THE OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG. 



117 



This description is so comprehensive 

 and so lucid withal, that the novice may 

 well be left to build up from it an excellent 

 mental picture of the perfect dog. Better 

 still, he may compare his own dogs with it, 

 point by point, and learn exactly where, 

 and how, they fall short of perfection. 

 For his further guidance it may be well 

 to run over the items seriatim, in view of 

 those periodical discussions which in- 

 evitably crop up from time to time in the 

 history of every popular breed. 



Taking the head as our starting-point, 

 we may include in it the items of skull, 

 jaw, eyes, ears, nose and teeth, and note 

 that this portion of the dog's anatomy is 

 worth no less than thirty-five per cent, of 

 the possible points, and that it is conse- 

 quently a most important factor in deter- 

 mining his value. 



Capacious and rather squarely formed, is 

 an excellent definition of the shaggy skull, 

 for any tendency towards a dome-shaped 

 formation is strongly to be deprecated. 

 The square jaw and well-defined stop are 

 specially to be insisted upon, seeing that 

 undue length before the eyes and a ten- 

 dency to snipiness of muzzle are growing 

 evils, incident on the attempt to breed 

 dogs of exceptional size. 



The colour of the eyes, in dark-coated 

 dogs, should be the deepest shade of brown 

 obtainable ; a light yellow eye detracts 

 enormously from the animal's typical ex- 

 pression. But in grey or merle dogs, wall 

 or china eyes are very attractive, whether 

 they appear singly, with a brown one, or 

 in pairs. The setting of the eyes, too, is 

 important ; if placed too close together 

 they present a somewhat sinister or sly 

 appearance, by which the bob-tail's open, 

 honest countenance is seriously marred. 



The large, black, capacious nose is most 

 desirable, many a light-coloured dog being 

 handicapped by a white-flecked or so-called 

 butterfly nose. 



The teeth, too, should be exactly as 

 described. If the lower set project, the 

 dog is liable to be stigmatised undershot ; 

 if the upper set protrude, he will be dubbed 

 pig-jawed. 



The ears, again, have much to say with 

 regard to determining the value of any 

 head. Small, and set on close, they im- 

 prove its appearance immensely ; but if 

 placed too high, inclined to cock, or thick 

 and coarse in fibre, they spoil it propor- 

 tionately. 



A perfect head, it will thus be readily 

 seen, is especially difficult of attainment. 



Legs and feet count for ten points, and 

 the desideratum here is plenty of strong 

 flat bone in the former, coupled with small- 

 ness and compactness of pads in the latter. 

 The dog must stand straight and true upon 

 them, but lightly poised withal, free from 

 suspicion of weakness at the pastern joints. 

 In full coat, the line from shoulder to toe, 

 as you face him, should be dead straight ; 

 and the legs, at their junction with the 

 shoulders, not more than a hand's breadth 

 apart. 



The allowance of one and a half inches for 

 the puppy's docked tail appears to me too 

 liberal, and, generally speaking, it will be 

 found that the shorter the stump, the better. 



Neck and shoulders are items of very great 

 importance, in which the majority of modem 

 large-sized dogs conspicuously fail. A clean 

 neck, with plenty of length, well placed upon 

 a pair of shoulders nicely sloped and in- 

 clining to narrowness at the points, has a 

 wonderful effect in securing perfect body 

 balance, and this is almost invariably 

 found in conjunction with good legs and feet. 

 A coarse, heavy-shouldered dog is down on 

 his pasterns nine times out of ten, and the 

 tenth stands too wide apart in front. On 

 the other hand, a clean-shouldered animal 

 is generally found standing soundly and 

 lightly on his feet. 



We come now to the body, which counts, 

 including loins and hindquarters, for twenty 

 points. It must be short and compact, 

 with a deep brisket and well-sprung ribs, 

 stout in loin, muscular in hindquarters, 

 and lower at the shoulder than the rump. 

 The hocks, which must be well-defined, 

 should be set on low. The height from the 

 shoulder to the ground should be as nearly 

 as possible the length from the shoulder 

 to the docked stump. 



