The Boston Terrier and All About It / A Practical, Scientific, and Up to Date Guide to the Breeding of the American Dog

by Edward Axtell

CHAPTER XV.

TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN RELATION TO THE BOSTON TERRIER, AND THEIR MEANING.

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• A Crackerjack—A first class, typical dog.
• A Mutt—A worthless specimen.
• A Flyer—A dog capable of winning in any company.
• A Weed—A leggy, thin, attenuated dog, bred so.
• A Fake—A dog whose natural appearance has been interfered with to hide defects.
• A Dope—A dog afflicted, usually with chorea, that has had cocaine administered to him to stop the twitching while in the judging ring.
• A Ringer—A dog shown under a false name, that has previously been shown under his right name.
• Apple-headed—Skull round, instead of flat on top.
• Broken-up Face—Bulldog face, with deep stop and wrinkle and receding nose.
• Frog or Down Face—Nose not receding.
• Dish-faced—One whose nasal bone is higher at the nose than at the stop.
• Butterfly Nose—A spotted nose.
• Dudley Nose—A flesh-colored nose.
• Rose Ear—An ear which the tip turns backward and downward, disclosing the inside.
• Button Ear—An ear that falls over in front, concealing the inside.
• Tulip Ear—An upright, or pricked ear.
• Blaze—The white line up the face.
• Cheeky—When the cheek bumps are strongly defined.
• Occiput—The prominent bone at the back or top of the skull, noticeably prominent in bloodhounds.
• Chops—The pendulous lips of the bulldog.
• Cushion—Fullness in the top lips.
• Dewlap—The pendulous skin under the throat.
• Lippy—The hanging lips of some dogs, who should not possess same, as in the bull terrier.
• Layback—A receding nose.
• Pig-jawed—The upper jaw protruding over the lower; an exaggeration of an undershot jaw.
• Overshot—The upper teeth projecting beyond the lower.
• Undershot—The lower incisor teeth projecting beyond the upper, as in bulldogs.
• Wrinkle—Loose, folding skin over the skull.
• Wall Eye—A blue mottled eye.
• Snipy—Too pointed in muzzle; pinched.
• Stop—The indentation between the skull and the nasal bone near the eyes.
• Septum—The division between the nostrils.
• Leather—The skin of the ear.
• Expression—The size and placement of the eye determines the expression of the dog.
• Brisket—That part of the body in front of the chest and below the neck.
• Chest—That part of the body between the forelegs, sometimes called the breast, extending from the brisket to the body.
• Cobby—Thick set; low in stature, and short coupled; or well ribbed up, short and compact.
• Couplings—The space between the tops of the shoulder blades, and the tops of the hip joints. A dog is accordingly said to be long or short “in the couplings.”
• Deep in Brisket—Deep in chest.
• Elbows—The joint at the top of forearm.
• Elbows Out—Self-explanatory; either congenital, or as a result of weakness.
• Flat-sided—Flat in ribs; not rounded.
• Forearm—The foreleg between the elbows and pastern.
• Pastern—The lower section of the leg below the knee or hock respectively.
• Shoulders—The top of the shoulder blades, the point at which a dog is measured.
• Racy—Slight in build and leggy.
• Roach-back—The arched or wheel formation of loin.
• Pad—The underneath portion of the foot.
• Loins—The part of body between the last rib and hindquarters.
• Long in flank—Long in back of loins.
• Lumber—Unnecessary flesh.
• Cat-foot—A short, round foot, with the knuckles well developed.
• Hare-foot—A long, narrow foot, carried forward.
• Splay-foot—A flat, awkward forefoot, usually turned outward.
• Stifles—The upper joint of hind legs.
• Second Thighs—The muscular development between stifle joint and hock.
• The Hock—The lowest point of the hind leg.
• Spring—Round, or well sprung ribs; not flat.
• Shelly—Narrow, shelly body.
• Timber—Bone.
• Tucked Up—Tucked up loin, as seen in greyhounds.
• Upright Shoulders—Shoulders that are set in an upright, instead of an oblique position.
• Leggy—Having the legs too long in proportion to body.
• Stern—Tail.
• Screw Tail—A tail twisted in the form of a screw.
• Kink Tail—A tail with a break or kink in it.
• Even Mouthed—A term used to describe a dog whose jaws are neither overhung nor underhung.
• Beefy—Big, beefy hind quarters.
• Bully—Where the dog approaches the bulldog too much in conformation.
• Terrier Type—Where the dog approaches the terrier too much in conformation.
• Cow-hocked—The hocks turning inward.
• Saddle-back—The opposite of roach-back.
• Lengthy—Possessing length of body.
• Broody—A broody bitch; one whose length of conformation evidences a likely mother; one who will whelp easily and rear her pups.
• Blood—A blood; a dog whose appearance denotes high breeding.
• Condition—Another name for perfect health, without superfluous flesh, coat in the best of shape, and spirits lively and cheerful.
• Style—Showy, and of a stylish, gay demeanor.
• Listless—Dull and sluggish.
• Character—A sub-total of all the points which give to the dog the desired character associated with his particular variety, which differentiates him from all other breeds.
• Hall-mark—That stamp of quality that distinguishes him from inferior dogs, as the sterling mark on silver, or the hall-mark on the same metal in England.

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