arched in a dog.  Great depth of flanks.  HIND-LEGS AND FEET—­Hind-quarters broad, wide, and muscular, with well developed second thighs, hocks bent, wide apart, and quite squarely set when standing or walking.  Feet round.  TAIL—­Put on high up, and reaching to the hocks, or a little below them, wide at its root and tapering to the end, hanging straight in repose, but forming a curve, with the end pointing upwards, but not over the back, when the dog is excited.  COAT—­COLOUR—­Coat short and close lying, but not too fine over the shoulders, neck and back.  Colour, apricot or silver fawn, or dark fawn-brindle.  In any case, muzzle, ears, and nose should be black, with black round the orbits, and extending upwards between them.

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Size is a quality very desirable in this breed.  The height of many dogs of olden days was from thirty-two to thirty-three inches.  The height should be obtained rather from great depth of body than length of leg.  A leggy Mastiff is very undesirable.  Thirty inches may be taken as a fair average height for dogs, and bitches somewhat less.  Many of Mr. Lukey’s stood 32 inches and over; Mr. Green’s Monarch was over 33 inches, The Shah 32 inches, and Cardinal 32 inches.

The method of rearing a Mastiff has much to do with its ultimate size, but it is perhaps needless to say that the selection of the breeding stock has still more to do with this.  It is therefore essential to select a dog and bitch of a large strain to obtain large Mastiffs.  It is not so necessary that the dogs themselves should be so large as that they come from a large strain.  The weight of a full-grown dog should be anything over 160 lb.  Many have turned over the scale at 180 lb.  The Shah, for instance, was 182 lb. in weight, Scawfell over 200 lb.

One of the great difficulties that breeders of Mastiffs and all other large dogs have to contend against is in rearing the puppies; so many bitches being clumsy and apt to kill the whelps by lying on them.  It is, therefore, always better to be provided with one or more foster bitches.  At about six weeks old a fairly good opinion may be formed as to what the puppies will ultimately turn out in certain respects, for, although they may change materially during growth, the good or bad qualities which are manifest at that early age will, in all probability, be apparent when the puppy has reached maturity.  It is, therefore, frequently easier to select the best puppy in the nest than to do so when they are from six to nine or ten months old.

Puppies should be allowed all the liberty possible, and never be tied up:  they should be taken out for steady, gentle exercise, and not permitted to get too fat or they become too heavy, with detrimental results to their legs.  Many Mastiff puppies are very shy and nervous, but they will grow out of this if kindly handled, and eventually become the best guard and protector it is possible to have.