Standard English Bulldog
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
Smooth-coated, thick set, rather low in stature, broad, powerful and compact. Head fairly large in proportion to size, but at no point so much in excess of others as to destroy the general symmetry, or make the dog appear deformed, or interfere with its powers of motion. Face short, muzzle broad, blunt and inclined upwards. Dogs showing respiratory distress highly undesirable. Body short, well knit, limbs stout, well muscled and in hard condition with no tendency towards obesity. Bitches not so grand or well-developed as dogs.
TEMPERAMENT:
Alert, bold, loyal, dependable, courageous, fierce in appearance, but possessed of an affectionate nature.
HEAD & SKULL:
Skull large in circumference, should measure round (in front of the ears) approximately height of dog at shoulder. Viewed from front appears very high from corner of lower jaw to apex of skull; also very broad and square. Cheeks well-rounded and extended sideways beyond eyes. Viewed from side, head appears very high and short from back to point of nose. Forehead flat with skin upon and about head, loose and wrinkled, neither prominent nor overhanging face. Projections of frontal bones prominent, broad, square and high; deep, wide indentation between eyes. From stop a furrow, both broad and deep extending to middle of skull being traceable to apex. Face from front of cheek-bone to nose, short, skin wrinkled. Muzzle short, broad, turned upwards and very deep from corner of eye to corner of mouth. Nose and nostrils large, broad and black, under no circumstances liver colour, red or brown; top set back to eyes. Distance from inner corner of eye (or from center of stop between eyes) to extreme tip of nose exceeding length from tip of nose to edge of under lip. Nostrils large, wide and open, with well-defined vertical straight line between. Flews (chops) thick, broad, pendant and very deep, hanging completely over lower jaws at sides, not in front. Joining under lip in front and quite covering teeth. Jaws broad, massive and square, lower jaw projecting in front of upper and turning up. Nose roll must not interfere with the line of layback. Viewed from front, the various properties of the face must be equally balanced on either side of an imaginary line down center.
MOUTH / JAWS:
Jaws broad and square with six small teeth between canines in an even row. Canines wide apart. Teeth large and strong not seen when mouth closed. When viewed from front under jaw directly under upper jaw and parallel.
EYES:
Seen from front, situated low down in skull, well away from ears. Eyes and stop in same straight line, at right angles to furrow. Wide apart, but outer corners within the outline of cheeks. Round in shape, of moderate size, neither sunken nor prominent, in colour very dark - almost black - showing no white when looking directly forward. Free from obvious eye problems.
EARS:
Set high - i.e. front edge of each ear (as viewed from front) joins outline of skull at the top corner of such outline, so as to place them as wide apart, as high and as far from eyes as possible. Small and thin. "Rose ear" correct, that is folding inwards and back, upper or front inner edge curving outwards and backwards, showing part of inside of burr.
NECK:
Moderate in length, very thick, deep and strong. Well-arched at back, with much loose, thick and wrinkled skin about the throat, forming dewlap on each side, from lower jaw to chest.
BODY:
Back short, strong, broad at shoulders, comparatively narrower at loins. Body well-ribbed up behind with belly tucked up and not pendulous.
CHEST & BRISKET:
Chest wide, laterally round, prominent and deep. Brisket capacious, round and very deep from top of shoulders to lowest part where it joins the chest. Well let down between the forelegs. Large in diameter, round behind forelegs (not flat-sided, ribs well rounded).
SHOULDERS:
Shoulders broad, sloping and deep, very powerful and muscular giving the appearance of being "tacked on" to the body.
BACK:
Slight fall to back close behind shoulders (lowest part) whence the spine should rise to loins (top higher than top of shoulder), curving again more suddenly to tail, forming arch (termed roach back) - a distinctive characteristic of the breed.
TAIL:
Set on low, jutting out rather straight and then turning downwards. Round, smooth and devoid of fringe or coarse hair. Moderate in length - rather short than long - thick at root, tapering quickly to a fine point. Downward carriage (not having a decided upward curve at end) and never carried above back.
FORELEGS:
Forelegs very stout and strong, well developed, set wide apart, thick, muscular and straight, presenting a rather bowed outline, but bones of leg large and straight, not bandy nor curved and short in proportion to hind legs, but not so short as to make the back appear long or detract from dog's activity and so to cripple him. Elbows low and standing well away from ribs. Pasterns short, straight and strong.
HINDLEGS:
Legs large and muscular, longer in proportion than forelegs, so as to elevate loins. Hocks slightly bent, well let down, leg long and muscular from loins to hock; short, straight, strong lower part. Stifles round and turned slightly outwards away from body. Hock thereby made to approach each other and hind feet to turn outwards.
FEET:
Fore, straight and turning very slightly outward; of medium size and moderately round. Hind, round and compact. Toes compact and thick, well split up, making knuckles prominent and high.
GAIT / MOVEMENT:
Peculiarly heavy and constrained, appearing to walk with short, quick steps on tips of toes, hind feet not lifted high, appearing to skim ground, running with one or other shoulder rather advanced. Soundness of movement of the utmost importance.
COAT:
Fine texture, short, close and smooth (hard only from shortness and closeness, not wiry).
COLOUR:
Whole or smut (i.e. whole colour with black mask or muzzle). Only whole colours (which should be brilliant and pure of their sort) viz., brindles, reds with their various shades, fawns, fallows etc., white and pied (i.e. combination of white with any of the foregoing colours). Dudley, black and black with tan highly undesirable.
SIZE:
Dogs 25 kg (55 lbs);
Bitches 22.7 kg (50 lbs).
FAULTS:
Any departure from the foregoing points (the whole standard) should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.