What does a good quality Biewer Terrier look like?

It’s very common to find ads saying “Quality Biewer puppies for sale” or “Champion Line Puppies for Sale”.  However, quality can be excellent and quality can be poor.
The redmarks or number of champions in a pedigree are not important if the actual Biewer Terrier is unhealthy or non conforming. Sometimes, you have to do your very own research to make sure that you are really getting an excellent Biewer Terrier.
What really determines a good quality Biewer Terrier?

Health, Conformation, and Proper Substance
Proper Substance means the dog has sufficient bone and muscle, breadth and depth. The dog’s conformation, his overall appearance and structure is an indication of the dog’s ability to produce quality purebred puppies. The Pedigree would also determine a good quality Biewer Terrier if you plan to breed and to check for inbreedings which can be dangerous if done by inexperienced breeders or done several times.

Amongst the three, conformation is the hardest to fully understand. The Biewer Terrier Breed Standard is a great start to learn about breed conformation. It describes the perfect Biewer Terrier (which is really non existent) and it is the goal for breed improvement and breed protection.

It is difficult to see the structure of a dog under a fluffy coat unless you soap the dog real well and wrap the hair to the body. The structure of a Biewer Terrier’s body has a lot to do with its general, overall health. Bad bone structure often causes pain and other health problems. Our goal is to produce solid, top quality Biewer Terriers.

These dogs have been shaved down for their summer cuts.

What is a level Top Line?

The topline is the line formed by the withers, back loin and croup. It is the area from the base of the neck to the base of the tail on a dog. The Biewer Terrier is meant to have a level topline, meaning this area is flat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are Forequarters or straight Front Line?

The forelegs should be straight, not to wide and not to narrow. They should not elbow in or out and they should not appear round and without any curve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are straight Hindquarters?

The hindquarters is the rear assembly of a dog which consists of the hocks, paws, pelvis and thighs.
The back legs of the Biewer Terrier should be straight and not bowed in or outward. The hocks, or portions of the hind leg, from hock to heel, are upright and perpendicular to the ground when viewed from the side or rear. Viewed from the rear, the legs and hocks are parallel to each other. Hind feet should toe neither in nor out but point directly forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is a Scissor Bite?

The Biewer Terrier is to have a scissor bite. A scissor bite is when the upper incisors just overlap the lower incisors, such that the rear surface of the upper incisors touches the outer surface of the lower incisors. An underbite is when the lower incisors extend beyond the upper incisors. An overbite is when the upper incisors overlap the lower incisors, leaving a gap between the teeth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Producing good quality Biewer Terrier puppies doesn’t mean to import a number of dogs from Europe, take cute pictures and advertise the puppies as good quality Champion Line Puppies. Rocky Mountain Biewer Terriers has imported close to 100 Biewer Terrier Puppies and adult Biewers to build an extraordinary breeding program. Less then half the imported dogs from Champion Lines passed the DNA tests or met the requirements to enter the Rocky Mountain Biewer Terriers Breeding Program. You can read here about these requirements.