meet the...Kromfohrlander
Breed Summary
Breed Group Group 12: Companion and Toy Breeds
Sub-group :
Origin Country Germany
Weight Males: 24-34 pounds. Females: 20-31 pounds.
Height Males: 15-18 inches. Females: 15-18 inches.
Breed Type Pure
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Origins
While WWII had taken a toll on many breeds throughout Europe, there was one dog breed that got its start due to the war. Throughout France and Germany, many dog breeding kennels had been decimated or abandoned. Instead of evacuees taking their dogs with them, many were turned out, left to scavenge and perpetuate on their own. In 1945, a scruffy dog dubbed “Peter” had become the mascot for an American troop of soldiers. Peter accompanied the soldiers from Northern France into the Westphalia region of Germany. Due to his origins, the little dog was believed to have been of White Terrier and Griffon descent, although nothing more about his pedigree is known.
Once in Germany, the little dog was separated from his troop, but luckily he found a friend in a local woman by the name of Isle Schleifenbaum. She was delighted by Peter and adopted him as her own companion. He sired a litter of puppies with a local terrier female named Fifi. The puppies inherited their sire’s charm and became a favorite in the region. From this breeding, the Kromfohrlander breed was started. Isle was able to get the breed recognized by the German Kennel Club within just 10 short years, and the FCI awarded recognition shortly after. The name Kromfohrlander comes from the district that Isle lived near, Krom Fohr, which is German for Crooked Furrow. Since the breed’s acceptance into the German Kennel Club in 1955, the Kromi’s popularity spread throughout his country, followed shortly by surrounding countries. The first Kromis made their way into the United States in the early 1990s, where they enjoy a small but growing following.Breed Characteristics
Head: Mesaticephalic skull type, moderate in size, wedge-shaped, and in proportion to the rest of the body. The topskull (from stop to occiput) is of medium length and moderate width, being almost as wide as the topskull is long. From the front and in profile, the topskull appears slightly arched. The skull tapers to a moderately broad muzzle formed by strong jaws. There is a slight median furrow. The head is clean-cut and without excess skin or wrinkle.
Eyes: Moderate in size, oval in shape, set slightly oblique, and medium to dark brown in color. The eye rims are well fitted and well pigmented. The eyes are never bulging. There should be sufficient bone in the surrounding orbital sockets to protect the eyes.
Ears: Medium in size, set high on the skull, and fairly far apart. They may be small to medium in size, V-shaped, and semi-drop, with some lift at the base, the fold never rising above the plane of the skull, and the rounded tips carried close to the head. The ears are mobile and expressive. The ears are never long, hound-like, fully erect, or overly large.
Muzzle: The muzzle is moderately full and broad. Upper and lower jaws have good bone substance, appearing strong and well developed, never appearing snipy or weak. The lower jaw and upper jaw are equal in length.
Nose: Lips are clean and fit tightly over the teeth and jaws.
Neck: Moderate length to allow for good head carriage and range of motion. Strongly muscled with a slight arch. The neck tapers smoothly from the deeper and broader body toward the head. The neck is clean-cut and without excess skin, throatiness, or dewlap.
Chest: Deep, not too broad, and never wider than deep. The brisket extends to the point of the elbows. The forechest is slightly prominent.
Body: Well-muscled and good of substance. The body is never racy or refined. Width at forequarters is approximately equal to the width at the hindquarters.
Feet: Oval to round, compact, with well-arched toes and tough pads.
Tail: Set neither high nor low on the croup, but as a natural extension of the topline. Thick at the base and tapering toward the tip. Carried in accordance with the dog’s mood and energy level, but never tucked. It is usually carried high in a sickle over the back when alerted or moving, or down in a neutral, relaxed position when at ease. It should never appear tucked. The tail should be left natural, never docked short. Natural tails are of a medium length, with the tip of the last vertebrae extending to the hock joints when held down. Natural tails may be straight or gently curved.
Movement: The Kromfohrlander’s movement is energetic, tireless, effortless, and efficient. The characteristics of healthy structure are evident: when moving away, the forelegs and rear pasterns should remain parallel to one another. When viewing movement from the front, the forelegs should remain parallel, with elbows and paws moving neither in nor out. From the rear, the back pads should be visible when the rear legs are extended. As speed increases, the forelimbs and hindlimbs will converge to the centerline of gravity. From the side, the topline should remain firm and level. Good reach of movement in the front allows the forepaw to extend out in a line with the nose. The width between the forefeet when extended should be approximately equal to the width between the hindfeet when extended, indicating balance, good reach, and good drive. Dogs that exhibit any sign of breathing or locomotive difficulty shall be disqualified from the show ring.
