GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 24-28cm (9½”-11”).
Colour: Solid black or black with lighter shadings.
Coat: Rough and harsh in texture. The head is surrounded by a wreath like circle of hair framing the face resulting in a monkey like appearance.
Gait: A strutting lively action with the forelegs lifting well up and out.
In German, ‘affe’ means monkey, and the apish expression is the hallmark of these members of the Toy Dog family. Their comical expressions are set off with sparkling eyes, an upturned underjaw and the small ears may be erect or dropped. The square body has a deep chest which reaches to the elbows, and a tail which is carried up and over the back in a cocky fashion. 
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
These members of the Toy family display an attractive prancing gait. They are devoted to their families, and when the occasion arises, can be quite fearless towards aggressors. Being so alert, they make excellent watch dogs. Their intelligence makes them easy to train once they realise who is boss, however if they are spoilt, then the owners may find their home run by a little canine dictator. Grooming is relatively easy - brushing once or twice a week will remove the dead hair and keep the coat free of knots. 
HISTORY
The Affenpinscher originated in Germany several centuries ago and pictures of them can be found depicted in the paintings of the early Dutch masters. The evolvement of the breed may have come about with the crossing of Miniature Pinschers to the local wire coated terriers. It has been broadly accepted that the Affenpinscher is the progenitor of both Smooth and Rough coated varieties of the Toy Griffon.

GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 63-74cm (24”-29”).
Colour: Black, brindle, gold, cream, black/tan, etc with or without a shaded or dark mask.
Coat: Adult Afghans have long silky hair with short hair on their faces and backs. Puppies sometimes have fluffy whiskers on their faces.
Gait: Smooth, powerful and springy with head held high.
Elegance is the hallmark of this breed - a long well-chiselled head carried high on a long neck is an essential characteristic for members of this Sighthound family. In proportion to its size, the Afghan body is relatively light. The legs should be long with good fore and hindquarter angulation.
The distinctive tail ends in a ring and in action is raised. 
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
Like most members of the Sighthound family, the Afghan is a gentle dog who on meeting with strangers for the first time, might be aloof. In their home environment, one sees this breed’s high intelligence and their ability to use their own initiative when given the chance. Their aloof characteristics are well depicted by the way they will ignore human instructions should they see no good reason for an order. Persuasion - not heavy handedness - is the measure of success when training Afghans. Regular grooming at least once a week, with a good pin brush is necessary - it is best done by lifting the hair up so each stroke commences from the root of the hair and then brushing downwards. Afghans do not shed hair like many breeds.
HISTORY
Irrespective of the legend that Afghan Hounds were the dogs Noah took into the Ark, it is a fact that the Sighthound family dates back to between 4000 BC to 3000 BC. Deriving their name from Afghanistan, it has been suggested that the longer coated Tibetan Terrier from adjacent Tibet played a part in making the Afghan the longest coated member of the Sighthound family. In their native environment, the nomadic Afghan people put their dogs to many uses from guarding and hunting, to making use of their hair for weaving.

GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 56-61cm (22”-24”).
Colour: Black or grizzle on the body, top of neck and tail — tan on the rest of the dog.
Coat: Dense, hard, wiry and water resisting.
Gait: Fore and hindlegs moving straight and effortlessly with strong hind propulsion.
Airedale terriers are strong upstanding dogs and deservedly carry the title of the King of Terriers. This breed has the appearance of being both powerful and elegant. They have long strong heads with semi prick ears, an arched neck which runs into a short, strong, straight back and the tail is carried erect.
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
With the reputation of ‘What a Terrier can do, the Airedale can do better’, the versatility of this breed is amazing. They are excellent hunters, have carried out tours of duty as despatch carriers during wartime, have been used as police dogs and are courageous when guarding their family. Their qualities of friendship and loyalty are limitless. Show dogs need professional groomers to strip their coats by hand, however pet owners can easily keep their terriers presentable by learning to clip their dogs themselves.
HISTORY
Originally known as Waterside Terriers, these dogs are believed to have descended from the old English black and tan terrier crossed with Otter Hounds. Early breeders developed this strain for the dual purpose of hunting rats and vermin on .the land, and otters in the water. At the Airedale show in North England during the mid 1800s, a judge was so impressed by the numbers of this particular strain of terriers found at the show, that his praise and the resultant publicity earned the breed their own title of Airedale Terrier.

GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 61-71cm (24”-28”). 
Colour: Black, brindle or red with or without white markings, or solid white. Black masks or white blazes are acceptable on the head.
Coat:  Outercoat - straight and harsh. Undercoat — dense and soft. 
Gait: Resilient, strong with moderately long strides. Hindlegs move in line with the front legs and when trotting, will single track.
The Akita is a heavily boned dog. The head is large with a defined stop and a shorter powerful muzzle. The eyes are small and the triangular pricked ears are carried well forward on the skull giving the desired hooded appearance. The neck is thick and muscular and runs into a rather long powerful back which finishes with a high set tail curled over the back. The powerful hindquarters are only moderately angulated with feet that are thick and well knuckled.
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
Also known as the Japanese Akita Inu, these dignified dogs are courageous and always alert. They may be aggressive with other dogs, so they need a firm hand when being walked in public. However, with their owners, these dogs show their love and make loyal and affectionate pets. Their thick coatsshed twice a year and at these times regular brushing is necessary to remove the dead hair.
HISTORY
This breed takes its name from the Akita Prefecture in the northern Japanese province of Honshu — and the word - ‘Inu’ which means dog in Japanese. Originally Akitas were used to hunt deer, bear and wild boar and for the Japanese were the embodiment of what was expected in a competent ferocious watchdog, and as they excelled in this area, were also used for dog fighting. However, in modern times, the Japanese Government has banned this activity and their reputation was upgraded when the Akita was made the National Dog of Japan.

HISTORY
Origin: Japan.
Originally Japanese dogs were small to medium in size and no large breeds existed. Since 1603 in the Akita region, Akita Matagis (medium-sized bear-hunting dogs) were used as fighting dogs.  From 1868 Akita Matagis were crossed with Tosas and Mastiffs. Consequently, the size of this breed increased but characteristics associated with Spitz type were lost.
In 1908 dog fighting was prohibited, but this breed was nevertheless preserved and improved as a large Japanese breed.  As a result, nine superior examples of this breed were designated as Natural Monuments in 1931.
During World War II (1939-1945), it was common to use dogs as a source of fur for military garments. The police ordered the capture and confiscation of all dogs other than German Shepherd Dogs used for military purposes. Some fanciers tried to circumvent the order by crossbreeding their dogs with German Shepherd Dogs.
When World War II ended, Akitas had been drastically reduced in number and existed as three distinct types; 1) Matagi Akitas, 2) Fighting Akitas, and 3) Shepherd Akitas. This created a very confusing situation in the breed.
Sensible learned fanciers desired a type they felt was representative of  a proper Japanese breed, so they made efforts to eliminate the strains of the old foreign breeds by crossbreeding with Matagi Akitas for the purpose of restoring the original pure breed. They succeeded in stabilizing the pure strain of large sized breed as known today.
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
Large-sized dog, sturdily built, well balanced and with much substance.The forehead is broad, with distinct furrow.  No wrinkle.
Coat: Hair: Outer coat harsh and straight, undercoat soft and dense ; the withers and the rump are covered with slightly longer hair; the hair on tail is longer than on the rest of the body.
Colour: Red fawn, sesame (red fawn hairs with black tips), brindle and white.
All the above mentioned colours except white must have ‘urajiro’.  (Urajiro = whitish coat on the sides of the muzzle, on the cheeks, on the underside of jaw, neck, chest, body and tail and on the inside of the legs). 
Sizes: Height at the withers: Dogs: 67 cm, Bitches: 61 cm.