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East Siberian Laika

East
East Siberian Laika. Source: Wikipedia Author: Mirtu. Picture is under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

The East Siberian Laika is a hunting dog that is used to hunt small and large game, from squirrels, martens, sable and grouse to elk, bears, wild boar and cougars. They can also be used as sled dogs.
The East Siberian Laika is friendly to people, has a strong hunting instinct, and also has an even temperament. The breed is not typically distrustful of humans, yet they were often used as watchdogs in places of their original breeding. They have adapted very well to hard work in the harsh conditions of the Siberian taiga.
The Laika is suitable for energetic people who will allow it to apply its working and hunting skills.


FCI-Standard N° 305

EAST-SIBERIAN LAIKA (Vostotchno-Sibirskaïa Laïka)

TRANSLATION: Anna Samsonova, edited by Dr. Eugene Yerusalimsky. Revised by Jennifer Mulholland and Renée Sporre-Willes / Original version : (EN).

ORIGIN: Russia.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL VALID STANDARD: 13.10.2010.

UTILIZATION: Hunting dog for all-round purposes.

FCI-CLASSIFICATION: Group 5 Spitz and primitive types.
Section 2 Nordic hunting dogs.
With working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: This native Russian hunting breed is one of the principle hunting dogs of the Taiga region as well as mountain areas in Central and East Siberia. The breed evolved from off-spring of Tungus, Yakut, pre-Baikal and pre-Amur Laikas. The first description of the pre-Amur Laika, which later become the basis of the breed standard, dates from the beginning of the 20th century. In 1947 East-Siberian Laika achieved breed status. In 1949 the provisional standard was published and in 1981 the final standard for was approved.
Nowadays the East-Siberian Laika is widespread in its native/original areas. Foundation stock from kennels with dogs well established in type and ability to work has been introduced to the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation.
There is a vast population of the breed in the European part of Russia, especially in the Leningrad, Smolensk, and Tver regions and part of the Moscow region. The East-Siberian Laika is also appreciated in Scandinavia.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Dog of medium size with strong and compact built. The length of the body, from the forechest to the buttocks, is slightly superior to the height at the withers. The head is rather big and very strong.
The muscles are well developed. Strong bone structure; more powerful in males than in females. Sexual dimorphism is clearly pronounced.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:
Males almost rectangular to rectangular and female slightly longer.
Index of format (height/length): Males: 100/104-109.
Females: 100/106-111.
The height at the withers exceeds the height at the croup by 1-2 cm (males) and is equal to or exceeds the height at the croup by 1 cm (females). The length of the muzzle is slightly less than half the length of the head.
The height from ground to elbow is equal to half the height at the withers.

BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT:
Steady, balanced temperament. A vigorous dog with a very well developed sense of scent and detection of game and a pronounced passion for hunting, especially larger prey. Very independent when hunting. Friendly, kind and trustful towards people.

HEAD: Strong, rather big in proportion to the body; wedge-shaped: it forms an equilateral triangle when viewed from above. Cranial area is relatively broad, especially in males.

CRANIAL REGION:
Skull: The length of the skull is slightly more than the width. Superciliary arches only slightly developed; saggital crest and occiput are well pronounced.
Stop: gradually and moderately pronounced.

FACIAL REGION:
Nose: Black of medium size. In white and fawn dogs a brownish nose is tolerated.
Muzzle: The length of the muzzle is a little less than the length of the skull. Viewed in profile the muzzle is wedge-shaped, moderately blunt
Lips: Moderately tight, but not pendulous.
Jaws / Teeth: Teeth white, large, strong, well developed and evenly positioned. Complete (42 teeth) dental formula; scissor bite.
Cheeks: Cheekbones pronounced but not exaggerated.
Eyes: Medium sized, oval shaped, slanting, neither deep set, nor protruding, with truthful and friendly expression. The eyes are dark brown or any shade of brown in accordance with coat colour.
Ears: Pricked, mobile, V-shaped with pointed or slightly rounded tips. Ears set wide, in line with the eyes. Ear-lobes are developed slightly. Inner part of the ear is well coated.

NECK: Muscular, dry, round or slightly oval in cross-section; the length is equal to that of the head or a little bit shorter. The neck is set at approximately 40° - 50° to the horizontal.

BODY:
Topline: Firm and straight, sloping from the withers to the tail-set.
Withers: Well developed, pronounced, especially in males, rising above the topline by 1-2 cm; moderately developed in females.
Back: Straight, strong, well-muscled, moderately broad.
Loin: Short, moderately broad, well-muscled and slightly prominent.
Croup: Broad, slightly sloping, relatively long.
Chest: Broad, deep (the chest reaches the point of the elbow or 1-2 cm below, especially in males), long; oval-shaped in lateral (cross) section.
Underline and belly: Tucked up; the underline from the chest to the abdominal cavity rises slightly.

