260 



DOGS. (MASTIFF, COLLET, BULL-TEEEIER.; 



Saint Bernard very closely resembles that dog. He 

 is generally more active, from having been more 

 worked than his English compeer, who for genera- 

 tions has been kept on the chain. Of course, in so 

 large a dog the legs must be straight and strong, while 

 the feet also must be large, in order to avoid sinking 

 through the snow. The last point is greatly insisted 

 on by the monks, who prefer even what would be 

 considered here a splay-foot to a small and compact 

 one. There is no doubt that the double dew-claw on 

 the hind-legs has in some way been introduced into 

 the strain of dogs used at the two Alpine monasteries, 

 but it is impossible to say how. Both Yell and Mo- 

 narque exhibited this peculiarity, as well as most of the 

 dogs admitted to be imported from the hospice. Gess- 

 ler, however, showing every other point of the breed 

 in a marked degree, had no dew-claw at all on his hind- 

 legs, and his son Alp, though put of Hedwig, sister to 

 Yell, was equally deficient. It is very doubtful whether 

 this peculiarity is sufficiently permanent in any strain 

 to be an evidence of purity or impurity. The tem- 

 perament of the Saint Bernard is very similar to that 

 of the mastiff that is to say, if suitably managed, the 

 dog is capable of great control over his actions, 

 whether in the absence or presence of his owner. 

 When kept on the chain, he is, like other dogs, apt 

 to become savage, and there is almost always an in- 

 stinctive dislike to tramps and vagabonds. He is a 

 capital watch and guard, and attaches himself strong- 

 ly to his master or mistress. The color varies greatly. 

 The most common is red and white, the white being 

 preferred when distributed after the pattern described 

 above. Fawn and white, and brindled and white, come 

 next, marked in the same way, the brindle being very 

 rich, with an orange-tawny shade hi it, as shown in 

 Yell, and in a lesser degree by his nephew Alp. 

 Sometimes the dog is wholly white, or very nearly so, 

 as in the case of Hospice and Sir C. H. Isham's Leo. 

 The coat in the rough variety is wavy over the body, 

 bushy in the tail, and feathering the legs, being gen- 

 erally silky, but sparsely so on the ears. In the 

 smooth variety the depth and thickness are the points 

 to be regarded. 



Mastiff. The old English mastiff, like the 

 bull-dog, was first bred in England. A well- 

 broken mastiff may be taken out at all hours, 

 and in any company, with the most perfect 

 confidence in his protection. With children he 

 is very gentle. Yet, when he is roused, and 

 set at man or animal, his courage is second 

 only to that of the bull-dog. 



The head should be massive, with a broad and flat 

 forehead, ears small and pendent, lying close to the 

 cheek. They should be vine-shaped and set well 

 back. The eyes are small, but mild and intelligent, 

 and are generally brown or hazel. The muzzle must 

 be short, teeth level, and square at the nose. There 

 is sometimes a slight projection of the lower jaw, 

 which may be overlooked ; flews deep. The neck 

 should be muscular, and of sufficient length to avoid 

 loss of symmetry ; body large, with deep and wide 

 chest, and a powerful loin. The legs should be 

 straight, with large bone, feet round and close. The 

 coat must be flne and short, a slight indication of 

 roughness being allowed on the tail, which should be 

 carried hierh when the dog is excited. The most desir- 

 able color is fallow (fawn) with black muzzle ; next to 

 this comes brindle, then red with black muzzle, or 

 black ^sometimes there is an admixture of white, 

 which is certainly a defect, though not a great one. 

 Height from twenty-nine to thirty-one inches in the 

 dog, and even more if a flne symmetry can be com- 

 bined. A dog standing twenty-nine inches ought to 

 weigh, in good condition (not fat), from 120 to 130 

 pounds. 



Colley. The head, which resembles that of 

 the fox, should be wide between the ears, ta- 



pering toward the eyes, whrch are in conse- 

 quence set rather close together. The top of 

 the head is flat, and there is little or no oc- 

 cipital protuberance, and a very slightly raised 

 brow; but the facial line is not absolutely 

 straight. The volume of brain is considerable, 

 and the skull looks smaller than it really is, in 

 consequence of the amount of frill in which 

 the occiput is imbedded. The other charac- 

 teristics are as follow : 



The muzzle is very tapering and lean, teeth strong 

 and even, and the muscles of the jaw well developed! 

 The whole face is covered with very short hair. The 

 ears are small and pricked, but turn over at the top 

 outward and slightly forward, with very short hair 

 clothing them. The eyes are set close together, and 



i 

 particulars. They are of a medium size, and brown. 



The shoulders must be oblique and muscular, as the 

 dog has to carry himself, without falling, over all 

 sorts of ground, and often to stop himself when going 

 down-hill at full speed. The lorn is strong and very 

 slightly arched, but not more than elegance requires. 

 The back ribs are often shallow, and, if too much so, 

 the defect should be properly estimated. The chest 

 is moderately wide, but should have the necessary 

 volume in depth rather than width, on account of the 

 activity required, which a very wide chest interferes 

 with, giving a rolling, heavy action, unfitted for 

 sheep-tending. The legs are all-important : they must 

 be straight in front, and well bent behind, all being 

 of necessity muscular. The arms should be of full 

 size, both in bone and flesh, elbows quite straight and 

 well let down, and the hocks powerful, clean, and 

 low on the hind-legs. There is often a double dew- 

 claw, hanging only by the skin, but many excellent 

 strains are without one, owing probably to their hav- 

 ing been removed for many generations. The feet are 

 rather long than round, but the toes are well arched, 

 and the pads are tough and horny. A large, flat 

 foot is an abomination. The coat is the peculiar 

 feature in this breed, though sufficient stress is not 

 laid upon this point by most judges. In the rough 

 colley it should be shaggy and very thick, so as to 

 create some difficulty in seeing the skin, when the 

 hair is separated by the hands with that view, the 

 undergrowth being woolly, which adds to this diffi- 

 culty. This under-coat is almost always lighter in 

 color than the upper, and even in those parts that ap- 

 pear black outside it has a yellowish or brownish 

 tinge. .Round the neck, and especially on its under 

 side, the outer coat is greatly lengthened, constituting 

 what is called a " ruff" or " frill," which is found in 

 no other English dog, but is well marked in the Po- 

 meranian. In the smooth colley the coat is short, 

 hard, and very close. The color most commonly met 

 with is black-arid-tan. In best breeds the black is 

 seldom brilliant, showing the lighter color of the 

 under-coat through, and often itself tinged with tan. 

 The face, spots over the eyes, breast, belly, and legs, 

 below the elbow and hocks, are tan, which should 

 be of a reddish-fawn rather than deep red tinge. In 

 the smooth colley the black is generally deeper and 

 richer, but the tan should be of the same tinge and 

 extent. A good deal of white is met with in some 

 strains, and sometimes the tan is altogether absent, 

 but, caeteris paribus, a black-and-tan color without 

 much white is highly preferred. In both t varieties 

 the whole body is sometimes tan, or tan mixed with 

 white. The tail is bushy, always has a decided curl, 

 and is carried gayly, though not over the back like 

 the Spitz. 



Bull-Terrier. A bull-terrier takes to water 

 like a retriever, and will learn tricks as fast as 



