Mastiff Dog Breed
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.
Back to: Dog Types
|
