256 OTHER FOREIGN DOGS 



shoulder for dogs, and 9 inches or 10 inches for 

 bitches." 



One can well recall the excitement caused by the 

 importation of the Dogue de Bordeaux in the middle 

 nineties. So much had been heard of the ferocity 

 of this formidable brute and of his prowess when 

 pitted against bear or wolf, and the graphic 

 description of an English gentleman who had to 

 judge a class at a foreign show set us all agog. 

 For a short time the dog was the centre of interest 

 wherever he was exhibited, and then he gradually 

 died away, killed, some said, by the anti -cropping 

 edict of the Kennel Club. There is no doubt about 

 it that he is a most formidable-looking creature, of 

 enormous strength, and for this reason he should 

 make an ideal guard for a' gamekeeper. Mr. H. C. 

 Brooke, who acted as Hon. Secretary of the specialist 

 club, drew up the following description in conjunc- 

 tion with a prominent French cynologist, M. Megnin : 

 " The general appearance is that of a smooth -coated 

 dog, very powerful in build, somewhat low in 

 stature, massive, broad, and muscular. The head 

 is enormous, and its size, in proportion" to the size 

 of the dog, should be greater than in any other 

 breed. The skull must be very long and broad, 

 high, square in appearance ; a rounded or a cocoa- 

 nut skull is a fault. The muzzle is very broad, 

 deep, and powerful. The face, measured from eye 

 to nose, should be short, but not too short 

 2 1 inches to 3 inches would be about the correct 

 length for, a full-grown Dogue. The cheek bumps 

 are highly developed. The under jaw should project 

 slightly, about half an inch in front of the upper, 

 and be turned up,; but this fprmatiori should be 



