Dogs and All about Them. Robert Leighton

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СКАЧАТЬ of a Bulldog's appearance depends on the quality, shape, and carriage of his ears. They should be small and thin, and set high on the head; that is, the front inner edge of each ear should, as viewed from the front, join the outline of the skull at the top corner of such outline, so as to place them as wide apart, as high, and as far from the eyes as possible. The shape should be that which is known as "rose," in which the ear folds inward at the back, the upper or front edge curving over outwards and backwards, showing part of the inside of the burr. If the ears are placed low on the skull they give an appleheaded appearance to the dog. If the ear falls in front, hiding the interior, as is the case with a Fox-terrier, it is said to "button," and this type is highly objectionable. Unfortunately, within the last few years the "button" and "semi-tulip" ear have been rather prevalent amongst the specimens on the show bench.

      If the ear is carried erect it is known as a "tulip" ear, and this form also is objectionable. Nevertheless at the beginning of the nineteenth century two out of every three dogs possessed ears of this description.

      The neck should be moderate in length, very thick, deep, muscular, and short, but of sufficient length to allow it to be well arched at the back, commencing at the junction with the skull. There should be plenty of loose, thick, and wrinkled skin about the throat, forming a dewlap on each side from the lower jaw to the chest.

      The chest should be very wide laterally, round, prominent, and deep, making the dog appear very broad and short-legged in front. The shoulders should be broad, the blades sloping considerably from the body; they should be deep, very powerful, and muscular, and should be flat at the top and play loosely from the chest.

      The brisket should be capacious, round, and very deep from the shoulder to the lowest part, where it joins the chest, and be well let down between the fore-legs. It should be large in diameter, and round behind the fore-legs, neither flat-sided nor sinking, which it will not do provided that the first and succeeding ribs are well rounded. The belly should be well tucked up and not pendulous, a small narrow waist being greatly admired. The desired object in body formation is to obtain great girth at the brisket, and the smallest possible around the waist, that is, the loins should be arched very high, when the dog is said to have a good "cut-up."

      The back should be short and strong, very broad at the shoulder and comparatively narrow at the loins. The back should rise behind the shoulders in a graceful curve to the loins, the top of which should be higher than the top of the shoulders, thence curving again more suddenly to the tail, forming an arch known as the "roach" back, which is essentially a characteristic of the breed, though, unfortunately, many leading prize-winners of the present day are entirely deficient in this respect. Some dogs dip very considerably some distance behind the shoulders before the upward curve of the spine begins, and these are known as "swamp-backed"; others rise in an almost straight line to the root of the tail, and are known as "stern-high."

      The tail should be set on low, jut out rather straight, then turn downwards, the end pointing horizontally. It should be quite round in its whole length, smooth and devoid of fringe or coarse hair. It should be moderate in length, rather short than long, thick at the root, and taper quickly to a fine point. It should have a downward carriage, and the dog should not be able to raise it above the level of the backbone. The tail should not curve at the end, otherwise it is known as "ring-tailed." The ideal length of tail is about six inches.

      Many fanciers demand a "screw" or "kinked" tail, that is, one having congenital dislocations at the joints, but such appendages are not desirable in the best interests of the breed.

      The fore-legs should be very stout and strong, set wide apart, thick, muscular, and short, with well-developed muscles in the calves, presenting a rather bowed outline, but the bones of the legs must be straight, large, and not bandy or curved. They should be rather short in proportion to the hind-legs, but not so short as to make the back appear long or detract from the dog's activity and so cripple him.

      The elbows should be low and stand well away from the ribs, so as to permit the body to swing between them. If this property be absent the dog is said to be "on the leg." The ankles or pasterns should be short, straight, and strong. The fore-feet should be straight and turn very slightly outwards; they should be of medium size and moderately round, not too long or narrow, whilst the toes should be thick, compact, and well split up, making the knuckles prominent and high.

      The hind-legs, though of slighter build than the fore-legs, should be strong and muscular. They should be longer, in proportion, than the fore-legs in order to elevate the loins. The stifles should be round and turned slightly outwards, away from the body, thus bending the hocks inward and the hind-feet outward. The hocks should be well let down, so that the leg is long and muscular from the loins to the point of the hock, which makes the pasterns short, but these should not be so short as those of the fore-legs. The hind-feet, whilst being smaller than the forefeet, should be round and compact, with the toes well split up, and the knuckles prominent.

      The most desirable weight for a Bulldog is about 50 lbs.

      The coat should be fine in texture, short, close, and smooth, silky when stroked from the head towards the tail owing to its closeness, but not wiry when stroked in the reverse direction.

      The colour should be whole or smut, the latter being a whole colour with a black mask or muzzle. It should be brilliant and pure of its sort. The colours in order of merit are, first, whole colours and smuts, viz., brindles, reds, white, with their varieties, as whole fawns, fallows, etc., and, secondly, pied and mixed colours. Opinions differ considerably on the colour question; one judge will set back a fawn and put forward a pied dog, whilst others will do the reverse. Occasionally one comes across specimens having a black-and-tan colour, which, although not mentioned in the recognised standard as being debarred, do not as a rule figure in the prize list. Some of the best specimens which the writer has seen have been black-and-tans, and a few years ago on the award of a first prize to a bitch of this colour, a long but non-conclusive argument was held in the canine press. Granted that the colour is objectionable, a dog which scores in all other properties should not be put down for this point alone, seeing that in the dog-fighting days there were many specimens of this colour.

      In action the Bulldog should have a peculiarly heavy and constrained gait, a rolling, or "slouching" movement, appearing to walk with short, quick steps on the tip of his toes, his hind-feet not being lifted high but appearing to skim the ground, and running with the right shoulder rather advanced, similar to the manner of a horse when cantering.

      The foregoing minute description of the various show points of a Bulldog indicates that he should have the appearance of a thick-set Ayrshire or Highland bull. In stature he should be low to the ground, broad and compact, the body being carried between and not on the fore-legs. He should stand over a great deal of ground, and have the appearance of immense power. The height of the fore-leg should not exceed the distance from the elbow to the centre of the back, between the shoulder blades.

      Considerable importance is attached to the freedom and activity displayed by the animal in its movements. Deformed joints, or weakness, are very objectionable. The head should be strikingly massive and carried low, the face short, the muzzle very broad, blunt, and inclined upwards. The body should be short and well-knit, the limbs, stout and muscular. The hind-quarters should be very high and strong, but rather lightly made in comparison with the heavily-made fore-parts.

      It must be acknowledged that there are many strains of this breed which are constitutionally unsound. For this reason it is important that the novice should give very careful consideration to his first purchase of a Bulldog. He should ascertain beyond all doubt, not only that his proposed purchase is itself sound in wind and limb, but that its sire and dam are, and have been, in similarly healthy condition. The dog to be chosen should be physically strong and show pronounced muscular development. If these requirements are present and the dog is in no sense a contradiction of the good qualities of its progenitors, but a СКАЧАТЬ