The face, when measured from the front of the cheek-bone to the nose,
should be short, and its skin should be deeply and closely wrinkled.
Excessive shortness of face is not natural, and can only be obtained
by the sacrifice of the "chop." Such shortness of face makes the dog
appear smaller in head and less formidable than he otherwise would
be. Formerly this shortness of face was artificially obtained by the
use of the "jack," an atrocious form of torture, by which an iron
instrument was used to force back the face by means of thumbscrews.
The nose should be rough, large, broad, and black, and this colour
should extend to the lower lip; its top should be deeply set back,
almost between the eyes. The distance from the inner corner of the
eye to the extreme tip of the nose should not be greater than the
length from the tip of the nose to the edge of the under lip. The
nostrils should be large and wide, with a well-defined straight line
visible between them. The largeness of nostril, which is a very
desirable property, is possessed by few of the recent prize-winners.
When viewed in profile the tip of the nose should touch an imaginary
line drawn from the extremity of the lower jaw to the top of the
centre of the skull. This angle of the nose and face is known as the
lay-back, and can only properly be ascertained by viewing the dog
from the side.
The inclination backward of the nose allows a free passage of the
air into the nostrils whilst the dog is holding his quarry. It is
apparent that if the mouth did not project beyond the nose, the
nostrils would be flat against the part to which the dog was fixed,
and breathing would then be stopped.
The upper lip, called the "chop," or flews, should be thick, broad,
pendant and very deep, hanging completely over the lower jaw at the
sides, but only just joining the under lip in front, yet covering
the teeth completely. The amount of "cushion" which a dog may have
is dependent upon the thickness of the flews. The lips should not
be pendulous.
The upper jaw should be broad, massive, and square, the tusks being
wide apart, whilst the lower jaw, being turned upwards, should project
in front of the upper. The teeth should be large and strong, and the
six small teeth between the tusks should be in an even row. The upper
jaw cannot be too broad between the tusks. If the upper and lower
jaws are level, and the muzzle is not turned upwards the dog is said
to be "down-faced," whilst if the underjaw is not undershot he is
said to be "froggy." A "wry-faced" dog is one having the lower jaw
twisted, and this deformity so detracts from the general appearance
of the dog as seriously to handicap him in the show-ring.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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