22 DOGS AND ALL ABOUT THEM 



well arched at the back, commencing at the junction with the 

 skull. There should be plenty of loose, thick, and wrinkled 

 skin about the throat, forming a dewlap on each side from 

 the lower jaw to the chest. 



The chest should be very wide laterally, round, prominent, 

 and deep, making the dog appear very broad and short- 

 legged in front. The shoulders should be broad, the blades 

 sloping considerably from the body ; they should be deep, 

 very powerful, and muscular, and should be flat at the top 

 and play loosely from the chest. 



The brisket should be capacious, round, and very deep 

 from the shoulder to the lowest part, where it joins the chest, 

 and be well let down between the fore-legs. It should be large 

 in diameter, and round behind the fore-legs, neither flat-sided 

 nor sinking, which it will not do provided that the first and 

 succeeding ribs are well rounded. The belly should be well 

 tucked up and not pendulous, a small narrow waist being 

 greatly admired. The desired object in body formation is 

 to obtain great girth at the brisket, and the smallest possible 

 around the waist, that is, the loins should be arched very 

 high, when the dog is said to have a good " cut-up." 



The back should be short and strong, very broad at the 

 shoulder and comparatively narrow at the loins. The back 

 should rise behind the shoulders in a graceful curve to the 

 loins, the top of which should be higher than the top of the 

 shoulders, thence curving again more suddenly to the tail, 

 forming an arch known as the " roach " back, which is 

 essentially a characteristic of the breed, though, unfortu- 

 nately, many leading prize-winners of the present day are 

 entirely deficient in this respect. Some dogs dip very con- 

 siderably some distance behind the shoulders before the up- 

 ward curve of the spine begins, and these are known as 

 " swamp-backed " ; others rise in an almost straight line to 

 the root of the tail, and are known as " stern-high." 



The tail should be set on low, jut out rather straight, then 

 turn downwards, the end pointing horizontally. It should be 



