Official Standard of the Canam Dog
General Appearance: The Canam Dog was developed in the last 20 years by flyball enthusiasts in an effort to create the perfect flyball dog. They were named after the largest annual tournament, the CanAm Flyball Classic. The foundation breeds used to establish the Canam Dog were primarily the Border Collie, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Border Terrier, and Whippet. The Belgian Shepherd, Australian Cattle Dog, and Papillion also played a small influence during early creation. To function as a good flyball dog, the Canam Dog must possess certain characteristics: they must have a ready, confident attitude; medium in size and bone suggesting speed and endurance; balance in height and length. To exude breed type, it’s important a dog appear compact while powerful with great propulsion.
Size, Substance, Proportion: Size The ideal height of a mature dog is 17” at the withers, and a female 16" at the withers. The acceptable range is between 15” to 18”. Any larger would disqualify them as a potential height dog. Any smaller would sacrifice speed. In a good fit condition, the Canam Dog will weigh between 17 lbs to 30 lbs. Substance A good dog is of medium bone. A heavily boned dog will appear bulky and slow, and a dog slight of bone will be fragile and will be more likely to acquire a race related injury. Proportion A well-balanced dog is key. Important points to consider are the proportions of the head and frame, and the ratio of the height to withers. The height of the withers should be equal to the length from the withers to the base of the tail. The head should not appear too heavy as if it would weigh the dog down, but large enough to give the appearance of a strong bite.
Head: Head Strong and in good proportion to the rest of the body, so the appearance of balance is maintained. Expression Appearing of great intensity and readiness. Eyes Keen, direct, full of tenacity and grit. Oval shaped, dark in color, moderate in size, not protruding. Dark rims are desirable; however, where the coat surrounding the eye is white, the eye rim may be pink. Ears Can be rose, prick, or button, though rose is preferable. Moderate thickness and not overly large to create an imbalance of the head. Skull Flat with muzzle and back skull in parallel planes. Fairly broad between the ears, narrowing slightly to the eyes and widening again around the jaw. The stop is slightly defined and not prominent. Muzzle Length from nose to stop is equal to the distance from stop to occiput. Strong with the foreface tapering from eye to muzzle. A fully pigmented nose is prefered. Bite Teeth are large with complete dentition in a perfect scissors bite.
Neck, Topline, Body: Neck Clean and muscular, moderately arched, of fair length, gradually widening so as to blend well into the shoulders. Topline Strong while being flexible, slightly arched with the croup just under the height of the withers. Body Athletic in appearance with a deep, moderately broad chest reaching no further than the point of the elbow. The rib cage is moderately long with well-sprung ribs. Loin should have a distinct tuck up. The tail is set on low and is moderately long.
Forequarters: The shoulder blade is long, laid back, and well-muscled, allowing for moderate space between shoulder blades at peak of withers. The points of the elbows should point neither in nor out, but straight back. Forelegs are straight, giving the appearance of strength and substance of bone. Pasterns are strong, slightly bent and flexible.
Hindquarters: Well-angulated and powerful. The thighs are broad and muscular, stifles well bent; muscles are well defined and give the look of great propulsion. The hocks are well let down and close to the ground. Hind end should appear parallel from behind, not cow or sickle hocked.
Coat: The breed boasts three coat types. A short coated dog will have a dense tight coat kept close to the body. Long haired dogs will have feathering primarily around the ears, chest, foreleg, thigh, and tail; the back of the dog will remain short coated. Wire coated dogs are to be kept stripped, exceeding a length no greater than ¾ an inch.
Color: Most colors acceptable. The Canam Dog does not come in merle in an effort to never have to sacrifice a good breeding based on color.
Gait: Free moving and smooth, with effortless reach in the forequarters and strong drive in the hindquarters. The forelegs move forward close to the ground to give a long, low reach; the hind legs have strong propelling power.
Temperament: Bold and friendly. Athletic and gritty. In the ring they are a tenacious, explosive, and focused racer. At home they are playful but relaxed and overwhelmingly affectionate. They should be able to happily coexist in multi dog households, with no excessive snark towards other dogs. There should be no evidence of shyness or fearfulness.
