Bulldog Standard
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
In forming a judgment on any specimen of
the breed, the general appearance, which is the first impression
the dog makes as a whole on the eye of the judge, should be first
considered. Secondly should be noticed its size, shape and make,
or rather its proportions in the relation they bear to each other.
No point should be so much in excess of the others as to destroy
the general symmetry, or make the dog appear deformed, or interfere
with its powers of motion, etc. Thirdly its style, carriage, gait,
temper and its several points should be considered separately in
detail, due allowance being made for the bitch, which is not so
grand or as well developed as the dog.
The general appearance of the Bulldog is that of a smooth-coated, thick-set dog, rather low in stature, but broad, powerful and compact. The head strikingly massive and large in proportion to the dog's size. The face extremely short. The muzzle very broad, blunt and inclined upwards. The body short and well knit; the limbs stout and muscular. The hindquarters high and strong but rather lightly made in comparison with its heavily made foreparts. The dog should convey an impression of determination, strength, and activity, similar to that suggested by the appearance of a thick-set Ayrshire Bull.
From its formation the dog has a peculiar heavy and constrained gait, appearing to walk with short, quick steps on the tips of its toes, its hind-feet not being lifted high, but appearing to skim the ground, and running with the right shoulder rather advanced, similar to the manner of a horse in cantering.
Head and Skull:
The skull should be very large - the larger the better - and in
circumference should measure (round in front of the ears) at least
the height of the dog at the shoulders. Viewed from the front it
should appear very high from the corner of the lower jaw to the
apex of the skull, and also very broad and square. The cheeks should
be well rounded and extended sideways beyond the eyes. Viewed at
the side, the head should appear very high, and very short from
its back to the point of the nose. The forehead should be flat,
neither prominent nor overhanging the face; the skin upon it and
about the head very loose and well wrinkled. The projections of
the frontal bones should be very prominent, broad, square and high,
causing a deep and wide indentation between the eves termed the
"stop". From the "stop" a furrow both broad
and deep should extend up to the middle of the skull, being traceable
to the apex. The face, measured from the front of the cheek-bone
to the nose, should be as short as possible, and its skin should
be deeply and closely wrinkled. The muzzle should be short, broad,
turned upwards and very deep from the corner of the eye to the corner
of the mouth. The nose should be large, broad and black, and under
no circumstances should it be liver coloured or brown; its top should
be deeply set back almost between the eyes. The distance from the
inner corner of the eye (or from the centre of the stop between
the eyes) to the extreme tip of the nose should not exceed the length
from the tip of the nose to the edge
of the under lip. The nostrils should be large, wide, and black,
with a well-defined vertical straight line between them. The flews,
called the "chop" should be thick, broad, pendant, and
very deep, hanging completely over the lower jaw at the sides (not
in front). They should join the under lip in front and quite cover
the teeth. The jaws should be broad, massive and square, the lower
jaw should project considerably in front of the upper and turn up.
Viewed from the front, the various properties of the face must be
equally balanced on either side of an imaginary line down the centre
of the face.
Eyes:
The eyes seen from the front, should be situated
low down in the skull, as far from the ears as possible. The eyes
and "stop" should be in the same straight line, which
should be at right angles to the furrow. They should be as wide
apart as possible, provided their outer corners are within the outline
of the cheeks. They should be quite round in shape, of moderate
size, neither sunken nor prominent, and in colour should be very
dark - almost, if not quite, black, showing no white when looking
directly forward.
Ears:
The ears should be set high on the head -
i.e. the front inner edge of each ear should (as viewed from the
front) join the outline of the skull at the top corner of such outline,
so as to place them as wide apart, and as high and as far from the
eyes as possible. In size they should be small and thin. The shape
termed "rose ear" is correct, and folds inwards at its
back, the upper or front edge curving over outwards and backwards,
showing part of the inside of the burr.
Mouth:
The jaw should be broad and square and have
the six small front teeth between the canines in an even row. The
canine teeth or tusks wide apart. The teeth should not be seen when
the mouth is closed. The teeth should be large and strong. When
viewed from the front, the under jaw should be centrally under the
upper jaw to which it should also be parallel.
Neck:
Should be moderate in length (rather short
than long), very thick, deep and strong. It should be well arched
at the back, with much loose, thick and wrinkled skin about the
throat, forming a dewlap on each side, from the lower jaw to the
chest.
Forequarters:
The shoulders should be broad, sloping and
deep, very powerful and muscular, and giving the appearance of having
been "tacked on" to the body. The brisket should be capacious,
round and very deep from the top of the shoulders to the lowest
part where it joins the chest, and be well let down between forelegs.
It should be large in diameter and round behind the forelegs (not
flat-sided, the ribs being well rounded). The forelegs should be
very stout and strong, set wide apart, thick, muscular, and straight,
with well-developed forearms, presenting a rather bowed outline,
but the bones of the legs should be large and straight, not bandy
or curved. They should be rather short in proportion to the hind-legs,
but not so short as to make the back appear long, or detract from
the dog's activity, and so cripple him. The elbows should be low,
and stand well away from the ribs. The pasterns should be short,
straight and strong.
Body:
The chest should be very wide, laterally
round, prominent, and deep, making the dog appear very broad and
short-legged in front. The body should be well ribbed up behind,
with the belly tucked up and not pendulous. The back should be short
and strong, very broad at the shoulders, and comparatively narrow
at the loins. There should be a slight fall to the back close behind
the shoulders (its lowest part), whence the spine should rise to
the loins (the top of which should be higher than the top of the
shoulders), thence curving again more suddenly to the tail, forming
an arch - a distinctive characteristic of the breed - termed "roach
back".
Hindquarters:
The legs should be large and muscular, and
longer in proportion than the forelegs, so as to elevate the loins.
The hocks should be slightly bent and well let down, so as to be
long and muscular from the loins to the point of the hock. The lower
part of the leg should be short, straight and strong. The stifles
should be round and turned slightly outwards away from the body.
The hocks are thereby made to approach each other, and the hind
feet to turn outwards.
Feet:
The hind feet, like the fore feet should
be round and compact, with the toes well split up and the knuckles
prominent. The fore feet should be straight and turn very slightly
outward, of medium size and moderately round. The toes compact and
thick, being well split up, making the knuckles prominent and high.
Tail:
The tail, termed the "stern", should
be set on low, jut out rather straight, then turn downwards. It
should be round, smooth and devoid of fringe or coarse hair. It
should be moderate in length - rather short than long - thick at
the root, and tapering quickly to a fine point. It should have a
downward carriage (not having a decided upward curve at the end),
and the dog should not be able to raise it over its back.
Coat:
Should be fine in texture, short, close and
smooth (hard only from the shortness and closeness, not wiry).
Colour:
The colour should be whole or smut (that
is, a whole colour with a black mask or muzzle). The only colours
(which should be brilliant and pure of their sort) are whole colours
- viz., brindles, reds, with their varieties, fawns, fallows, etc.,
white and also pied (i.e., a combination of white with any other
of the foregoing colours). Dudley, black and black with tan are
extremely undesirable colours.(refer Registration Regulation 10.9.1
Weight and Size:
The most desirable weight for the Bulldog
is 25 kg. (55 lbs) for a dog and 22.7 kg. (50 lbs) for a bitch.
Note:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.