THE DACHSHUND. 
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 
indiscriminately, 
bad specimens and with a 
deplorable result. 
HINDQUARTERS, CORRECT. 
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 
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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, INCORRECT. 
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. 
1o. 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. 