Temperament: The Kromi is well-known for his affection, loyalty, watchfulness, and doting temperament. He is also known to get along with other dogs and people, especially children. Another attribute of the breed is its lack of desire to roam, preferring instead to stay by the side of its person or family. They do well in anything that they can participate in with their family, be it hiking, camping, playing in the yard, or even competitive sports, such as obedience, or agility. The Kromi serves as an excellent watchdog, alerting his family to anything that he has deemed suspicious. Unlike his terrier ancestors, he does not make a great hunting dog, instead preferring to hang out with his people. Any unprovoked aggressive or fearful behavior toward people is incorrect for this breed.
Breed Standard
BREED GROUP 12: Companion and Toy Breeds
Proportions: Slightly off-square in proportions, with the point of the forechest to the point of the rump being just slightly greater than the height at the withers. The ideal length-to-height ratio is approximately 10:9. The body is well put together, with sturdy substance and medium bone. The Kromi is sturdily built, but should never appear overly weedy, racy, overly refined, or coarse.
Head
General Appearance: Mesaticephalic skull type, moderate in size, wedge-shaped, and in proportion to the rest of the body. The topskull (from stop to occiput) is of medium length and moderate width, being almost as wide as the topskull is long. From the front and in profile, the topskull appears slightly arched. The skull tapers to a moderately broad muzzle formed by strong jaws. There is a slight median furrow. The head is clean-cut and without excess skin or wrinkle.
Expression: Docile, alert, and watchful of his people.
Stop: The stop is well defined.
Skull: The ideal muzzle-to-skull ratio is 1:1, with the topskull being equal to.
The ideal muzzle-to-skull axis may be parallel, or may be convergent.
Muzzle: The muzzle is moderately full and broad. Upper and lower jaws have good bone substance, appearing strong and well developed, never appearing snipy or weak. The lower jaw and upper jaw are equal in length.
Lips or Flews: Lips are clean and fit tightly over the teeth and jaws.
Nose: Lips are clean and fit tightly over the teeth and jaws.
Cheeks: The cheeks are well developed with good muscle, but not overly prominent.
Dentition and Bite: Forty-two strong, clean, white teeth. Bite may be level or scissor. Contact must be made between the top and bottom incisors.
Eyes: Moderate in size, oval in shape, set slightly oblique, and medium to dark brown in color. The eye rims are well fitted and well pigmented. The eyes are never bulging. There should be sufficient bone in the surrounding orbital sockets to protect the eyes.
Ears: Medium in size, set high on the skull, and fairly far apart. They may be small to medium in size, V-shaped, and semi-drop, with some lift at the base, the fold never rising above the plane of the skull, and the rounded tips carried close to the head. The ears are mobile and expressive. The ears are never long, hound-like, fully erect, or overly large.
Body and Tail
General Description: Well-muscled and good of substance. The body is never racy or refined. Width at forequarters is approximately equal to the width at the hindquarters.
Neck: Moderate length to allow for good head carriage and range of motion. Strongly muscled with a slight arch. The neck tapers smoothly from the deeper and broader body toward the head. The neck is clean-cut and without excess skin, throatiness, or dewlap.
Chest: Deep, not too broad, and never wider than deep. The brisket extends to the point of the elbows. The forechest is slightly prominent.
Topline: Level from prominent withers to croup. The back is broad, strongly muscled, and straight, yet supple. The loin is taut, flat and level, or slightly arched, yet supportive. The back is never swayed or roached.
Croup: Gently sloped, with good muscle.
Underline: Slight tuck-up present. The underline is taut and firm, without any indication of sagging or excess weight.
Ribs: Long, well-sprung, well-laid-back, and oval-shaped, never barrel-chested or slab-sided.
Tail: Set neither high nor low on the croup, but as a natural extension of the topline. Thick at the base and tapering toward the tip. Carried in accordance with the dog’s mood and energy level, but never tucked. It is usually carried high in a sickle over the back when alerted or moving, or down in a neutral, relaxed position when at ease. It should never appear tucked. The tail should be left natural, never docked short. Natural tails are of a medium length, with the tip of the last vertebrae extending to the hock joints when held down. Natural tails may be straight or gently curved.
