Part 18

QUARTERS AND STIFLES.—Muscular quarters, with nicely turned stifles.

SHOULDERS AND CHEST.—Shoulders long, sloping; chest deep and broad; ribs well sprung.

LEGS AND FEET.—Legs strong, long, and muscular, clean, and free from lumber; knees broad; hocks well developed and clean. Feet rather large, compact, with well-arched toes; soles thick and strong.

TAIL.—Bushy (not feathery); carried gaily, but not over back.

COAT.—Not so short as the pointer’s, close, thick, and straight as possible.

COLOR.—Rich black, free from rustiness and white.

SYMMETRY.—Highly valued, likewise evidence of good temper.

WEIGHT.—Dogs, 50 to 70 pounds; bitches smaller.

THE ST. BERNARD (ROUGH-COATED).

ORIGIN.—This is a point of great uncertainty, as the monks of St. Bernard are utterly unable to throw any light on the subject. According to tradition, however, the race sprang from a cross of a bitch of Denmark of the bulldog species, and the mastiff (shepherd-dog) of the Pyrenees. The size comes from the Denmark dog, and the sense of smell from the mastiff. The St. Bernard was first imported into England in 1815.

USES.—An invaluable house-dog, guardian, and companion. Used on the Swiss mountains by the monks to find and succor lost travelers.

* SCALE OF POINTS, ETC.

Value. Head, ears, and eyes 25 Expression and character 15 Neck, shoulders, and chest 10 Body 15 Stern 5 Legs and feet 10 Coat 10 Color and markings 10 --- Total 100

HEAD.—Large, massive, the circumference twice the length; short from stop to tip of nose; full below eye; square muzzle; great depth from eye to lower jaw. Lips deep, not too pendulous. Stop abrupt, well defined, and straight to end of nose. Skull broad, rounded at top, not domed; prominent brow. Ears medium size, close to cheek, strong at base, heavily feathered. Eyes rather small, deep set, dark, not too close together; lower eyelid drooping, showing haw. Nose large, black; well-developed nostrils. Teeth level.

EXPRESSION.—Denoting benevolence, dignity, and intelligence.

NECK.—Lengthy, muscular, slightly arched; dewlap developed.

SHOULDERS AND CHEST.—Shoulders broad, sloping; chest wide and deep.

BODY.—Level back, slightly arched over loins; ribs well rounded; loins wide and muscular.

TAIL.—Set on rather high; long, bushy; carried low in repose, slightly above line of back when in motion.

LEGS AND FEET.—Fore legs perfectly straight, strong. Hind legs heavy in bone, well bent at hocks; thighs muscular. Feet compact and large; well-arched toes.

SIZE.—Dogs, 30 inches at shoulder; bitches, 27 inches (the taller, the better, if proportioned well). General outline suggests great power and endurance.

COAT.—Dense, flat, rather full around neck; thighs not too heavily feathered.

COLOR AND MARKINGS.—Red, orange, various shades of brindle, or white with patches of above colors. Markings should be: white muzzle and blaze on face, collar around neck; white on chest, fore legs, feet, and end of tail; black shadings on face and ears. If blaze be wide, running through collar, a spot of body-color should be on top of head.

DISQUALIFYING POINTS.—Dudley, liver-colored nose; fawn if whole-colored or with black shadings only; black, black and tan, black and white, black, tan, and white, and all white, though an all white has taken high honors under one of our best judges.

THE ST. BERNARD (SMOOTH-COATED).

ORIGIN, USES, AND * SCALE OF POINTS are the same as the rough-coated variety, with the exception of the coat, which should be very dense, broken-haired, lying smooth, tough without being rough to the touch, with thighs slightly bushy.

The tail at root is covered with longer and denser hair than on body, the hair gradually growing shorter at the tip; the tail is bushy, but has no feather.

THE SCHIPPERKE.