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The Old English Sheepdog: Character

 

GENERAL APPEARANCE--A strong, compact-looking dog of great symmetry, absolutely free from legginess, profusely coated all over, very elastic in its gallop, but in walking or trotting he has a characteristic ambling or pacing movement, and his bark should be loud, with a peculiar _pot casse_ ring in it. Taking him all round, he is a thick-set, muscular, able-bodied dog, with a most intelligent expression, free from all _Poodle_ or _Deerhound_ character.

SKULL--Capacious, and rather squarely formed, giving plenty of room for brain power. The parts over the eyes should be well arched and the whole well covered with hair.

EYES--Vary according to the colour of the dog, but dark or wall eyes are to be preferred.

NOSE--Always black, large, and capacious.

 

JAW--Fairly long, strong, square and truncated; the stop should be defined to avoid a Deerhound face. _The attention of judges is particularly called to the above properties, as a long, narrow head is a deformity_.

 

TEETH--Strong and large, evenly placed, and level in opposition.

EARS--Small, and carried flat to side of head, coated moderately.

LEGS--The fore-legs should be dead straight, with plenty of bone, removing the body to a medium height from the ground, without approaching legginess; well coated all round.

FEET--Small, round; toes well arched and pads thick and hard.

TAIL--Puppies requiring docking must have an appendage left of one and a half to two inches and the operation performed when not older than four days.

NECK AND SHOULDERS--The neck should be fairly long, arched gracefully, and well coated with hair; the shoulders sloping and narrow at the points, the dog standing lower at the shoulder than at the loin.

BODY--Rather short and very compact, ribs well sprung, and brisket deep and capacious. The loin should be very stout and gently arched, while the hind-quarters should be round and muscular, and with well let down hocks, and the hams densely coated with a thick long jacket in excess of any other part.

COAT--Profuse, and of good hard texture, not straight but shaggy and free from curl. The undercoat should be a waterproof pile, when not removed by grooming or season.

COLOUR--Any shade of grey, grizzle, blue or blue-merled, with or without white markings, or in reverse; any shade of brown or sable to be considered distinctly objectionable and not to be encouraged.

HEIGHT--Twenty-two inches and upwards for dogs, slightly less for bitches. Type, character, and symmetry are of the greatest importance, and on no account to be sacrificed to size alone.

 

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