THE MASTIFF 25 



during the whole period of their growth, care being taken that they 

 are not allowed to get too fat, but that they are kept in what is 

 termed good growing condition. Some breeders are too apt to 

 force their puppies when young, and are then able to boast of 

 their weight; but it will frequently be found that puppies of 

 abnormal weight do not develop into Mastiffs of corresponding 

 size when full grown, they having made their growth within the 

 first ten or twelve months of their life. A Mastiff should continue 

 to grow in height until he is fifteen months old or more, and to 

 increase in size and develop for a further eighteen months or so. 

 Many large dogs do not reach their prime until a later period. 

 About six weeks is the best age at which to select those 

 puppies that are to be kept, for experience shows that, however 

 much they may change during growth, the good points that they 

 possess at this early age are likely to be found when full growth 

 has been attained. In selecting a puppy, one naturally seeks for 

 those qualities which are looked for in the adult animal. These 

 are principally width of skull, width between the eyes, breadth and 

 depth of muzzle, and plenty of bone. Size, of course, is a considera- 

 tion, but this in young puppies is frequently misleading and too 

 much stress must not be laid on it, as it sometimes happens that 

 the smallest puppy, although reared under similar conditions to 

 the rest of the litter, develops into the largest. 



That the Mastiff is not so popular at the present time as it was 

 some years ago is a fact that cannot be denied. The introduction 

 of so many foreign breeds into this country within the last few 

 years could hardly fail to affect some of our native breeds, but 

 this does not altogether account for the loss of public favour from 

 which the Mastiff is suffering. Possibly this lack of interest in 

 the breed is to some extent attributable to these dogs having of 

 late years been bred with abnormally short muzzles, the result 

 being that many of the characteristics of the breed have been 

 changed. Faults, such as short bodies, short legs, straight hocks, 

 and bad hindquarters have been far too common, whilst the benign 

 expression of the Mastiff has to a great extent been lost. Altogether 

 the Mastiff of recent years has approached far too near the Bulldog 

 to please the general public, upon whose favour every breed is, 

 after all, more or less dependent. That the Mastiff is a short- 

 muzzled dog every one will admit, but there is a medium in 

 everything ; breadth and depth of muzzle are, in the writer's opinion, 

 of far more consequence than extreme shortness and, at the same 

 time, more difficult to obtain. Although the Mastiff is not so 

 active as some other breeds of large dogs, being much heavier built, 

 yet he should be sufficiently so to be able to accompany his owner 

 on a walk without showing fatigue ; it is doubtful whether many of 

 the Mastiffs exhibited of late years would be able to do this. 



