English
Bulldog
AKC Standard |
General Impression: |
The perfect Bulldog must be of medium size and
smooth coat; with heavy, thick-set, low-swung body, massive short-faced
head, wide shoulders and sturdy limbs. The general appearance and
attitude should suggest great stability, vigor and strength. The
disposition should be equable and kind, resolute and courageous (not
vicious or aggressive), and demeanor should be pacific and
dignified. These attributes should be countenanced by the expression
and behavior. |
Size, Proportion,
Symmetry: |
Size-The size for mature dogs is about 50
pounds; for mature bitches about 40 pounds. Proportion-The
circumference of the skull in front of the ears should measure at least
the height of the dog at the shoulders. Symmetry-The
"points" should be well distributed and bear good relation one
to the other, no feature being in such prominence from either excess or
lack of quality that the animal appear deformed or ill-proportioned.
Influence of Sex-In comparison of specimens of different sex, due
allowance should be made in favor of the bitches, which do not bear the
characteristics of the breed to the same degree of perfection and grandeur
as do the dogs. |
Head: |
Eyes and Eyelids-The eyes, seen from the front,
should be situated low down in the skull, as far from the ears as
possible, and their corners should be in a straight line at right angles with
the stop. They should be quite in front of the head, as wide apart
as possible, provided their outer corners are within the outline of the
cheeks when viewed from the front. They should be quite round in
form, of moderate size, neither sunken nor bulging, and in color should be
very dark. The lids should cover the white of the eyeball, when the
dog is looking directly forward, and the lid should show no
"haw." Ears-The ears should be set high in the head, the
front inner edge of each ear joining the outline of the skull at the top
back corner of skull, 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 the most
desirable. The rose ear folds inward at its back lower edge, the
upper front edge curving over, outward and backward, showing part of the
inside of the burr. (The ears should not be carried erect or
prick-eared or buttoned and should never be cropped.) Skull-the
skull should be very large, and in circumference, in front of the ears,
should measure 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.
Viewed at the side, the head should appear very high, and very short from
the point of the nose to occiput. The forehead should be flat (not
rounded or domed), neither too prominent nor overhanging the face. Cheeks-The cheeks should be well rounded, protruding sideways and outward
beyond the eyes. Stop-The temples or frontal bones should be very
well defined, broad, square and high, causing a hollow or groove between
the eyes. This indentation, or stop, should be both broad and deep
and extend up the middle of the forehead, dividing the head vertically,
being traceable to the top of the skull. Face and Muzzle-The face,
measured from the front of the cheekbone to the tip of the nose, should be
extremely short, the muzzle being very short, broad, turned upward and
very deep from the corner of the eyes, to the corner of the mouth.
Nose-The nose should be large, broad and black, its tip set back deeply
between the eyes. The distance from bottom of stop, between the
eyes, to the tip of nose should be as short as possible and not exceed the
length from the tip of nose to the edge of underlip. The nostrils should
be wide, large and black, with a well-defined live between them. Any
nose other than black is objectionable and a brown or liver-colored nose shall
disqualify. Lips-The chops or "flews" should be thick,
broad, pendant and very deep, completely overhanging the lower jaw at each
side. They join the underlip in front and almost or quite cover the
teeth, which should be scarcely noticeable when the mouth is closed.
Bite-Jaws-The jaws should be massive, very broad, square and
"undershot, the lover jaw projecting considerably in front of the
upper jaw and turning up. Teeth: The teeth should be large and
strong, with the canine teeth or tusks wide apart, and the six small teeth
in front, between the canines, in an even, level row. |
Neck, Topline, Body: |
Neck-The neck should be short, very thick, deep
and strong and well arched at the back. Topline-There should be a
slight fall in the back, close behind the shoulder (its lowest part),
whence the spine should rise to the loins (the tip of which should be
higher than the tip of the shoulders), thence curving again more suddenly
to the tail, forming an arch (a very distinctive feature of the breed),
termed "roach back" or, more correctly,
"wheel-back." Body-The brisket and body should be very
capacious, with full sides, well-rounded ribs and very deep from the
shoulders down to its lowest part, where it joins the chest. It
should be will let down between the shoulders and forelegs, giving the dog
a broad, low, short-legged appearance. Chest-The chest should be
very broad, deep and full. Underline-The body should be well ribbed
up behind with the belly tucked up and not rotund. Back and Loin-The
back should be short and strong, very broad at the shoulders and
comparatively narrow at the loins. Tail-The tail may be either straight
or "screwed" (but never curved or curly), and in any case must
be short, hung low, with decided downward carriage, thick root and five
tip. If straight, the tail should be cylindrical and of uniform
taper. If "screwed," the bends or kinks should be well
defined, and they may be abrupt and even knotty, but no portion of the
member should be elevated above the base or root. |
Forequarters: |
Shoulders-The shoulders should be muscular, very
heavy, wide-spread and slanting outward, giving stability and great
power. Forelegs-The forelegs should be short, very stout, straight
and muscular, set wide apart, with well developed calves, presenting a
bowed outline, but the bones of the legs should not be curved or bandy,
nor the feet brought too close together. Elbows-The elbows should be
low and stand well out and loose from the body. Feet-The feet should
be moderate in size, compact and firmly set. Toes compact, well
split up, with high knuckles and short stubby nails. The front feet
may be straight or slightly out-turned. |
Hindquarter: |
Legs-The hind legs should be strong and muscular
and longer than the forelegs, so as to elevate the loins above the
shoulders. Hocks should be slightly bent and well let down, so as to
give length and strength from the loins to hock. The lower leg
should be short, straight and strong, with the stifles turned slightly
outward and away from the body. The hocks are thereby made to
approach each other, and the hind feet to turn outward. Feet-The
feet should be moderate in size, compact and firmly set. Toes
compact, well split up, with high knuckles and short stubby nails. The hind feet
should be pointed well outward. |
Coat and Skin: |
Coat-The coat should be straight, short,
flat, close, of fine texture, smooth and glossy. (No fringe, feather
or curl.) Skin-The skin should be soft and loose, especially
at the head, neck and shoulders. Wrinkles and Dewlap-The head
and face should be covered with heavy wrinkles, and at the throat, from
jaw to chest, there should be tow loose pendulous folds, forming the
dewlap. |
Color of Coat: |
The color of coat should be uniform, pure of its
kind and brilliant. The various colors found in the breed are to be
preferred in the following order: (1)red brindle, (2)all other brindles,
(3)solid white, (4)solid red, fawn or fallow, (5)piebald, (6)inferior
qualities of all the foregoing. Note: A perfect piebald is
preferable to a muddy brindle or defective solid color. Solid black
is very undesirable, but not so objectionable if occurring to a moderate
degree in piebald patches. The brindles to be perfect should have a fine,
even and equal distribution of the composite colors. In brindles and
solid colors a small white patch on the chest is not considered
detrimental. In piebalds the color patches should be well defined,
of pure color and symmetrically distributed. |
Gait: |
The style and carriage are peculiar, his gait
being a loose-jointed, shuffling, sidewise motion, giving the
characteristic "roll." The action must, however, be
unrestrained, free and vigorous. |
Temperament: |
The disposition should be equable and kind,
resolute and courageous (not vicious or aggressive), and demeanor should
be pacific and dignified. These attributes should be countenanced by
the expression and behavior. |
Disqualification: |
Brown or liver-colored nose. |
This is the official
standard for the Bulldog, as stated by the American
Kennel Club, approved July 20, 1976 and reformatted November 28, 1990.
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