THE DOGUE DE BORDEAUX 405 



back is very detrimental, though frequently met with in old dogs 

 which have had to undergo severe strains in the arena. The brisket 

 is round and deep, of great diameter ; and the ribs are well sprung, 

 and any appearance of flat-sidedness should be avoided. The body 

 behind ribs is well tucked up. The hindquarters should not have 

 the pear-shaped appearance sought for in the Bulldog, but be very 

 strong and powerful. It must not be forgotten that the Dogue 

 is essentially a gladiator, and even at the present day is constantly 

 pitted against the bear, the bull, and other animals, besides against 

 members of its own tribe. A Dogue whose hindquarters were not 

 very strong would be heavily handicapped in the arena; nor does 

 the reason exist that originally made the light hindquarters desirable 

 in the Bulldog. The forelegs should be very thick, strong, and 

 muscular, rather short than long, with enormous bone. The 

 pasterns should be straight and strong, and the fore feet round, 

 very strong, and well knuckled up. The hind legs should be strong 

 and muscular, with the feet round, large, and well knuckled up. 

 A cow-hocked formation is undesirable. The tail should be set on 

 low, be thick at the root, of moderate length, and not carried high. 

 It must not have a ' brush,' or a fringe of coarse hair on the 

 underside. 



The most desirable colour for the Dogue is a reddish -fawn, with 

 red mask ; nose of a reddish-brown colour. Next to this, in order of 

 merit, red, with red mask ; then all fawn, with black nose, but no 

 mask ; lastly, fawn or red, with black mask and black nose. 

 Brindle, black, or pied should absolutely disqualify, as these colours 

 are only met with in cross-bred specimens. It was hoped that 

 in time, by careful selection in breeding, the black mask would 

 be totally eliminated, and that all Dogues would have red masks, 

 as was formerly the case. The best weight for a Dogue is about 

 i2olb. for males, and icolb. for females." 



