BODY

The chest is deep, well filled in, and moderately wide with ample room for heart and lungs, but the chest should never be wider than it is deep. The forechest does not extend much beyond the point of shoulder. The ribs extend well back and are well sprung from the spine, then flattening to form a deep body extending to the elbows. The back is strong and firm. The topline inclines very slightly downward from the withers to a broad, muscular, level back. The loin is short, muscular and slightly arched to the top of the croup, but narrower than the rib cage and with a moderate tuck-up (TUCK UP IS VERY IMPORTANT IN AN ATHLETIC DOG AND THE DEGREE OF TUCK IS INDICATIVE OF THE LEVEL OF CONDITIONING. THE LOCATION OF THE TUCK IS INDICATED IN THE FIGURE BELOW). The croup is slightly sloping downward.