Dogs and All about Them eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 437 pages of information about Dogs and All about Them.

Dogs and All about Them eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 437 pages of information about Dogs and All about Them.
deep black.  The flesh-coloured and spotted noses are allowable only in the liver and tan and dapple varieties.  EARS—­Set on moderately high, or, seen in profile, above the level of the eyes, well back, flat, not folded, pointed, or narrow, hanging close to the cheeks, very mobile, and when at attention carried with the back of the ear upward and outward.  NECK—­Moderately long, with slightly arched nape, muscular and clean, showing no dewlap, and carried well up and forward.  FORE-QUARTERS—­His work underground demands strength and compactness, and, therefore, the chest and shoulder regions should be deep, long, and wide.  The shoulder blade should be long, and set on very sloping, the upper arm of equal length with, and at right angles to, the shoulder blade, strong-boned and well-muscled, and lying close to ribs, but moving freely.  The lower arm is slightly bent inwards, and the feet should be turned slightly outwards, giving an appearance of “crooked” legs approximating to the cabriole of a Chippendale chair.  Straight, narrow, short shoulders are always accompanied by straight, short, upper arms, forming an obtuse angle, badly developed brisket and “keel” or chicken breast, and the upper arm being thrown 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 fore-legs and feet.  LEGS AND FEET—­Fore-legs very short and 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.  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 hind-quarters should not be higher than the shoulders, thus giving a general appearance of levelness.  HIND-QUARTERS—­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.  The dog should not be higher at the quarters than at shoulder.  STERN—­Set on fairly high, strong at root, and tapering, but not too long.  Neither too much curved nor carried too high; well,
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Dogs and All about Them from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.