M Joubert
09-15-2007, 09:20 PM
I saw a thread regarding alternative bulldogges.
The head should be large and high, that is, with elevation about the temples, and deeply sunken between the eyes, which indentation is termed "The Stop". This Stop should extend some distance up the head. The skin of the head should be wrinkled, and the cheeks should extend outwards well beyond the eyes. The forehead of the dog should not be prominent, as in the King Charles Spaniel, and not too round or it would be "Apple Headed". The head of a fine dog fifty pounds of weight, should measure round the thickest part about twenty inches.
The eyes should be wide apart, almost black, of moderate size, rather full than otherwise, round, and not deeply set. The line of the eyes should be at right angles with the line of the face, and the eyes placed quite in front of the head, as far from the ear and as near the nose as possible.
The ears should be small,thin,and wide apart. They should be either "Rose", "Button" or "Tulip". The Rose ear falls backwards, while the ends lap over outwards exposing part of the inside. The Button ear differs from the Rose only in falling over forwards, which hides the interior.The Tulip ear is nearly erect. These are the only distinct sorts of ear, but there are various grades between them, and sometimes one almost merges into the other, for the dog does not always carry them in the same manner as, for instance, the ear which is naturally a Rose ear may become almost a Tulip ear when the dog is excited.
The nostrils should be wide and the nose large and almost between the eyes, and black, and deep-thus, taking the depth of the nose and the length from the eye to the end of the nose, the distance ought to be about the same. There should be a well defined line straight up between the nostrils. The best bred dogs will be liable to flesh or spotted noses; this is a blemish, but no sign of bad breeding; true bred bulldogs will sometimes have flesh colored noses.
The muzzle should be broad, deep, and short, with the skin deeply wrinkled and underhung, but not showing the teeth;for if the mouth be even they are termed Sharkheaded, which is considered a very bad point. This is an important point, because it denotes width and squareness of under jaw.
The neck should be moderate in length, thick and arched at the back, with plenty of loose, wrinkled skin about the throat. The ribs should be well rounded and the chest wide, deep, and rounded. The tail should be inserted rather low down;thick where it joins the body, long and thin, and turned round at the end, in which case it is termed a "Ring" or "Tiger" tail, similar to that of the Greyhound but shorter. The perfect tail is shown in the print of Mr. Lovell's Ball, and the tail nearest approaching that is the nearest to perfection. "The tail thin and taper, curling over the back or hanging down, termed "tiger"tailed;rarely erected except when the passions of the animal are aroused"-vide cynographia Brittanica a.d. 1800.
The back should be short and arched in the loins, termed "Roach-backed", wide across the shoulders and narrow across the loins. The Roach-back is shown in perfection in the print of Crib and Rosa. Rosa's shape is perfect.
The legs:The forelegs should be stout, with well marked calves, bowed outwards, short, and very wide apart. The hind legs should be slightly longer in proportion than the forelegs, so as to elevate the loins. The hocks should approach each other, which involves the stifles being turned outwards, adn well rounded, which seems to obstruct the dogs speed in running, but is admirably adapted to progressive motion when combatting on his belly. The feet should be moderately round;not so round as a cat's nor so long as a Hare's feet, and should be well split up between the toes. The forefeet should be straight, and should show the knuckles well. The pasterns should be strong, that dog may walk well on his toes.
The coat should be fine, short, and close. The bulldog has a very peculiar carriage, heavy and rather slow. He rolls very much in his gait, and generally runs rather sideways;his hind legs are seldom lifted very high, so that his hind feet(which like the stifles are turned outwards)appear to skim the ground.
The Colour should be salmon, fallow, red, brindled, or white, with those colours variously pied. The salmon and fallow with black muzzles, called "Smuts" are choice colours. Some greatly admire the whites, but a bright Salmon with black muzzle would be the choicest of all colours. Black was formerly considered a good colour, but black and tan, and blue, are very bad colours. There is a strong resemblance between a brindled Bulldog and a striped Hyena.
Weight: A Bulldog seldom weighs more than 60 lbs. If larger, he may be suspected of the Mastiff cross. On the other hand, he ought not be less than 20 lbs in weight, or he may be suspected of being crossed with the Terrier. The larger Bulldogs are grander and more striking in their proportions than the small ones. Philo-Kuon London February 1865
I'll have more to add.
