BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Friendly towards humans, calm, noble and very intelligent, at the same time courageous and proud towards strangers from whom he never backs away.  In his behaviour towards other dogs, he is good natured and aware of his superior strength.  Occasionally, he will fight with great skill, an atavistic quality which goes back to hundreds of years of fighting wolves.  His dark bark comes from deep within his chest.  His expression is alert.

HEAD : Large, strong, moderately long.  Length of skull is 5 : 4 in proportion to bridge of nose.  Longitudinal axes of skull and muzzle are very slightly diverging to almost parallel.  Seen from above, skull and muzzle must be long and even in shape without marked difference between width at set-on of muzzle and width at temple.  Seen from side, head must be deep and not bulging.

CRANIAL REGION : 
Skull : Broad, strong, slightly convex in profile.  Width of skull equal to or slightly broader than length.  Occipital bone pronounced.
Stop : Gentle, barely emphasized, but still visible.

FACIAL REGION :
Nose leather : Black, moist, large and broad.
Muzzle :  Seen from side, bridge of nose must be straight.  Seen from above, the muzzle is slightly triangular, tapering very gradually from its set on to the nose leather, without, however, getting pointed. 
Lips : The upper lip should cover the lower without any hint of slackness.  The lower lip forms a marked labial corner.  Mucous membranes should be black.                    
Jaws/Teeth : Scissor bite.  Teeth white, strong and healthy.  Canines : large, long, pointed, well adapted to each other, so as to be able to catch any prey.  Molars : large and strong.  Incisors : rather small.  All premolars should be present.  Gums black with pronounced transverse membraneous ridges.
Eyes : Small, almond shaped, hazel colour.  Dark eyes preferred.  Expression is alert, noble, sympathetic and intelligent, but can be extraordinarily stern towards an opponent. Eye lids : black pigmented. 

When dog is alert, lids fitting close to eyeball are preferred.  In repose, a slight slackness of the lower lid, which shows a small stripe of conjunctiva, is typical of the breed.
Ears : Medium size, triangular, hanging flat.  Set on above line of eyes.  In repose, hanging close to cheeks.  When dog is alert, clearly standing away from cheeks. One third of the upper and rear part should be slightly pricked.  Ears should not be cropped.

NECK : Should be the shape of a blunt cone, broad, strong, muscular and flexible.  Skin thick and slightly loose.  Distinct double dewlap, well formed, yet not exaggerated.

BODY :
General impression : Rectangular, powerful and robust, giving the impression of great strength, yet supple and agile.
Upperline : Straight, horizontal standing and moving.
Withers : Well pronounced.
Back : Strong and muscular.
Loins : Long, broad and strong, gradually getting narrower towards the flanks.
Croup : Wide and strong.  Compared to the horizontal its inclination is 45°. Height at rump equal to height at withers.
Chest : Broad, deep, muscular and powerful.  Point of sternum protruding.  Ribs spaced widely apart with rounded ribcage, not flat.  Proportion of height at withers to girth of chest : approximately 7 : 10.
Belly and flanks : Belly moderately tucked up.  Groin deep, flanks very broad.
 
TAIL : Set on medium high.  Thick at root, strong and flexible.  The coat on tail is definitely long, soft and forms a beautiful plume.  In repose it hangs low and reaches easily to the hocks.  The last third is always lightly curved.  In movement and when the dog is alert, it is carried in sabre form with definite hook at tip but without the entire length being bent or resting over the back.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS :
General impression : Seen from the front, absolutely vertical, straight and parallel.  Muscles and sinews clearly visible.  Length of forearm three times length of pastern.  Good strength of bone, strong pastern.
Shoulders : Well muscled.  Shoulderblade sloping, longer than forearm.  Angle of shoulderblade to upper arm approximately 100°.
Upper arm : Very strong.
Elbows : Very bony, close fitting to ribcage.  Angle of upper arm to forearm approximately 125°.
Forearm : Bone sturdy, straight and strong.
Pastern : Seen from side, slightly sloping, practically in continuation of forearm.
Front feet : Cat feet.  Toes tight with strong, well arched toe bones.  Nails and pads strong and robust.  Skin between toes moderately developed, hairy.

HINDQUARTERS :
General impression : Powerful, muscular.  Adequate angulations, seen from the side.  Seen from rear and side, limbs are vertical.  Hocks straight and vertical.  Hindquarters must have the ability to provide with ease forceful drive with elegance.
Upper thigh : Strong and muscular.  Hip joint angle approximately 100 degrees.
Stifle :  Angulation from upper upper to lower thigh approximately 120°.
Lower thigh : Long, well muscled and good strength of bone.
Hock : Angle open, approximately 130 degrees.
Hind pastern : Well defined with clearly visible Achilles tendon. Dewclaws, either single or double, are either present or missing.  Their removal is permitted.  In dogs of equal quality, double dewclaws are preferred.
Hind feet : Cat feet of light oval shape, slightly longer than front feet.
 
GAIT / MOVEMENT  : Preferred movement is the trot which should be harmonious, strong and elegant.  No tendency for legs to swing outward.  No pacing.

