Dogs and All About Them | Page 7

splendid Mastiffs since his time.
Special mention should be made of that grand bitch Cambrian Princess,
by Beau. She was purchased by Mrs. Willins, who, mating her with
Maximilian (a dog of her own breeding by The Emperor), obtained
Minting, who shared with Mr. Sidney Turner's Beaufort the reputation
of being unapproached for all round merit in any period.
The following description of a perfect Mastiff, taken from the Old
English Mastiff Club's Points of a Mastiff, is admirable as a standard to
which future breeders should aim to attain.
* * * * *
POINTS OF THE MASTIFF: GENERAL CHARACTER AND
SYMMETRY--Large, massive, powerful, symmetrical and well-knit
frame. A combination of grandeur and good nature, courage and
docility. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF 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. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF BODY--Massive,
broad, deep, long, powerfully built, on legs wide apart, and squarely set.
Muscles sharply defined. Size 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 attention 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 centre of the forehead from the medium
line between the eyes, to half way up the sagittal suture. FACE OR
MUZZLE--Short, broad under the eyes, and keeping nearly parallel in
width to the end of the nose; truncated, _i.e._ blunt and cut off square,
thus forming a right angle with the upper line of the face, of great depth
from the point of the nose to 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 closed. Nose broad, with widely
spreading nostrils when viewed from the front; flat (not pointed or
turned up) in profile. Lips diverging at obtuse angles with the septum,
and slightly pendulous so as to show a square profile. Length of muzzle
to whole head and face as 1 to 3. Circumference of muzzle (measured
midway between the eyes and nose) to that of the head (measured
before the ears) as 3 to 5. EARS--Small, thin to the touch, wide apart,
set on at the highest points of the sides of the skull, so as to continue
the outline across the summit, and lying flat and close to the cheeks
when in repose. EYES--Small, wide apart, divided by at least the space
of two eyes. The stop between the eyes well marked, but not too abrupt.
Colour hazel-brown, the darker the better, showing no haw. 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.
* * * * *
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.