Standards of the Schwarz Vulpes Companion Dog

Breed Standards

General Appearance
red fox face and yellow eyes

The Companion Vulpes dog is a small to medium sized FOX looking dog. He is well balanced, and a lot longer than he is tall. Exhibiting a unique combination of a fox like appearance and a calm, gentle disposition, his soundness of mind and body gives the impression of stability and loyalty. His tail is his crown of glory.

Character
Fox drinking snow water

The Companion Vulpes Dog is standoffish but never hostile, moving slowly in a sleek manner sniffing the air currents. He is self-confident, poised and inquisitive, but may possess a certain aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate friendships. He should never be timid or nervous but hold a more solid and laid back temperament of curiosity. He should be approachable, quietly standing with confidence and willingness.

Developed solely for companionship, he is not a working or herding dog and does not possess high prey drive or the extreme willingness to work or do work. He does possess a strong desire to be close to his master. Therefore, he cannot and does not wander or roam.

As a puppy, this breed tends to be more 'mature' than most puppies. Very loving with a tendency to get as close to his owner’s body as possible a lover of the human lap.

Sound
art fox pom

The Schwarz Vulpes Dog has a high yip tone. Barking is very infrequent and they do NOT have a tendency to whine. . Some may yip at the moon.

Serious Faults: Elaborate barking for no reason is a serious fault.

Size, Proportion, Substance
falkland island fox

Size: The height at the highest point of the withers should be no shorter than 12 inches in males and 10 inches in females. Dogs may reach as tall as 20 inches in males and 18 inches in females.

Proportion: The length of the Schwarz Vulpes Dog is longer than tall. The overall length of this breed is to be measured from the chest bone to the tip of the tail. The length of the body should be as long as the tail though the tail might be a few inches shorter. 16 inches body length and 12-14 inches tail length or there abouts.

Substance: The Schwarz Vulpes Dog is light in bone.

Serious Faults: a shallow chest, and/or a thin chest or rump are serious faults

Head
red fox head chest profile

The skull of a Schwarz Vulpes Dog is broad and slopes slightly from between the yellow eyes down to the deep black nose, closely resembling the Red Fox. The head is of distinctive importance, as it is this head that holds the Foxy look and yellow-eyed stare.

The Schwarz Vulpes Dog should have a short coat of hair on the head and face. The coat should begin to lengthen as it starts down the neck to the shoulders where the hair is the longest.

The skull is measured from the point of the stop to the far most point of the occiput. From the occiput to the stop should be 4-6 inches. It is slightly flat and rounded, never domed, gradually narrowing and flattening as it approaches the eyes. The stop is nonexistent and should slope gently from the eyes down to the muzzle.

Muzzle: His muzzle should be Short and small in comparison to the skull, the lips should be close fitting and deep black in color with small pointed white teeth. From the stop between the eyes to the front teeth should be 4.5 to 6 inches.

The upper and lower jaws should be broadest in the back with his sharp razor teeth closing in a scissors bite. The total muzzle should be slightly longer than the head is deep. The circumference of the muzzle should be between 6 to 9 inches.

Eyes: His eyes are an almond shape, medium to small, and set obliquely. Light eyes are preferred with colors ranging from yellow to light brown and orange that gives him the unique Foxie stare. The eyes should have a look of deep black eyeliner around the eye and out from the outer corners of the eyes.

Ears: His ears are triangular in shape and slightly rounded at the tips. They are set wide apart and set on the outside back edges of the skull. The ears are wedge-shaped, erect and large in comparison to the head as well as tipped with deep black hairs to form an outline around the ear. When alerted his ears turn forward. When shamed his ears will turn sideways and lay back along the sides of the skull.

Teeth: 42 in number, 20 upper and 22 lower, the teeth are strong and sharp and come together in a scissors bite in which part of the inner surface of the upper incisors meet and engage part of the outer surface of the lower incisors. The jaw should never be over or undershot.

Serious Faults: A large round eye is a serious fault, as is dark eyes, or a large bulky muzzle.

Neck: The neck is long. The carriage of the head appears to be pushing back into the neck. The neck may also be slightly curved as an Arabian horse.

Topline: The topline is level from the back of the withers to the croup. When gated, the back should remain level, with the dog seeming to float across the ground.

Body: The chest is of sufficient depth to reach below the elbows. The back and loin are muscular, broad and strong. The tail is an extension of the body and comes out from the top of the croup.

Serious Faults: Short tail

Forequarters
short coated ticking fox

Shoulders: The shoulders should be slightly sloping, without any tendency to looseness of shoulders. The shoulders lie close to the body.

Forelegs: The leg bones are straight to the pasterns, which are medium to long and bent only slightly. The black coloring may extend upward from the pads into the leg and even up into the chest. When trotting, the forelegs should come together in the middle of the body, making tracks within tracks on the ground.

Front Feet: The feet are cat like with well-arched toes. The pads on the bottom of the feet are black as well as thick and tough. They should have black toenails.

Hindquarters
Red fox and babies

The Schwarz Vulpes Dog's rear assembly is muscular. Viewed from the rear, the legs are straight and parallel. Viewed from the side, the thighs are fairly long. His stifles are moderately bent. His hocks should be set wide enough apart to put a closed fist in between.

Rear Legs: The legs of the Schwarz Vulpes Dog must indicate a light footedness. When viewed from the rear, the hind legs come straight down from the hips to the ground.