SKIN : Elastic, thick, pink in colour, with dark pigmented patches.  All mucous membranes should be black.

COAT

HAIR : Dense, thick and of moderate length.  The ideal medium length, measured on middle section of topline, should be 6 to 9 cm.  The coat is longer on the shoulders, neck, under belly, at the back of legs as well as on the tail.  On the plume, the texture is not as bristly as elsewhere on the body.  The coat should bristly, not woolly in texture.

COLOUR : Basic colour white, always with a well defined mask.  Sometimes there are irregularly distributed distinctly outlined patches of the same colour as the mask. Tricolour or pure white dogs are undesirable.  Ears always spotted.  Tip of tail and lower parts of legs are always white.  Mask should be clearly defined.  It is an advantage if the outline of the patches is clear cut.  At the roots, the coat should be as light as possible, ideally really white.  The most desired colours are, in order of preference, pure white (snow-white), patches medium grey, intensive golden yellow, brown, black, grey-silver, light beige, sandy or marbled.  Undesirable are red patches and yellowish-white basic colour.

SIZE  : There is no upper height limit.  When quality is equal, the bigger dog is always preferred.
Lower limit :   Dogs :     77 cm.
                     Bitches : 72 cm.
It is, however, desirable that all dogs should exceed the lower limit considerably.  Dogs should be above 81 cm, bitches 75 cm.                       
FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

SLIGHT FAULTS :

• Bridge of nose slightly arched when seen from side.
• Pincer bite. Any missing premolar. 
• Topline not straight.  Wavy, rolling movement at walking pace but not in an exaggerated way.
• Coat slightly wavy; coat in the middle section of the topline a little longer than 9 cm.
• Very slight shyness.

SERIOUS FAULTS :

• Generally weedy or sluggish.
• Muzzle too pointed or too blunt.
• Slightly overshot mouth.
• Absence of several premolars and canines if loss is not caused by an accident.
• Slight faults in the occlusion of the incisors.
• Cropped ears.
• Saddleback.
• Height much greater at the croup than at the withers.
• Tail carried lying over the croup; lack of plume; lack of hook on the end of the tail; docked tail.
• Extremities not vertical.
• General weakness in pastern, rear pasterns and feet.
• Cowhocked, either standing or moving.
• Legs swinging out sideways in movement.
• Coat very wavy or curly; coat in middle section of the topline slightly shorter than 6 cm and longer than 11 cm.
• Lack of patches on ears.
• Generally unbalanced temperament.

ELIMINATING FAULTS :

• Too shy, timorous or aggressive dog.
• Lack of pigment in noseleather or mucous membranes.
• Split nose.
• Very marked overshot mouth, undershot mouth.
• Coat in middle section of the topline only 4 cm or shorter or longer than 13 cm.
• Absence of white colour; absence of white on the tip of the tail and on lower parts of the legs.
• Solid white coat colour : lack of mask.
• Patches not clearly defined and with little contrast to basic colour which points to a cross with another breed.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

General aspect   

Dog from shepherdesses, guard and defense of great ransom, very proporzionato and harmonious, extremely vigorous and muscoloso, from the compact bony structure. In spite of the enormous volume, it does not have to appear weighted down (but not even linfatico), and indeed elegant and elastic. It has long hair, also if not excessive. Benevolent in the relationship with the other dogs, aware of its exceptional force, most skillful lottatore to the occurrence, thanks to the acquired experience in centuries of combats against lupo and the bear. It barks with serious and deep voice and extension an alert expression. The employment in particular in the guard and the defense excludes from the reproduction the too much timid subjects, pavidi or of insufficient equilibrium. Of mediolinea structure, the length of the log exceeds the Height.
MALES : height to garrese at least 77 cm; (ideal over the 81 cm) FEMALES: at least 72 cm (ideal over i 75 cm).
Not you advanced limit, but the great ransoms will come mainly appreciated, made save the harmony of the proportions.

CHARACTER
Affectionate, calm, dignitoso, particularly intelligent and easy trainable; brave, but also feracious with the strangers, of forehead to which it is not pulled never GO BACK TO LIST.

sailing point
That preferred trot, that it must be harmonious, powerful and elegant, without tendency to lateral refuse or to Ambio. Coming from push from the posterior limbs.

Cape

Hair
Locked, often, of moderated length, rough and not lanoso. The taken ideal measure to the center of the back-lumbar line and cm 6-9; devout along on the shoulders, the neck, under ventre and to the posterior edges of arm and the leg, nonch on the spandrel of the tail, where the less rough webbing that not on the rest of the body.

