PROPORTIONS: Body slightly longer than high (Sub-longilinear). Skull length is slightly longer than muzzle length.

BEHAVIOR/TEMPERAMENT: Loyal companion, intelligent, easy to teach, joyful, docile and willful, strong personality.

HEAD: Strong, proportional to the body.  Parallel head plane (flat skull).  Skull length is slightly longer than muzzle length.

CRANIAL REGION: Skull:  Medium sized, slightly curved.  The frontal furrow begins approximately at the posterior third of the muzzle, continuing to half the skull.  Inconspicuous supraciliary arches (brow ridge).  Pronounced occipital protuberance.  Stop:  Barely defined.

NECK: Medium sized, strong and well muscled.  Well set into the shoulders, carrying the head with dignity.

BODY:

• Top line:  Straight and horizontal.
• Withers:  Wide, conferring a good connection between the neck line and the top line.
• Back:  Wide, flexible and well-muscled.
• Loin:  Short and well set into the croup.
• Croup:  Robust and slightly sloping.
• Chest:  Wide and deep, reaching the elbows.  Well sprung ribs, with good thoracic capacity.  Bottom line and bell:  Uprising, with slightly tucked in belly.

TAIL: Medium to low set.  (See about docking)

LIMBS:

• Forequarters:  Vertical with broad bones, well muscled and upright.
• Shoulder:  Well developed and slant.
• Scapula-humerus angle:  Open.
• Upper arm:  Strong, with elbows close to the body.
• Forearm:  Vertical.
• Carpus (Pastern joint):  Strong.
• Forefeet:  Big and oval with well arched toes and thick hard pads.  Strong nails.

HINDQUARTERS: 

• Hindquarters
• Robust and well muscled.  Good angulation, providing good propulsion.
• Thigh:  Well developed and well muscled.
• Legs:  Long.  Well Developed.
• Stifle joint:  Closed.
• Hock:  Strong.
• Metatarsus:  Strong, almost vertical, short.
• Hind feet:  Oval, tight and arched toes with not very pronounced tow web, may have dewclaws.

GAIT/MOVEMENT:  Agile movement with good propulsion, allowing sudden changes in direction and transition between gaits.  Slightly ambling walk, swift trot with good reach and suspension.  The gallop is energetic and fast.

SKIN: 

Thin, pigmented, tight.

COAT: 

Long, dense, slightly wavy, neither straight nor curled, with abundant undercoat all over the body.  Work clipping is admissible, shortening the coat evenly and should be used in conformation dog shows.

HAIR: 

Strong, slightly thick but not harsh.  Dense in the whole head, muzzle and over the eyes, covering them.  Abundant in the jaws, forming the beards that give the breed its name.  In the limbs the hair is dense, including between the toes.  Abundant in the tail down to the tip.

COLOR: 

Yellow, grey, black, fawn and brindle in all shades.  Can have white patches in the hands and/or feet, pectoral, throat, neck (forming a collar), chest, belly and tip of tail.

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT: 

Height at the withers:  Males:  52-58 cm / Females:  48-54 cm

Weight: (Arguably) Males:  25-30 kg / Females:  21-26 Kg

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.

SERIOUS FAULTS:  

Behavior:  Shyness and aggressiveness.

Nose:  Marbled.

Muzzle: Pointed and narrow.

Coat:  Soft and without undercoat.  White patches outside the limits set by the standard.

Height:  Too tall (over 60 cm) or too short (under 48 cm).

Movements:  Without reach and propulsion.

ELIMINATING FAULTS:

Jaws:  Undershot or overshot.

Eyes:  Total or partially blue.

Coat:  Brown or merle.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioral abnormalities shall be disqualified.  NB:  Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

*Source:  Club Português de Canicultural (Portugese Kennel Club)

Original Translation: Carla Cruz

Adaptation:  Monte de Magos and Dana Simel, New World Barbado da Terceira Kennel