In a Toy Bulldog should be found all those qualities most valued in the larger dog - expression, the rose ears, the wide under jaw, with its upward sweep protruding considerably beyond the upper jaw, lay-back, a big black nose and well defined stop, depth of brisket, a good set-on of shoulder, strength of bone, the roach back and a small tail, straight screw or crank set on low. To obtain these qualities with diminutive size should be the aim of every breeder, but the introduction of the French blood will make his task harder, if not actually impossible.

To attempt at once to breed Toys from one mating of small specimens of the British Bulldog would be futile and would probably be followed by disastrous results; and this brings the writer to a point which he would urge the breeder to constantly keep in mind, the natural inclination of all creatures to "throw back."

By "throwing back" is meant the reproduction of young bearing strong resemblance to some ancestor. In human beings this resemblance is sometimes mental and sometimes physical. With dogs the mental characteristics need here scarcely be taken into account, but the physical are worthy of all attention.

The tyro, in mating a very small English Bulldog with a very small bitch of the same breed, would probably expect to produce small puppies. It is true that his expectations might be realised, but it is equally true and far more likely that they may not. What then would be the result? The small dog and bitch coming from large stock would in all probability throw back, and big or at any rate medium-sized puppies would result, with infinite danger to the mother, who would in all probability succumb to the exertion of bringing them into the world.

The course, then, to be advised as a first step is the mating of the very smallest specimen of the true English Bulldog it is possible to secure with an English Bull bitch of medium size. Mrs. Carlo F. C. Clarke, in her recent work on Toy Bulldogs, states: "I believe there is just as much likelihood of getting a Toy puppy from an English-bred bitch weighing 351b. as from one weighing say 281b., and infinitely less risk of losing the mother."

The principle to be observed, then, is to look to the sire for diminution in size. More probably than not, he will throw back to a previous generation, and beget puppies that will make bigger dogs than himself; but among the litter there may be at least one or two sufficiently small to warrant the continuance of the experiment. The dogs from this litter might be mated with bitches of, say, 281b. weight, and a slightly further reduction in the size of the puppies might be confidently looked for.

To attempt to build up a strain of Toys is practically an impossibility when the breeder is possessed of only one bitch. The equipment of the would-be Toy Bulldog breeder should be, say, three - more, if possible - bitches weighing from 281b. to 351b., and bred from a stock which has always inclined to smallness. The three or more bitches might be mated to different stud dogs of English parentage and of the very lightest weight procurable. Then from subsequent litters the smallest of the dogs should be mated with the medium-weight bitches of the other litters, while the excessively small bitches should on no account be bred from at all.

In the same work referred to Mrs. Clarke recommends the mating of the smallest English-bred bitches with French dogs, the idea she has in view being to guard against the probability of the sire throwing back; but it must also be borne in mind that the dam is as likely to throw back as the sire, and the danger to the bitch is almost as great as if the small English-bred dog was used. Besides, as has been before stated, the introduction of the French blood cannot tend to the improvement of the breed, and the two breeds should be kept entirely apart, or incalculable harm to the English Toy Bulldog will result.

The Toy Bulldog Club, of which the Hon. Mrs. Bailie, of Dochfour, is the Honorary Secretary, has adopted the standard of points as set forth by the Bulldog Club Incorporated, the sole difference being in the weight: 2olb. is considered by the Toy Bulldog Club to be the utmost that a Toy Bulldog should weigh. There will be, of course, many dogs bred that scale a few pounds or even ounces over this weight; and while they are practically useless from a show point of view - except when, as is rarely the case, classes for the "outcasts," as they are sometimes called, are provided by show committees, for dogs weighing between 2olb. and 251b. - they can, of course, be utilised with advantage to continue the breeding operations, while as companions and house pets they will generally find purchasers quickly enough.

To select a puppy from the nest is always a difficult task for the novice, and even for the fancier of experience, and the selection is rendered even more difficult when the dogs are of any Toy breed. Small size will be one of the first points the purchaser will look for, but he must not confound smallness with weediness! A weedy puppy is poor in bone, feeble in its actions, and lacking stamina generally. Such a puppy is not likely to do well - in fact, his early death is almost a certainty; but should he survive, he is likely to be only a source of constant trouble, expense, and disappointment.

The first point the novice must look for is, therefore, health. A puppy may be small, but may yet have plenty of bone in proportion to its size; moreover, its bones should be well covered. The puppy that displays a healthy appetite for its food, and is ever ready at meal-time to take his share in all that is going, is the one to choose. In kennelmen's parlance, he is a "good doer." He will probably look and be larger than the weed, but his extra weight is the weight that health gives him, and health before all must be the amateur's first consideration. Choose, therefore, the healthiest rather than the very smallest puppy in the litter, though sometimes the smallest may be as healthy as his brothers and sisters, and in such a case he naturally is the one to pick.