Eyes and rims should be dark in color, moderately small and rather deep set, full of fire, life and intelligence and as nearly possible circular in shape. Anything approaching a yellow eye is most objectionable.

Ears should be V-shaped and small, of moderate thickness, and dropping forward close to the cheek, not hanging by the side of the head like a Foxhound. The topline of the folded
ear should be well above the level of the skull.

Disqualifications - Ears prick, tulip or rose.

 
 

The skull should be flat and moderately narrow, gradually decreasing in width to the eyes. Not much "stop" should be apparent, but there should be more dip in the profile between the forehead and the top jaw than is seen in the case of a Greyhound.

It should be noticed that although the foreface should gradually taper from eye to muzzle and should dip slightly at its junction with the forehead, it should not "dish" or fall away quickly below the eyes, where it should be full and well made up, but relieved from "wedginess" by a little delicate chiseling. There should be apparent little difference in length between the skull and foreface of a well-balanced head. Cheeks must not be full.

Jaws, upper and lower, should be strong and muscular and of fair punishing strength, but not so as in any way to resemble the Greyhound or modern English Terrier. There should not be much falling away below the eyes. This part of the head should, however, be moderately chiseled out, so as not to go down in a straight lope like a wedge. The nose, towards which the muzzle must gradually taper, should be black.

Disqualifications - Nose white, cherry or spotted to a considerable extent with either of these colors. The teeth should be as nearly as possible together, i.e., the points of the upper (incisors) teeth on the outside of or slightly overlapping the lower teeth.

Disqualifications - Much undershot, or much overshot.
 
 

The Smooth Standard, unlike the Wire, calls for a flat backskull. A really good head shows flat, clean planes when viewed from any angle. A rounded backskull is not typical. The eyebrows should never be prominent. The cheeks must be flat and smooth, with no bulging of bone or muscle. Discernible flaring of the cheeks is most objectionable. Backskull and muzzle should be equal in length.

The muzzle should be slightly chiseled away from the backskull under the eyes. The stop should not be prominent, lest the dog appears dish-faced. Neither should the area between the eyes (stop) be filled in, as in the Bull Terrier. From the joining of the backskull and muzzle, there should be a slight, but continuous taper to the tip of the muzzle. An overly-fine muzzle will be "snipey," while a muzzle that is too heavy, or blocky, in proportion to the backskull will result in a "brick head" lacking the necessary refinement.

The lower jaw should be well developed and in profile there should be a distinct "chin" rather than a jawline which recedes at a sharp angle from the lower front incisors. The lips should be clean and tight and there should be no loose skin under the throat.

Shape and placement of the eye, together with color, are very important in creating correct expression. The eye should be circular in shape, but must not be full... an eye may be small, dark and round, but if it protrudes or is "poppy," the expression is mouselike rather than fiery. Light eyes create an undesirable soft expression and are most objectionable. Dark eye rims are always desirable as they contribute greatly to correct expression. Dogs having much white about the head may have eye rims completely dark at birth, or they might be pink with small dark areas which gradually enlarge, taking a year or more to fully develop. Eyes that are not circular in shape may appear to be set on a slant, creating an unpleasant fault in expression. An over long foreface creates an undesirable "foreign" expression in which the eyes are no longer located at their appropriate position - the midpoint of the head.

Ears should be carried so that they break approximately at the midpoint of the leather. They should face forward, breaking in a clean fold so that the tip touches the skull near the eye. It is permissible for ears to vary in size, but the smaller ear is always to be preferred, providing its carriage owes nothing to artifice. (But again we bow to all things in moderation...Mary Blake once said that big ears make a dog look common, but overly small ears make a dog look foolish!) The inside of the ear should never be visible when the ear placement and carriage are correct. Large, hound like ears detract seriously from the desired expression.

The nose must be solid black. (See Disqualifications) A "scissors bite" is the present day definition of what the Standard demands, i.e., the points of the upper incisors on the outside of or slightly overlapping the lower teeth. The disqualification under this section ( mouth much undershot, or much overshot) is a subjective judgment that each judge must carefully decide for themselves.