The head should be large and high, that is, with elevation about the temples, and deeply sunken between the eyes, which indentation is termed "The Stop". This Stop should extend some distance up the head. The skin of the head should be wrinkled, and the cheeks should extend outwards well beyond the eyes. The forehead of the dog should not be prominent, as in the King Charles Spaniel, and not too round or it would be "Apple Headed". The head of a fine dog fifty pounds of weight, should measure round the thickest part about twenty inches.
The eyes should be wide apart, almost black, of moderate size, rather full than otherwise, round, and not deeply set. The line of the eyes should be at right angles with the line of the face, and the eyes placed quite in front of the head, as far from the ear and as near the nose as possible.
The ears should be small,thin,and wide apart. They should be either "Rose", "Button" or "Tulip". The Rose ear falls backwards, while the ends lap over outwards exposing part of the inside. The Button ear differs from the Rose only in falling over forwards, which hides the interior.The Tulip ear is nearly erect. These are the only distinct sorts of ear, but there are various grades between them, and sometimes one almost merges into the other, for the dog does not always carry them in the same manner as, for instance, the ear which is naturally a Rose ear may become almost a Tulip ear when the dog is excited.
The nostrils should be wide and the nose large and almost between the eyes, and black, and deep-thus, taking the depth of the nose and the length from the eye to the end of the nose, the distance ought to be about the same. There should be a well defined line straight up between the nostrils. The best bred dogs will be liable to flesh or spotted noses; this is a blemish, but no sign of bad breeding; true bred bulldogs will sometimes have flesh colored noses.
The muzzle should be broad, deep, and short, with the skin deeply wrinkled and underhung, but not showing the teeth;for if the mouth be even they are termed Sharkheaded, which is considered a very bad point. This is an important point, because it denotes width and squareness of under jaw.
The neck should be moderate in length, thick and arched at the back, with plenty of loose, wrinkled skin about the throat. The ribs should be well rounded and the chest wide, deep, and rounded. The tail should be inserted rather low down;thick where it joins the body, long and thin, and turned round at the end, in which case it is termed a "Ring" or "Tiger" tail, similar to that of the Greyhound but shorter. The perfect tail is shown in the print of Mr. Lovell's Ball, and the tail nearest approaching that is the nearest to perfection. "The tail thin and taper, curling over the back or hanging down, termed "tiger"tailed;rarely erected except when the passions of the animal are aroused"-vide cynographia Brittanica a.d. 1800.
The back should be short and arched in the loins, termed "Roach-backed", wide across the shoulders and narrow across the loins. The Roach-back is shown in perfection in the print of Crib and Rosa. Rosa's shape is perfect.
The legs:The forelegs should be stout, with well marked calves, bowed outwards, short, and very wide apart. The hind legs should be slightly longer in proportion than the forelegs, so as to elevate the loins. The hocks should approach each other, which involves the stifles being turned outwards, adn well rounded, which seems to obstruct the dogs speed in running, but is admirably adapted to progressive motion when combatting on his belly. The feet should be moderately round;not so round as a cat's nor so long as a Hare's feet, and should be well split up between the toes. The forefeet should be straight, and should show the knuckles well. The pasterns should be strong, that dog may walk well on his toes.
The coat should be fine, short, and close. The bulldog has a very peculiar carriage, heavy and rather slow. He rolls very much in his gait, and generally runs rather sideways;his hind legs are seldom lifted very high, so that his hind feet(which like the stifles are turned outwards)appear to skim the ground.
The Colour should be salmon, fallow, red, brindled, or white, with those colours variously pied. The salmon and fallow with black muzzles, called "Smuts" are choice colours. Some greatly admire the whites, but a bright Salmon with black muzzle would be the choicest of all colours. Black was formerly considered a good colour, but black and tan, and blue, are very bad colours. There is a strong resemblance between a brindled Bulldog and a striped Hyena.
Weight: A Bulldog seldom weighs more than 60 lbs. If larger, he may be suspected of the Mastiff cross. On the other hand, he ought not be less than 20 lbs in weight, or he may be suspected of being crossed with the Terrier. The larger Bulldogs are grander and more striking in their proportions than the small ones. Philo-Kuon London February 1865
I'll have more to add.