THE BULLDOG 21 



general appearance of the dog as seriously to handicap him 

 in the show-ring. 



The under jaw projects beyond the upper in order to allow 

 the dog, when running directly to the front, to grasp the bull, 

 and, when fixed, to give him a firmer hold. The eyes, seen 

 from the front, should be situated low down in the skull, as far 

 from the ears, the nose, and each other as possible, but quite 

 in front of the forehead, so long as their corners are in a straight 

 line at right angles with the stop, and in front of the forehead. 

 They should be a little above the level of the base of the nasal 

 bone, and should be quite round in shape, of moderate size, 

 neither sunken nor prominent, and be as black in colour as 

 possible almost, if not quite, black, showing no white when 

 looking directly to the front. 



A good deal of a Bulldog's appearance depends on the 

 quality, shape, and carriage of his ears. They should be small 

 and thin, and set high on the head ; that is, the front inner 

 edge of each ear should, as viewed from the front, join the out- 

 line of the skull at the top corner of such outline, so as to place 

 them as wide apart, as high, and as far from the eyes as 

 possible. The shape should be that which is known as " rose," 

 in which the ear folds inward at the back, the upper or front 

 edge curving over outwards and backwards, showing part of 

 the inside of the burr. If the ears are placed low on the skull 

 they give an appleheaded appearance to the dog. If the ear 

 falls in front, hiding the interior, as is the case with a Fox- 

 terrier, it is said to " button," and this type is highly objec- 

 tionable. Unfortunately, within the last few years the 

 " button " and " semi-tulip " ear have been rather prevalent 

 amongst the specimens on the show bench. 



If the ear is carried erect it is known as a " tulip " ear, and 

 this form also is objectionable. Nevertheless, at the beginning 

 of the nineteeth century two out of every three dogs possessed 

 ears of this description. 



The neck should be moderate in length, very thick, deep, 

 muscular, and short, but of sufficient length to allow it to be 



