344 BRITISH DOGS 



of merit should invariably be tested at the walk, the trot, and the gallop. It 

 is seldom that judging-rings are provided which give sufficient scope for 

 exhaustive and really satisfactory tests of this kind ; but a judge should never 

 neglect them, even if he has to take the select coterie outside the barriers. 



An absolutely perfect Retriever, or dog of any other breed for that matter, is 

 chimerical ; but if one could " piece-up " from the champions of the new century, 

 an ideal could easily be manufactured : given the head, ears, eyes, legs, and feet 

 of Champion Black Quilt, or his sire Champion Horton Rector ; the neck, 

 shoulders, coat, and deep chest of Black Charm ; the back, loins, stern, and 

 general symmetry and character of Champion Wimpole Peter, with Quilt again 

 coming in to supply hocks, size, and substance, and, in the writer's opinion, it 

 would take a very hypercritical eye to detect a failing. 



As to the comparative value of "points," the subjoined scale is offered by 

 the writer for what it is worth : 



SCALE OF POINTS 



General Appearance 



Outline, Quality, Character, and Symmetry ... ... 15 



Action, including Carriage of Stern ... ... ... 10 



Head Properties 



Skull ... ... ... ... 5 



Jaw, Mouth, and Nose ... ... ... ... 5 



Eyes 5 



Ears ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Body 



Neck, Shoulders, Chest, and Ribs ... ... ... 10 



Fore Legs and feet ... ... ... ... ... 10 



Loins, Quarters, and Couplings ... ... ... 10 



Hind Legs and Feet, Thighs and Hocks ... ... 10 



Stern ,.. ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Coat ... ... ... ... ... 10 



Total points in all ... ... ... ico 



The following disqualifying points are debatable, and it is only when the 

 faults appear to a glaring and uncompromising extent that a judge is justified in 

 altogether ignoring an otherwise high class animal : 



1. A very light yellow eye. 



2. A coat waved or curled on neck and back. 



(Not so long ago this breed was yclept "Wavy-coated Retrievers," and later 

 on " Flat or Wavy-coated Retrievers." But " fancy" dictated that the " wave " 

 should be severely discouraged ; consequently judges began to pass over specimens 

 with this variety of jacket, in favour of those who could show a perfectly flat 

 coat, with the result that nowadays classes are provided for "Flat-coated" and 

 "Curly-coated" Retrievers only; and a competitor that cannot display the 

 orthodox coat has no earthly chance of success. Albeit the wave is constantly 

 recrudescent, even in the best strains.) 



3. A badly undershot jaw or badly cankered teeth. 



4. A distinctly curled or pot-hooked stern. 



5. Pronounced stiffness, lameness, or inability to move at walk, trot, or gallop, 



Of dogs of the last decade there are many who are worthy of 

 special mention in this chapter as being far above the average, 

 and as near perfection as the skill of the breeder can produce. 



