Part 8

SYMMETRY AND QUALITY.—The dachshund should be long, low, and graceful, not cloddy.

WEIGHT.—Dogs, 21 pounds; bitches, 18 pounds.

THE HOUND (DEERHOUND).

LOCHIEL.]

ORIGIN.—Undoubtedly descended from the Irish wolfhound, though some claim it to be either a cross of foxhound and greyhound, or greyhound and bloodhound. It is first mentioned in 1528 as a distinct breed.

USES.—Hunting deer.

SCALE OF POINTS, ETC.

Value. Head and skull 15 Eyes and ears 10 Neck and chest 10 Body 10 Thighs and hocks 12 Legs and feet 10 Coat 8 Stern 5 Color 5 Symmetry 15 --- Total 100

HEAD.—Skull resembles that of a coarse, large greyhound, long and wide between ears; stop very slight. Jaws long; teeth level and strong; nostrils open, but not very wide; cheeks muscular; bone under eye neither prominent nor hollow. Ears small, thin, carried a trifle higher than those of the greyhound, but should turn over at tips; pricked ears very objectionable; they should be thinly fringed with hair at edges only. Eyes full, and dark hazel, sometimes blue.

NECK.—Long enough to allow the dog to stoop to the scent at a fast pace.

CHEST AND SHOULDERS.—Chest deep rather than wide, resembling that of greyhound; girth of a full-size dog deerhound should be at least 2 inches greater than its height; shoulders long, oblique, and muscular.

BACK AND BACK RIBS.—Back should be powerful; a good loin should measure 25 or 26 inches; back ribs are often rather shallow, but they should be well sprung; loins arched, drooping to root of tail.

ELBOWS AND STIFLES.—Elbows well let down to give length to true arm, and quite straight; stifles wide apart, well bent.

SYMMETRY is essential to its position as a companionable dog.

QUALITY is also to be regarded as of great importance.

LEGS AND QUARTERS.—Great bone and muscle are essential; the bones must be well put together at knees and hocks, which should be long and well developed; quarters deep, but seldom wide, with considerable slope to tail.

FEET.—Well arched and cat-like.

COLOR AND COAT.—The colors are dark blue, fawn, grizzle, and brindle, the latter with more or less tint of blue; the fawn should have tips of ears dark; the grizzle generally has a decided tint of blue; white on breast or toes should not disqualify a dog. Coat is coarser on back than elsewhere, and many claim it should be intermediate between silk and wool, and not the coarse hair often met with. The whole body is clothed with a rough coat, sometimes amounting to shagginess; that of muzzle is longer in proportion than elsewhere, but the mustache should not be wiry, and should stand out in irregular tufts; there should be no approach to feather on legs, but their inside should be hairy.

TAIL.—Long and gently curved, without any twist, thinly clothed with hair only.

THE HOUND (AMERICAN FOXHOUND).

BIG STRIVE.]

ORIGIN.—A breed of dogs descended from the English species, but bred on lighter and finer lines. For uses and scale of points, see English Foxhound.

THE HOUND (ENGLISH FOXHOUND).

SONGSTER.]

ORIGIN.—A breed probably indigenous to Great Britain, and quite ancient too. Its absolute origin is unknown.

USES.—Hunting foxes and deer (giving tongue when in full chase); also in America for hounding deer, moose, and other large game.

* SCALE OF POINTS, ETC.

Value. Head 15 Neck 5 Shoulders 10 Chest and back ribs 10 Back and loins 10 Hind quarters 10 Elbows 5 Legs and feet 20 Color and coat 5 Stern 5 Symmetry 5 --- Total 100