Color
White man in together and always with mask very defined; sometimes, spots of the same color of the mask distributed on the body, of irregular shape but from the contours always very delimit to you. Ears always color to you: undesired tricolour subjects or completely white men. Always white women the tip of the tail and the estremit of the limbs; very obvious mask. Base of possible the clear hair always devout (ideal if the white woman). In preference order, these are the devout colors appreciate to you: pure white man or white man snow, with grey spots (tonalit intermediate), intense yellow-gold; brown, black, gray-silver, beige clearly, yellow-sand, marmorizzato.
Undesired red spots and deep yellowish white man. Skin (elastic, thick) rose-colored, with dark devout pigmentazioni; black all the mucosae.

head

Head and skull
Large, solid, moderately long head. Relationship between skull and snout of 5:4. Moderately divergent craniofacciali lines with tendency to parallelism. The entirety skull-snout (from the high) must be lengthened and from the profile without bruschi it knows to you, without marked differences between the width to the base of the snout and that one between temples; of profile, deep, not gibbosa head.
Skull wide (how much the length or leggermente of devout) and solid, from the sub-convex profile; pronounced crest occipita them. Stop in sweet slope, little emphasized ancorch perceivable clearly. Snout from the rectilinear profile, discreetly triangular (gives progressively over), wide to the root and shrinking itself towards the tartufo, also without to become appuntito. Black, humid, voluminoso and wide Tartufo. Labbre not lasche, but those advanced ones cover the inferiors, that they form one very marked commessura.

Eyes
Small, to almond, color nocciola, preferibilmente dark. Careful, dignitoso, likeable and intelligent, but strictest the look of forehead to an adversary. Black, preferibilmente adherent eyelids to the ocular globe (in attention). Typical an light inferior relaxation, that small part of the congiuntiva leaves to notice one (R-retired).

Ears
Of medium largeness, hanging, triangular, plates, inserted over the line of the eyes. In attention, they bear away from the snout and potentially are erected in the third exceed-posterior one. They do not go cuts to you.

Neck
Troncoconico, wide, strong, muscoloso, melted. Thick skin and a po' eases. Double giogaia, very defined if also not excessive abundant.

Set of teeth
Teeth white men, solid and you heal. Large, long molars and appuntiti, very articulate you for the taken one. I recorded to you rather small. Scissor articulation of the jaws. Complete the premolars. Black palate, with marked crests much.

LIMBS

FRONT
Perfect appiombi; straight limbs and parallels (of forehead), with perfectly perceivable muscles and tendini, from the solid skeleton. Length of the equal forearm to the triple one of that one of the powerful one metacarpo. Oblique shoulders, many muscolose, devout long of the forearm. Arm much sturdy one. Elbows balances, apply to you against the thoracic cage. Sturdy, straight, vigorous forearms. Scapulo-humeral of approximately 100 and omero-radial angle of approximately 125. Little oblique Metacarpo (of profile) - practically on the profile of the forearm - from the solid skeleton.

POSTERIOR
Powerful and muscolosi, with regular angles-shot (of profile); appiombi corrected (of forehead and profile); garretti it does not turn aside to you. Strong and muscolose thighs. Coxo-femoral angle of approximately 100. Long, muscolose legs, from the strong skeleton. Femoro-tibico angle of approximately 120. Garretti very clean, with tendini clearly visible, from the open angle-shot (approximately 130).

feet
Of cat, from the fingers very sluices; falangi solid, high and very arch; sturdy and resistant nails and plantari bearings. Developed and moderately fortified membrane interdigita them of hair. A po' devout it lengthen those posterior ones to you. Presence or less than spurs, simple or double, that they can be removes to you (to parit of conditions, preferibili those doubles quantity).

Log

Chest
Wide and deep, muscoloso and powerful. Marked the sternale tip. Relationship between Height and equal thoracic perimeter to 7:10. Rounded off ribs, not flat, with wide intercostal intervals.

Back
Garrese very emphasized. Strong and muscoloso, straight back (also in motion). Long, wide and vigorous, progressively little wide one kidney going towards the flank. Wide and solid rump, tilted to 45 regarding the back-lumbar line and the horizontal plan of the ground; of equal height to that one of the garrese.

VENTRE
Moderately going back.

Tail
Thick to the root, inserted to medium height. , strongly elastic, abundantly covered of hair decidedly along and soft, than form an arrogant spandrel. Low capacity, rather R-retired, arrives to the garretto, always incurvata in the third party finished; risen to sabre, in motion or in excitation, with uncino a a lot clearly to the estremit, but never rolled up in all its length or supported on the rump.

DEFECTS

LIGHT DEFECTS
Light shyness; hair leggermente waved or that it little exceeds the cm 9 on the back; profile of the snout leggermente montonino; lack of one of premolars; jaws to tenaglia; not rectilinear dorsal line and waving in motion (not too much).

Serious defects
(they exclude from the qualification of excellent): character in the unbalanced complex; fragile or linfatico aspect; hair a lot waved or curly, a lot under the cm 6 on the back, or leggermente over the cm 11, absence of mask or ears does not color to you; snout to tip or esageratamente camuso; moderated enognatismo; excessive entropio or ectropio; not traumatic absence of several premolars or canines, or canines evil adapt you to recorded to you; lateral refuse of the arm in motion, garretti vaccine from detention or in march, appiombi of the limbs scorretti, metacarpi and feet altogether weak people; insellato back, rump much devout high one of the garrese; tail or ears amputates, tail to you rested on the rump or ricurva in the part they does not finish.