Hind Feet: cat like with long toes, well-arched pads. He is sure footed even when stalking. The pads of the feet are always dark in pigmentation and well padded. The imprints when running may be placed on top of the others.

Tail: The tail should reach the ground and when running it should be an extension of the body. Longer is more acceptable than shorter. The tail should be wide at the root, tapering to the end. The tail should be well furred but the guard hairs are not overly long. The tail should hang down when at rest. The tail should never hide under the body or between the legs in a gesture of fear. He may carry his tail high when excited yet never curling tightly and never curled over the back. A straight tail is the ideal.

Serious Faults: Rear legs too close together

Coat Fur or Pelt
fox grey head shape

The coat and tail are the most important aspects of this breed. Prized for the coat. The beauty of this companion dog is his coat! The inner coat is thicker than the outer coat.70/30

As a pup the coat is short and thin. You can see the entire conformation of the pup/dog to be. You wonder if the pup will ever develop the luxurious coat of the adults.

Before the first winter the coat has grown and filled in and the dog is now in all his glory!

The face is short in coat and without undercoat as is the legs. The legs may have small amount of feathering but not profuse. Too much feathering is a fault as the animal will then resemble a dog and not a fox. The points will always go to the foxiest looking of dogs.

The hair on the tail is THICK and short. The longest hair is the guard hairs on the shoulders, so long it falls over and does not stick up unless threatened or scared.

No undercoat on legs or face.

Winter Coat:

The outer coat is moderately coarse (harsh) and thicker during the winter months. It should not be too long, but moderately dense, slightly oily and slightly woolly with the thickest and longest fur around the neck. The winter coat is the prize of any fur trapper as it is full and thick. The color of the coat seems whiter during the winter months.

Fault in the winter coat: too long. Guard hairs are pretty much as short as the undercoat.

Summer Coat:

The coat is shorter and thinner during the summer months as the undercoat almost entirely sheds out. The head, inner ears, face, legs and paws should be covered with short hair. The color of the dog during the summer appears to be darker.

Serious Faults: Faults in coat include too long outer coat, too woolly, too much undercoat and/or curly

Shedding: This breed sheds slightly during the longer days of the years cycle. Usually beginning to shed in May or June. Shedding takes about a month. The dog will appear darker in color and much thinner. The use of a pin brush will keep the dog looking full and not pull all the undercoat out. In this breed we like to keep that thick coat appearance as long as we can.

Shedding will begin at the hocks, legs and rear of the dog. The soft lighter colored undercoat will die out and will be seen as clumps of hanging fur caught up in the dog’s coat. This shedding will make the dog itchy and he/she may rub up against trees, bushes or kennel wire to remove this undercoat. The owner can help the breed shed by using a pin brush and several brushings a day. Brush in both directions.

The next section of the body to shed its undercoat is the belly and up into the back or top line and the tail. This section will take about two days to fully come out and may linger as you continue to comb out the undercoat every other day. To keep your dogs fox like appearance do not strip this dog of all its undercoat and leave the tail as fluffy as you can.

The front legs, chest and back of the neck are the next to come out and the last is the throat area. Using a pin brush will not strip the dog of all its undercoat. This breed is prized for its coat.

This process is a slow one. The undercoat will come back in and thicken the dog up with the shorter days of September and October.

There are no health or mental concerns and your dog should be his normal everyday self. This breed sleeps mostly during the afternoon heat and is most active in the very early mornings and late evenings.

This dog will require air conditioning or cooler climates.

Coat Color and Markings

Color and Markings

Noses always remain black and the skin should be dark in pigmentation. Ears are outlined in black as well as the tip of the tail. Muzzles can be white or cream. All muzzles lighten with the years, but the nose should always remain black no matter the color of the muzzle. The color of the dog should never, ever be judged over character, temperament or conformation! Young pups have dark fur and muzzles.

Coat Color and Markings

The Schwarz Vulpes Dog varies in color, but the black silver sable is the most desirable. They come white tipped in the tail or black tipped in the tail. Colors are as follows:

Red Fox Sable
red fox

Red fox: Red fox is native to every continent with the exception of South America. The best red fox comes from northern climates and is deeply furred with silky, strong texture.

Gray fox Silver/Sable
silver fox

Silver fox: Silver fox is entirely ranched. The fur is blue black in color with a white tip on the tail. The best silver fox is a true silver color with a black stripe.

Gray smokey Sable
grey fox

Grey foxes are found in the southernmost points of Canada, the United States and northern South America. They have dense, mid-length fur. The underfur is soft and lush, while the guard hairs are more rigid than most types of fox. Grey and black guard hairs contrast with rusted blonde underfur to create a stunning natural colorway. Grey tones dominate a stripe that runs down the back of the fox. This interesting pattern looks dazzling when applied to a piece of luxury fashion or home decor.

Silver fox Sable
Golden Sable
Tri Sable
Tri Sable Golden Gray
Tri Silver Sable
Black Silver Sable
Silver
Platinum gold
Golden pearl
Pearl
Mahogany
Glow
Solid Cream
White
artic fox

Any Other Solids: These are not sables and do not have banded guard hairs.

Notes: Solid colored dogs are discouraged in our breeding plans only because we strive toward the look of an Agouti (banded) guard hair.

When describing color on animals, the major color or main color, is always placed first. Like ingredients listed on a product, (in describing the color of any object,) the major color of the object is listed first. This is the main color of the dogs’