NEWFOUNDLAND 



animal than the dogs to be discovered in the country from 

 which he takes his name, and he moreover differs from the 

 majority of them in colour, as his coat is jet-black, or 

 black and white, whereas theirs is usually of a rusty hue. 

 This tinge, it has been suggested, is probably due in some 

 measure to the fact that the native dogs spend a good deal 

 of their time in the sea, and that the salt water has an effect 

 upon the colour of their coats ; but whether this is the case 

 or not, the fact remains that a rusty jacket is seldom seen 

 in England. The black and white variety is of course a 

 modern and British production, as it owes its origin to the 

 great painter Sir Edwin Landseer, from whom it derives 

 its name, who selected an imposing-looking mongrel of 

 this colour for his famous painting, ^'A Distinguished 

 Member of the Humane Society," which animal quite 

 erroneously came to be described as a Newfoundland. 



The head in this breed is flat on the top, wide, and 

 very massive, the occipital protuberance being well marked ; 

 whilst the muzzle is rather short and moderately blunt. 

 The eyes are small, deeply set, and dark in colour, a yellow 

 eye being a most serious fault ; and the ears set well back, 

 small, lying close to the sides of the head. The neck is 

 longer than it appears to be, as it is very thick and well 

 coated with hair, which makes it seem shorter than it 

 actually is ; the shoulders rather sloping, and the chest 

 very wide and deep ; w^hilst the body is rather long, with 

 well-sprung ribs and very powerful loins ; the feet being 

 large and compact. The hind - quarters are extremely 

 powerful ; and the tail, which is of moderate length and 

 thickness, is carried low, with a slight curve near the tip. 

 The hair on the coat must be dense, flat, rather coarse, and 

 like that of most water-dogs, inclined to be oily, the inner 

 jacket being thick, soft, and sealskin - like. The most 

 commonly found colours are black, and black and white ; 

 but bronze, rusty, and even yellowish jackets are to be 

 found, the latter occasionally occurring as sports in blacks 

 of unimpeachable pedigrees. The average height is about 



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