TAIL: Curled or in sickle shape carried over the back. A sickle shape tail carried without touching the back or semi-dropped is acceptable. When fully straightened it reaches the hock joint or may be 1 to 2 cm shorter.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS:
General appearance: Legs lean, muscular; viewed from the front are straight, moderately wide set and parallel. The height of the forelegs from the elbow to the ground is equal to half the height at the withers.
Shoulder: Shoulder blades are long, muscular and moderately laid back.

Upper arm: Long, moderately oblique, muscular. The angle between the shoulder blade and the upper arm is well pronounced.
Elbow: Fitting close to the body; point of the elbows are well developed and placed back parallel to the axis of the body.
Forearm: Straight, dry, muscular, round in cross-section, viewed from the front moderately wide and parallel.
(Metacarpus (Pastern): Not long, slightly inclined when viewed from the side.
Forefeet: Round or slightly oval, arched with tightly knit toes.

HINDQUARTERS:
General appearance: Muscular, with well defined angulations of all articulations.
When viewed from the rear the legs are straight and parallel.
Thigh: Moderately long, placed slightly obliquely.
Stifle (Knee): Well bent.
Lower thigh: Long, placed obliquely, not shorter than the upper thighs.
Metatarsus (Rear pastern): Placed almost vertically. Seen from the side, a perpendicular line, from the buttocks to ground, should fall close to the front of the rear pastern, or slightly further of it.
Hind feet: Round or slightly oval, arched with tightly knit toes. Hind feet are slightly smaller than forefeet.

GAIT / MOVEMENT: Free mover. Typical movement is a far-reaching trot, alternating with gallop or walking pace.

SKIN: Sufficiently thick and elastic; without any folds and subcutaneous cellular tissue.

COAT
Hair: Outer coat is harsh and straight. Undercoat is well developed, soft, rich and woolly. The coat on the head and ears is dense, short and shining.
The coat on shoulders and the neck is longer than on the body and forms a collar; on the cheekbones it forms side-whiskers. In males the coat on the withers is longer.
Limbs are covered with short, harsh, dense coat, which is only slightly longer on the back side of the fore limbs. The coat on the back of the rear legs forms trousers without feathering.
There is a protective growth of brush-like hair between the toes. The tail is profusely covered with straight and harsh hair that is just slightly longer on the underside but without feathering.

Colour: The most typical colours are black and tan, black, black and white, white and white with patches – piebald. Slight specks in shades of the main colour are permitted on the legs.

SIZE:
Height at the withers: Males 57 - 64 cms. Females 53 - 60 cms.

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault is regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Deviation from the sexual characteristics.
• Prominent forehead and snipy muzzle.
• Partly missing pigmentation of the nose, lips, and eyelids.
• Pale pigmented nose.
• Absence of not more than 4 premolars PM1- PM2.
• Pincer bite after the age of 6 years.
• Teeth small and sparsely set.
• Light or amber coloured eyes in dogs with all black coat colour.
• Big ears; set low; soft in ear carriage; not enough hair inside ears.
• Neck too oval in cross section.
• Soft or roached back.
• Long in loin; straight; arched loin.
• Croup horizontal or steep.
• Flat ribbed chest; narrow; lacking forechest; shallow.
• Straight shoulders, bowed forearms, elbows turned out- or inwards.

• Up-right or weak in pasterns.
• East-west pointing feet; pigeon-toed feet.
• Hindquarters slightly lacking correct angulations; cow hocked.
• Splayed or soft feet, insufficiently developed hair between the toes.
• Rear dewclaws.
• Restricted gait.
• Colour specks in nuances of base colour, on the body or head.

SEVERE FAULTS:
• Obvious deviation from the sexual characteristics.
• Slight intolerance to people.
• Obese or meagre.
• Coarse in head.
• Short muzzle; snipy nose.
• Deep or hardly visible stop.
• More than 4 missing premolars, including PM1 & PM2.
• Round protruding eyes.
• Ears with rounded tips, overdeveloped ear-lobes.
• Square bodied.
• Overbuilt.
• Light in bone.
• Over-angulated or straight in hindquarters.
• Narrow in hindquarters; knees or hocks turning out.
• Heavy, erratic movement or pacing.
• Wrinkled, loose skin.
• Long coat on the back-side of the forequarters and pronounced feathering on the back of thighs and the tail.
• Wavy, curly, soft or too long coat; coat parting in the middle on the back and the withers during shedding.
• Specks on the body which are not in the nuance of the main colour.
• Deviation from the size by more than +-2 cm.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:
• Aggressive or overly shy.
• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioral abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• Incorrect bite.
• Wry mouth.
• 4 or more missing teeth regardless, including PM1-PM2s or
M3s, excess incisors.
• Wall eye, flecked eyes.
• Ears dropped; semi-dropped.
• Stumpy tail.
• Too short or too long coat; no undercoat.
• Coat colour that is genetic brown; genetic blue; brindle or albino.

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