Bull Dog

Many fanciers demand a "screw" or "kinked" tail, that is, one having congenital dislocations at the joints, but such appendages are not desirable in the best interests of the breed.

The fore-legs should be very stout and strong, set wide apart, thick, muscular, and short, with well-developed muscles in the calves, presenting a rather bowed outline, but the bones of the legs must be straight, large, and not bandy or curved. They should be rather short in proportion to the hind-legs, but not so short as to make the back appear long or detract from the dog's activity and so cripple him.

The elbows should be low and stand well away from the ribs, so as to permit the body to swing between them. If this property be absent the dog is said to be "on the leg." The ankles or pasterns should be short, straight, and strong. The fore-feet should be straight and turn very slightly outwards; they should be of medium size and moderately round, not too long or narrow, whilst the toes should be thick, compact, and well split up, making the knuckles prominent and high.

The hind-legs, though of slighter build than the fore-legs, should be strong and muscular. They should be longer, in proportion, than the fore-legs in order to elevate the loins. The stifles should be round and turned slightly outwards, away from the body, thus bending the hocks inward and the hind-feet outward. The hocks should be well let down, so that the leg is long and muscular from the loins to the point of the hock, which makes the pasterns short, but these should not be so short as those of the fore-legs. The hind-feet, whilst being smaller than the forefeet, should be round and compact, with the toes well split up, and the knuckles prominent.

The most desirable weight for a Bulldog is about 50 lbs.

The coat should be fine in texture, short, close, and smooth, silky when stroked from the head towards the tail owing to its closeness, but not wiry when stroked in the reverse direction.

The colour should be whole or smut, the latter being a whole colour with a black mask or muzzle. It should be brilliant and pure of its sort. The colours in order of merit are, first, whole colours and smuts, viz., brindles, reds, white, with their varieties, as whole fawns, fallows, etc., and, secondly, pied and mixed colours. Opinions differ considerably on the colour question; one judge will set back a fawn and put forward a pied dog, whilst others will do the reverse.

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