242 Modern Dogs. 



appear rounded, and should stand slightly away from 

 the body, thus inclining the hocks inward and the 

 hind feet outward, but not ' cow hocked/ which is 

 always a sign of bad rearing, and is a serious impedi- 

 ment to freedom of movement. The hocks should 

 be well let down, moderately straight and low, giving 

 great length from the hip to this joint, and making 

 the pastern short, but not so short as those of the 

 fore legs. The hind feet rather smaller than the 

 fore feet, and turned decidedly outward ; they are 

 generally supposed to be required round and com- 

 pact, but, as a matter of fact, are nearly always 

 longer and more hare footed in shape than the fore 

 feet. The toes certainly look best if split up and if 

 the knuckles are prominent. 



" The coat should be of fine texture, close and 

 smooth ; silky when stroked from head towards tail 

 and hard, owing to its closeness, but not wiry when 

 stroked in the reverse direction. There have been 

 cases lately where dogs have been shown with 

 peculiarly long hair about the withers, but this is 

 decidedly ugly. 



" The colour ought to be brilliant, and preferably 

 should contain one of these colours either pure 

 or mixed, viz., white, brindle, red fawn, or fallow, 

 but the two last are considered by some as ( weak ' 

 colours, and a whole coloured dog is most generally 



