure white are allowed. Common colors are light, medium and dark tortoise shell, black sable, black/tan, black/red, black and gray coloring on a white based coat, silver sable, blue (rare), red (rare), crème, white with black tipped hairs along the back and sides, pinto markings, splashing or any combination thereof. A variety of markings on the head are common including striking patterns not found in other breeds. Blue, blue/creams, red and brindling are the rarest colors. Each of them are recessive colors that are not commonly seen among the breed.
SIZE:
Average height at withers:
Dogs 25 – 28 inches
Females 20 – 25 inches
Average weight:
Dogs 70 to 95 lbs
Females 50 to 75 lbs.
(females will typically weigh 20% less than the males).
FAULTS: Ears that are set down to low on the head, overshot, or undershot bites, lightness of bone, any gait that is not balanced, a tail that is to tightly curled over the back, large gaps between teeth.
The degree to which the dog is penalized should depend upon the extent to which the dog deviates from the description of the ideal Village Dog and the extent to which the particular fault would actually affect the working ability of the dog.
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Dwarfism or any characteristic of such, weak character, savageness or excessive nervousness, monorchid, cryptorchid, uneven or atrophied (stunted) testicles, deformities or any disfiguring defects.
NOTE: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
