English Mastiff Dog

NECK, CHEST AND RIBS--Neck--Slightly arched, moderately long, very muscular, and measuring in circumference about one or two inches less than the skull before the ears. Chest--Wide, deep, and well let down between the fore-legs. Ribs arched and well-rounded. False ribs deep and well set back to the hips. Girth should be one-third more than the height at the shoulder. Shoulder and Arm--Slightly sloping, heavy and muscular.

FORE-LEGS AND FEET--Legs straight, strong, and set wide apart; bones very large. Elbows square. Pasterns upright. Feet large and round. Toes well arched up. Nails black.

BACK, LOINS AND FLANKS--Back and loins wide and muscular; flat and very wide in a bitch, slightly 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.

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