THE TOY BULLDOG 623 



his early death is almost a certainty ; but should he survive, he 

 is likely to be only a source of constant trouble, expense, and 

 disappointment. 



The first point the novice must look for is, therefore, health. 

 A puppy may be small, but may yet have plenty of bone in 

 proportion to its size ; moreover, its bones should be well covered. 

 The puppy that displays a healthy appetite for its food, and is 

 ever ready at meal-time to take his share in all that is going, is 

 the one to choose. In kennelmen's parlance, he is a " good doer." 

 He will probably look and be larger than the weed, but his extra 

 weight is the weight that health gives him, and health before 

 all must be the amateur's first consideration. Choose, therefore, the 

 healthiest rather than the very smallest puppy in the litter, though 

 sometimes the smallest may be as healthy as his brothers and 

 sisters, and in such a case he naturally is the one to pick. 



The other points to be looked for have already been dealt 

 with. See that the puppy is well supplied with bone, that his 

 limbs are strong and sturdy, without a suspicion of rickets, and 

 that his skull is large. In very young puppies the correctly carried 

 rose ear is seldom or never seen. All puppies' ears are inclined 

 to button that is to say, to double and hang forward ; the correctly 

 carried rose ear is acquired a little later in the puppy's life, and 

 its acquisition may be considerably helped by a little judicious 

 moulding, the fingers and thumb being only used, without the 

 assistance of so-called " ear appliances " or adhesive matter. A 

 small, fine ear should be looked for in the young puppy, the finer 

 and smaller the better ; but shape and carriage cannot be expected 

 at so early an age. 



The prominence of the under jaw in young puppies is seldom 

 noticeable; it will be enough to lift the lips, and when the jaw 

 is closed to ascertain that the under jaw does protrude more or 

 less. If the jaws are level, or there is an inclination to be overshot, 

 the puppy should be discarded, though the slightest inclination 

 to be undershot may generally be taken as an indication that a 

 good under jaw will develop later on. 



With regard to the tail, the smaller the better. It may be screwed, 

 cranked, or straight, and should be set on as low as possible. A 

 long-tailed Bulldog is an eye-sore, whether he be of full size or 

 a Toy, and oftentimes a long tail detracts from the appearance and 

 value of an otherwise good specimen. 



Generally, the puppy should be thick set, with strongly boned 

 limbs and big skull, small ears, short tail, very active and playful, 

 and ready for his food at almost any hour of the day. 



The smallest puppy in the litter that comes nearest to answering 

 to this description is the one to choose, in preference to one that 

 may perhaps be smaller but which is lacking in that strength 



