108 THE DOGS OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 



8. The chest (value 4) should be broad as well as deep, with well- developed 

 back ribs. 



9. Legs, knees, and hocks (value 10). When tolerably fast work is to be done by 

 a heavy dog, it is important that these parts should be strong and free from disease 

 in their joints. Hence the legs must not only be long and muscular, but they must 

 be clean and free from gumminess. The knees should be broad, and the hocks well 

 developed, and clean. 



10. The feet (value 5) are rather larger proportionately than in the setter, but 

 they should be compact, and the toes well arched. Soles thick and strong. 



11. The tail (value 5) in the " Bond Moore " type should be bushy, and not 

 feathered, which is a sign of the setter cross. It should be carried gaily, but not 

 curled over the back. 



12. The coat (value 5) is short, but not so short as in the pointer or hound ; 

 set close, slightly wavy, and glossy. 



13. The colour (value 5) should be a rich black, free from rustiness. In many 

 good imported dogs there is a white star on the breast, and a white toe or two ; but 

 the fashionable breeders now go in for a total absence of white, and this point is 

 therefore to be estimated accordingly, as long as Dr. Bond Moore and his coad- 

 jutors maintain their position. That the public do not agree with him is plain from 

 the fact that, in answer to an advertisement offering to give away several puppies 

 bred by him with white on their toes, &c., he received more than 150 applica- 

 tions. It also shows that even his own breed cannot be depended on for absence 

 of white, and that it is purely an arbitrary sign, altogether independent of race. 

 Hence, in my opinion, it is absurd to disqualify a dog absolutely because he 

 shows a small white star or a white toe, but it is quite within the powers of 

 the judge to penalise him to the extent of the allowance for colour in the scale of 

 points. 



14. Symmetry and temperament (value 10). The symmetry of this dog is often 

 considerable ; and, though there is no grandeur, as in the large Newfoundland and 

 St. Bernard, still there is a due proportion of size and strength, with elegance all 

 through, which takes the eye, and should be valued highly. The walk of the 

 Labrador is not so loose and shambling as that of the large Newfoundland. The 

 evidences of good temperament should be regarded with great care, since the utility 

 of this dog mainly depends on it. A sour-headed brute, with a vicious look about 

 the eyes, should at once be penalised to the full extent of this point, and a retriever 

 shown with a muzzle on, as has often happened, should be regarded with great 

 suspicion. Of course a dog may be so savage in a show as to require a muzzle, yet 

 perfectly mild and inoffensive in the field ; but such cases are exceptional, and a 

 judge ought always to satisfy himself of the general good temper of a retriever 

 requiring a muzzle. 



Mr G. Brewis's Paris has been very successful on the show bench, and has a 

 fine body and good coat, but I confess I neither like his head nor his short jaw. 

 Nevertheless, it is impossible at present to find a better type of the pure Labrador. 

 Melody is a beautiful specimen of the setter cross. 



