242 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



or Barnstaple show, and say " if any Fox- 

 hound is made exactly like him in shoulders, 

 bent ribs, legs, and feet, and quarters, he is 

 as near perfection as possible." That has 

 been one reason why I have always judged 

 Pointers on Foxhound lines. I know there 

 are certain differences, but the essential 

 points are very much alike, and taking them 

 carefully I should give them as follows : 



1. Head. Should be wide from ear to ear, 

 long and slanting from the top of the skull to the 

 setting on of the nose ; cheek bones prominent ; 

 ears set low and thin in texture, soft and velvety ; 

 nose broad at the base ; mouth large and jaws 

 level. 



2. Neck. The neck should be very strong, 

 but long and slightly arched, meeting shoulders 

 well knit into the back, which should be straight 

 and joining a wide loin. There should be great 

 depth of heart room, very deep brisket, narrow 

 chest rather than otherwise, shoulders long and 

 slanting. 



3. Legs and Feet. Should be as nearly like the 

 Foxhound's as possible. There should be really 

 no difference, as they must be straight, the knees 

 big, and the bone should be of goodly size down 

 to the toes, and the feet should be very round and 

 cat-shaped. 



4. Hind Quarters. A great feature in the 

 Pointer is his hind quarters. He cannot well be 

 too long in the haunch or strong in the stifle, which 

 should be well bent, and the muscles in the second 

 thigh of a good Pointer are always remarkable. 

 The hocks may be straighter than even in a Fox- 

 hound, as, in pulling up sharp on his point, he 



in a great measure throws his weight on them ; 

 the shank bones below the hock should be short. 



5. Colour. There have been good ones of all 

 colours. The Derby colours were always liver 

 and whites for their Pointers and black breasted 

 reds for their game-cocks. The Seftons were liver 

 and whites also, and so were the Edges of Strelly, 

 but mostly heavily ticked. Brockton's Bounce 

 was so, and so were Ch. Eang, Mike, and Young 

 Bang. Drake was more of the Derby colour ; 

 dark liver and white. Mr. Whitehouse's were 

 mostly lemon and whites, after Hamlet of that 

 colour, and notable ones of the same hue were 

 Squire, Bang Bang, and Mr. Whitehouse's Pax and 

 Priam, all winners of field trials. There have 

 been several very good black and whites. Mr. 

 Francis's, afterwards Mr. Salter's, Chang was a 

 field trial winner of this colour. A still better 

 one was Mr. S. Becket's Rector, a somewhat 

 mean little dog to look at, but quite extraordinary 

 in his work, as he won the Pointer Puppy Stake 

 at Shrewsbury and the All-Aged Stake three 

 years in succession. Mr. Salter's Romp family 

 were quite remarkable in colour- a white ground, 

 heavily shot with black in patches and in ticks. 

 There have never been any better Pointers than 

 these. There have been, and are, good black 

 Pointers also. 



6. Height and Size. A big Pointer dog stands 

 from 24^ inches to 25 inches at the shoulder. 

 Old Ch. Bang and Young Bang were of the 

 former height, and the great bitch, Mr. Lloyd 

 Price's Belle, was 24 inches. For big Pointers 

 60 pounds is about the weight for dogs and 56 

 pounds bitches ; smaller size, 54 pounds dogs 

 and 48 pounds bitches. There have been some 

 very good ones still smaller. 



MR. W. ARKWRIGHT'S CH. SANDBANK. 



