on a puppies tail since most with any length of tail carry them up and out for balance as pups.
is there a gestimated time line where one can say..well that tail is going to stay up in the air and never be carried downwards?



Rhiann @ Butlerbullz

remember, hisorically, the neck has always been described as "moderate" in length, not short. The BCA standard has it described as short, but this is not the case in any other standard.
Not sure why, but if you read some of the bulldog writers of the time, they worried about long necks being associated with dogs lacking substance. My take is that they changed it from "moderate" to "short" in America because they did not want the old type to come back into vogue, and there was a real battle back when the BCA standard was finalized, here and in England, to go back to the "old" type. Again, that is the way I read it. It might not be totally accurate, but there is no one around anymore to ask.
Anyway,
The key is the "well arched" aspect. You can have thick, powerful and moderate length, without being too long.
You DO NOT want a long neck with no arch. You see that sometimes.
And you never want too short. As long as you have arch, you are ok. I personally have never seen a neck that I thought was "too short" with an arch. Some are shorter than others, but as long as the arch is strong, I am ok with it.
Here are some examples of what I like in a neck;

I like a dog to have a nicely defined arch to the neck...nice thick and muscular. A good neck will really accentuate strong shoulders and will allow for more reach in the front. Many short backed dogs are lacking in neck and this makes the dog look squatty and overly thick. I know that some feel that a neck makes the dog look longer but if the dogs shoulders are placed correctly it makes for a beautiful outline and a strong balanced looking dog.

I am a huge fan of having a nice correct tail I have always used 4" as a guidline. I appreciate the tail on your bitch as it is very straight and it looks carried well. Like Elizabeth I cant stand a long tail carried high though....it throws the whole look of the dog right off and they end up looking goofy. A nice tightly carried tail really is stunning on a nice dog

and this is a problem too.


Also disturning are the 6-12 month puppies that show up in the 60-70 pound range, and not talking too fat, just too darn big.

Yes, I should have added that to my comment. Basically commenting on the large number of fat dogs in the ring.
W

"Very important to many Dogs in the ring that lack tuck up, too fat. Ribs very import to having correct underline."

**************************

some dogs who are not even fat lack tuck up. There is a correlation between an arched loin and proper tuck up. Breeds that require an arch in their loin typically are tucked up in the belly.

Neck
The neck should be short, very thick, deep and strong and well arched at the back.

"This is another of the attributes that seems to take a back seat. In my opinion it is one of the most crucial. To short of a neck takes away from so much of the Bulldogs confirmation. A nice Arched neck is such a big part of the top line. To short of a neck will effect the way the dog moves, the way the dogs front is constructed, etc."

Topline
There should be a slight fall in the back, close behind the shoulders (its lowest part), whence the spine should rise to the loins (the top of which should be higher than the top of the shoulders), thence, curving again more suddenly to the tail, forming an arch (a very dictintive feature of the breed), termed "roach back" or, more correctly, "wheel-back".

"A signature part of the Bulldogs confirmation and one of the least understood. We have gotten so used to the almost flat back that when a Dog walks into the ring with a nice "Roach Back" the judge thinks it is incorrect or over done. One of the most prolific faults is the high tail set which kills the topline. It is rare to see truly correct placement of the tail."

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 well let down between the shoulders and forelegs, giving the dog a broad, low, short-legged appearance.

"Capacious means roomy. A Bulldogs body should look roomy from all angles, the profile, over looking the back. Well-rounded ribs, I have found, are hard to find and hard to breed into your dogs once you lose it. Very few Breeds of Dogs have well rounded ribs. Grey Hounds and other site hounds have deep rib cages but there is no or very little spring of rib. My point being maybe this is why it is hard to keep well rounded ribs....Beautiful full Briskets are few and far between these days, when looking at the profile of a Bulldog you should see that Brisket jutting out in front of the fore legs. The body should have SUBSTANCE, not FAT.

Chest
The chest should be very broad, deep and full.

"Cant add a whole lot to this statement, very self explanatory."

Underline
The body should be well ribbed up behind with the belly tucked up and not rotund.

"Very important to many Dogs in the ring that lack tuck up, too fat. Ribs very import to having correct underline."

Back & Loin
The back should be short and strong, very broad at the shoulders and comparatively narrow at the loins.

"Broad at the Should and narrow at the LOIN, not the Butt of the dog. I am not saying you want a BIG, OUT Of BALANCE BUTTED dog but what the Standard says is NARROW AT THE LOINS."
Some of the problems we have are a direct result of trying to shorten the back through our Breeding practices. It can be to short and to long, this is very obvious when looking at the overall balance of the dog."

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 fine 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 or even knotty, but no portion of the member should be elevated above the base of the root.

"The TAIL a subject of many heated debates a few years ago. When Natalie and I first started going to Dog Shows, Specialty Shows as observers I remember seeing this very nice dog with a spiked tail thats tip came down a few inches below his anus, just wagging away. We both said Nice Dog, but look at that tail in disgust...We being newbies were ignorant to the fact that Bulldogs were SUPPOSED to have tails just like the one we had seen, because none of the other Dogs we had seen HAD tails that even came close to this one...Although I have never had a puppy that didnt have a tail when he was born I have had many disappear with age...Definitely a direct result of our Breeding practices to shorten the Back. I think we have made improvement in tails over the last few years we still need alot of work in the area. We need to improve the length, looseness (being to tight) and definitely the placement of the tail."

A couple observations. The neck is a very important part of the bulldog. Correct neck definitely adds strength and beauty to the dog. Lack of neck can really throw off the gait and if you are not careful it is easily passed on to the next generation.

When studying the topline pay particular attention to where the rise starts and where the highest point of the rise is on the dog. Correct toplines are one of the defining characterictics of our breed.

An extreme example would be a whippet.....the tuck up is so extreme and accentuates the rise in loin....bulls are in no way that extreme but you can at least envision that the tuck up draws attention to the rise and vice verse...I have found dogs lacking in tuck up, but having correct weight are generally flat and short in the topline and it really reflects in movement....very short steps without the ability to sweep in and out.

A beautifully arched neck takes my breath away on a nice dog in the ring. Few of us actually remember to hold the heads in such a way that the neck arch is visible, which may explain why few all-breed judges see the arch as correct. We're often so concerned with the judge seeing the jaw/layback, we forget the neck.

Cathy Miller

http://www.marshillbulldogs.com
http://www.bulldogclubofmetropolitanatlanta.com

we have some that are not great too, although I don't have to doctor any of them and I've never had to have an amputaion. We have outcrossed for better tails, hopefully they will start to breed true.
e

I do agree my bitches tail ideally could be a bit shorter

I have had a couple of the nasty curly inverted ones. I would take a "pump handle" any time.

I love the shape and it looks as if it is set well.

I prefer a slightly shorter tail myself. This is another area of the standard that allows some lee-way in interpretation (length).

These two dogs represent my own personal preferences for length;
The red dog in the middle;



Plus I am pretty adamant about the tail hanging low, in other words, I never want to see it while the dog is gaiting.

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You should have seen the looks I have had when people saw this tail on my bitch and the comments. I put it down to ignorance, IMO this is a good tail.