Forequarters and Hindquarters
Forequarters: Forequarters are always in balance with the hindquarters. Forequarters are well angulated with well-laid-back shoulder blades. Shoulder blades are approximately equal in length to the upper arm and forearm, or the forearm may be slightly longer than the upper arm.
Elbows: Elbows are close to the body. The point of the elbows is approximately half the dog’s height at the withers.
Forelegs: Frontal View: Straight, of good muscle, of moderate bone, and parallel to one another.
Side View: The forelimbs appear straight with strong pasterns.
Pasterns: Never weak or broken.
Hindquarters: Upper thigh and lower thigh are equal in length, strong, sturdy, of moderate bone, and well-muscled.
Rear View: When viewed from the rear, the rear pasterns are parallel to one another.
Side View: Good angulation will allow the rear toes to align with the point of the rump or within one to two paw-lengths behind the point of the rump, with the rear pasterns remaining perpendicular to the ground and parallel to one another.
Stifle Joint: Well-angulated, with a good bend to well-let-down rear pasterns.
Angulations: Angulation of hindquarters is always in balance with angulation of forequarters.
Feet: Oval to round, compact, with well-arched toes and tough pads.
Coat
Skin: Well-fitted, yet supple. The skin should never obstruct the outline of the dog.
Coat Type: The Kromfohrlander comes in two coat varieties: the smooth coat and the rough coat.
All coat types, regardless of variety, should have a strong, weather-proof outercoat, as well as a dense protective undercoat. All coats must be left in their natural state and free from excess trimming or clipping.
Smooth-coat variety: The coat ranges from short to flat. Short smooth coats are short and close to the body throughout, with a thick undercoat. Slightly longer on neck, forming a light ruff, and on the tail. Slight fringe or feather is observed. The flat smooth coat has a dense undercoat, as well as a medium length coat throughout the body, with longer fringing on the neck, shoulders, chest, back of legs, and underside of tail. The coat on the face is shorter and smooth.
Rough-coat variety: The coat is harsh, dense, and wiry. It is never soft or silky.
Coat Color or Pattern: The Kromfohrlander comes in two coat varieties: the smooth coat and the rough coat.
All coat types, regardless of variety, should have a strong, weather-proof outercoat, as well as a dense protective undercoat. All coats must be left in their natural state and free from excess trimming or clipping.
Smooth-coat variety: The coat ranges from short to flat. Short smooth coats are short and close to the body throughout, with a thick undercoat. Slightly longer on neck, forming a light ruff, and on the tail. Slight fringe or feather is observed. The flat smooth coat has a dense undercoat, as well as a medium length coat throughout the body, with longer fringing on the neck, shoulders, chest, back of legs, and underside of tail. The coat on the face is shorter and smooth.
Rough-coat variety: The coat is harsh, dense, and wiry. It is never soft or silky.
Movement
The Kromfohrlander’s movement is energetic, tireless, effortless, and efficient. The characteristics of healthy structure are evident: when moving away, the forelegs and rear pasterns should remain parallel to one another. When viewing movement from the front, the forelegs should remain parallel, with elbows and paws moving neither in nor out. From the rear, the back pads should be visible when the rear legs are extended. As speed increases, the forelimbs and hindlimbs will converge to the centerline of gravity. From the side, the topline should remain firm and level. Good reach of movement in the front allows the forepaw to extend out in a line with the nose. The width between the forefeet when extended should be approximately equal to the width between the hindfeet when extended, indicating balance, good reach, and good drive. Dogs that exhibit any sign of breathing or locomotive difficulty shall be disqualified from the show ring.
Temperament
The Kromi is well-known for his affection, loyalty, watchfulness, and doting temperament. He is also known to get along with other dogs and people, especially children. Another attribute of the breed is its lack of desire to roam, preferring instead to stay by the side of its person or family. They do well in anything that they can participate in with their family, be it hiking, camping, playing in the yard, or even competitive sports, such as obedience, or agility. The Kromi serves as an excellent watchdog, alerting his family to anything that he has deemed suspicious. Unlike his terrier ancestors, he does not make a great hunting dog, instead preferring to hang out with his people. Any unprovoked aggressive or fearful behavior toward people is incorrect for this breed.
Faults
All dogs should be in proper healthy condition and free from disease or defect. Any departure from this description is considered a fault. Unless altered, all male dogs should have two fully descended testicles.
