Appearance
A medium-sized, medium weight, well-proportioned, well-muscled dog of powerful, well-balanced structure, with intelligent expression and lively temperament.
The length of the body (from point of shoulder to point of buttock) exceeds the height at the withers approximately in a ratio of ten to nine, as suits a trotting dog.
Coat varieties
Short hair: All over the body, quite hard, close-fitting, not too short coat with woolly undercoat. Ruff, breeches and tail plume are clearly visible. Long hair: All over the body, long, straight, well fitting, harsh to the touch, without curls or waves and with a woolly undercoat. Distinct ruff and breeches. Tail abundantly coated. Head, ears and feet and also the hind legs below the hocks are short and densely coated. The backsides of the forelegs show a strongly developed coat, shortening in length towards the feet, the so-called feathering. No fringes at the ears. Wire hair: Dense, harsh tousled coat and a woolly, dense undercoat all over the body except for the head. The coat should be close. Upper- and lower lip should be well-covered with hair, the whiskers and beard, and two well defined, coarse rough eyebrows that are distinct but not exaggerated. Furnishings are not soft. The hair on the skull and on the cheeks is less strongly developed. In profile it seems as if the head has a more square appearance. Strongly developed breeches are desirable. Tail is covered all round with hair. The brindle colour may be less pronounced because of the tousled coat.
Colour Brindle. The basic colour is golden or silver. Golden can vary from light sand- coloured to chestnut red. The brindle is clearly present all over the body, in the ruff, breeches and tail. Too much black is undesirable. A black mask is preferable. Heavy white markings on chest or feet is not desirable
Size
Height: 57 - 62 cm (dogs) 55 - 60 cm (bitches)
Weight: 28kg (dogs) 23 kg (bitches)
Temperament
The breed standard disposition for this dog: affectionate, obedient, tractable, alert, faithful and reliable. The breed standard also mentions “intelligent expression and lively temperament”.
The Dutch Shepherd is a high energy, intelligent dog which is not well suited to be a "pet", because she must be properly exercised and trained several times a day. If that is not done the dog will get into mischief out of frustration.