570 The Dog Book 



to still preserve that feature, must be ignored. The mastiff should be a free 

 and easy mover, but fast work is not an essential, hence speed lines are not 

 called for; but to support the weight of the dog we must have good legs and 

 the soundest of feet: weakness there means a useless dog. No written de- 

 scription of the head of the mastiff will equal good illustrations as showing 

 what is wanted, hence we refer the reader to these, and to the standard which 

 is as follows : 



Descriptive Particulars 



General Character and Symmetry. — Large, massive, powerful, symmet- 

 rical and well-built frame. A combination of grandeur and good nature, 

 courage and docility. 



Head. — In general outline giving a square appearance when viewed 

 from any point. Breadth greatly to be desired, and should be in ratio to 

 length of the whole head and face as 2 to 3. 



Body. — Massive, broad, deep, long, powerfully built on legs wide apart 

 and squarely set. Muscles sharply defined. Size is a great desideratum, 

 if combined with quality. Height and substance important if both points are 

 proportionately combined. 



Skull. — Broad between the ears, forehead flat, but wrinkled when at- 

 tention is excited. Brows (superciliary ridges) slightly raised. Muscles of 

 the temples and cheeks (temporal and masseter) well developed. Arch 

 across the skull of a rounded, flattened curve, with a depression up the cen- 

 tre of the skull from the median line between the eyes to halfway up the sag- 

 gital suture. 



Face or muzzle. — Short, broad under the eyes and keeping nearly par- 

 allel in width to the end of the nose; truncated, i.e., blunt and cutoff square, 

 thus forming a right angle with the upper-jaw line of the face, of great depth 

 from the point of the nose to the under jaw. Under jaw broad to the end: 

 canine teeth healthy, powerful and wide apart; incisors level or the lower 

 projecting beyond the upper, but never sufficiently so as to become visible 

 when the mouth is shut. Nose broad, with widely spreading nostrils when 

 viewed from the front, flat not pointed or turned up in profile. Lips diverg- 

 ing at obtuse angles from the septum and slightly pendulous, so as to show 

 a square profile. Length of muzzle to whole head and face as i to 3. Cir- 

 cumference of muzzle (measured half way between the eyes and nose) to 

 that of head (measured before the ears) as 3 to 5. 



