THE DACHSHUND. 



313 



forward by the weight of the body behind causes 

 the legs to knuckle over at the " knees." Broad, 

 sloping shoulders, on the other hand, insure 

 soundness of the forelegs and feet. 



Unsoundness, or knuckling over of the front 

 legs, is usually put down to constitutional weak- 

 ness (and it is, of course, hereditary), or the want 

 of, or too much, exercise, and, in fact, to every 

 imaginable excuse, even to " carelessness " ; but 

 the fault is really due to the above-mentioned 

 incorrect formation of the shoulder, and it is in 

 this respect that breeders should be particularly 

 careful in selecting for breeding purposes the 

 most perfect bitches. Given the right shoulders, 

 the legs and feet will be right, and unsound- 

 ness will decrease to vanishing point. Unfor- 

 tunately this formation has been so little under- 

 stood by our English breeders that our strains 

 have been bred for generations from good and 

 bad specimens indiscriminately, and with a 

 deplorable result. 



strong in bone, slightly bent inwards ; seen in 

 profile, moderately straight and never bending 

 forward or knuckling over. Feet large, round, 

 and strong, with thick pads, compact and well- 

 arched toes^ nails strong and black. The dog 

 must stand equally on all parts of the foot. 



Where the feet are unduly turned out owing 

 to incorrect formation of shoulders, the dog 

 does not stand equally on all parts of the foot, 

 and the feet are usually in this case weak and 

 flat, and sometimes spreading. You can gene- 

 rally tell a sound dog by his compact feet. 



9. Body. Should be long and muscular, the 

 chest very oval, rather than very narrow and 

 deep, to allow ample room for heart and lungs, 

 hanging low between front legs, the brisket point 

 should be high and very prominent, the ribs 

 well sprung out towards the loins (not flat-sided). 

 Loins short and strong. The line of back only 

 slightly depressed behind shoulders and only 

 slightly arched over loins. The hindquarters 



HINDQUARTERS, CORRECT. 



HINDQUARTERS, INCORRECT. 



It is well known to exhibitors of Dachshunds 

 that puppies which develop quickly and get well- 

 crooked legs at an early age invariably go un- 

 sound when they begin to " furnish up " in body 

 that is, when the weight of the body increases. 

 If the shoulders are not of the correct formation 

 an undue strain is thrown forward on to the 

 front legs, causing them to knuckle over or turn 

 out at the elbows. 



An idea exists only too widely that, however un- 

 sound a bitch may be, she will " do for breeding 

 from," and her puppies will come sound if the 

 sire is sound. This is a delusion. Some may be 

 sound, but will have inherited a defect which 

 will soon crop up again in their descendants. 

 Always breed from your soundest bitches, which 

 may or may not be up to show form in other points, 

 but which must have good understandings if you 

 wish to establish a good sound strain. Of equal 

 importance, at least, is it that the sire you use 

 should also be sound, and what is quite as impor- 

 tant, he should come from sound stock. All these 

 things entail considerable trouble sometimes 

 to ascertain, but haphazard breeding is fatal to 

 ultimate success. 



8. Legs and Feet. Fore-legs very short and 



should not be higher than the shoulders, thus 

 giving a general appearance of levelness. 



A very marked arch over loins is a fault, and 

 so is a hollow back, and the latter denotes weak- 

 ness. 



10. Hindquarters. The rump round, broad, 

 and powerfully muscled ; hip bone not too short, 

 but broad and sloping ; the upper arm, or thigh, 

 thick, of good length, and jointed at right angles 

 to the hip bone. The lower leg (or second thigh) 

 is, compared with other animals, short, and is 

 set on at right angles to the upper thigh, and 

 is very firmly muscled. The hind legs are lighter 

 in bone than the front ones, but very strongly 

 muscled, with well-rounded-out buttocks, and 

 the knee joint well developed. Seen from behind, 

 the legs should be wide apart and straight, and 

 not cowhocked. 



As with the forequarters, a bad development, 

 and straight, instead of sloping, position of the 

 hip bone, affect the carriage of the hindquarters 

 and make for weakness. 



The hind feet are smaller in bone than the 

 forefeet, and narrower. 



The dog should not be higher at the quarters 

 than at shoulder. 



40 



