Dogs and All about Them Part 14

A well-bred Suss.e.x Spaniel is a very handsome dog. Indeed, his beautiful colour alone is enough to make his appearance an attractive one, even if he were unsymmetrical and ungainly in his proportions.

This colour, known as golden liver, is peculiar to the breed, and is the great touchstone and hall-mark of purity of blood. No other dog has exactly the same shade of coat, which the word "liver" hardly describes exactly, as it is totally different from the ordinary liver colour of an Irishman, a Pointer, or even a liver Field Spaniel. It is rather a golden chestnut with a regular metallic sheen as of burnished metal, showing more especially on the head and face and everywhere where the hair is short. This is very apparent when a dog gets his new coat. In time, of course, it is liable to get somewhat bleached by sun and weather, when it turns almost yellow. Every expert knows this colour well, and looks for it at once when judging a cla.s.s of Suss.e.x.

The description of the breed given by the Spaniel Club is as follows:--

HEAD--The skull should be moderately long, and also wide, with an indentation in the middle, and a full stop, brows fairly heavy; occiput full, but not pointed, the whole giving an appearance of heaviness without dulness. EYES--Hazel colour, fairly large, soft and languis.h.i.+ng, not showing the haw overmuch. NOSE--The muzzle should be about three inches long, square, and the lips somewhat pendulous.

The nostrils well developed and liver colour. EARS--Thick, fairly large, and lobe shaped; set moderately low, but relatively not so low as in the Black Field Spaniel; carried close to the head, and furnished with soft wavy hair. NECK--Is rather short, strong, and slightly arched, but not carrying the head much above the level of the back. There should not be much throatiness in the skin, but well marked frill in the coat. CHEST AND SHOULDERS--The chest is round, especially behind the shoulders, deep and wide, giving a good girth.

The shoulders should be oblique. BACK AND BACK RIBS--The back and loin are long, and should be very muscular, both in width and depth; for this development the back ribs must be deep. The whole body is characterised as low, long, level, and strong. LEGS AND FEET--The arms and thighs must be bony, as well as muscular, knees and hocks large and strong, pasterns very short and bony, feet large and round, and with short hair between the toes. The legs should be very short and strong, with great bone, and may show a slight bend in the forearm, and be moderately well feathered. The hind-legs should not be apparently shorter than the fore-legs, or be too much bent at the hocks, so as to give a Settery appearance which is so objectionable.

The hind-legs should be well feathered above the hocks, but should not have much hair below that point. The hocks should be short and wide apart. TAIL--Should be docked from five to seven inches, set low, and not carried above the level of the back, thickly clothed with moderately long feather. COAT--Body coat abundant, flat or slightly waved, with no tendency to curl, moderately well feathered on legs and stern, but clean below the hocks. COLOUR--Rich golden liver; this is a certain sign of the purity of the breed, dark liver or puce denoting unmistakably a recent cross with the black or other variety of Field Spaniel. GENERAL APPEARANCE--Rather ma.s.sive and muscular, but with free movements and nice tail action denoting a tractable and cheerful disposition. Weight from 35 lb. to 45 lb.

VI. THE FIELD SPANIEL.--The modern Field Spaniel may be divided into two cla.s.ses. Indeed, we may almost say at this stage of canine history, two breeds, as for several years past there has not been very much intermingling of blood between the Blacks and those known by the awkward designation of "Any Other Variety," though, of course, all came originally from the same parent stock.

The black members of the family have always been given the pride of place, and accounted of most importance, though latterly their parti-coloured brethren seem to have rather overtaken them.

Among the really old writers there is one mention, and one only, of Spaniels of a black colour. Arcussia speaks of them, and of their being used in connection with the sport of hawking, but from his time up to the middle of the nineteenth century, though many colours are spoken of as being appropriate to the various breeds of Spaniels, no author mentions black.

The first strain of blacks of which we know much belonged to Mr. F.

Burdett, and was obtained from a Mr. Footman, of Lutterworth, Leicesters.h.i.+re, who was supposed to have owned them for some time.

Mr. Burdett's Bob and Frank may be found at the head of very many of the best pedigrees. At his death most of his Spaniels became the property of Mr. Jones, of Oscott, and Mr. Phineas Bullock, of Bilston, the latter of whom was most extraordinarily successful, and owned a kennel of Field Spaniels which was practically unbeatable between the dates of the first Birmingham Show in 1861 and the publication of the first volume of the Kennel Club's Stud Book in 1874, many, if not most, of the dogs which won for other owners having been bred by him. His Nellie and Bob, who won the chief prizes year after year at all the leading shows, were probably the two best specimens of their day. Another most successful breeder was Mr. W. W. Boulton, of Beverley, whose kennel produced many celebrated dogs, including Beverlac, said to be the largest Field Spaniel ever exhibited, and Rolf, whose union with Belle produced four b.i.t.c.hes who were destined, when mated with n.i.g.g.e.r, a dog of Mr. Bullock's breeding, to form the foundation of the equally if not more famous kennel belonging to Mr.

T. Jacobs, of Newton Abbot.

It was Mr. Jacobs who, by judiciously mating his Suss.e.x sires Bachelor, Bachelor III., and others with these black-bred b.i.t.c.hes, established the strain which in his hands and in those of his successors, Captain S. M. Thomas and Mr. Moses Woolland, carried all before it for many years, and is still easily at the top of the tree, being the most sought for and highly prized of all on account of its "quality."

If Black Spaniels are not quite so popular at present as they were some years ago, the fault lies with those breeders, exhibitors, and judges (the latter being most to blame) who encouraged the absurd craze for excessive length of body and shortness of leg which not very long ago threatened to transform the whole breed into a race of cripples, and to bring it into contempt and derision among all practical men. No breed or variety of dog has suffered more from the injudicious fads and crazes of those showmen who are not sportsmen also. At one time among a certain cla.s.s of judges, length and lowness was everything, and soundness, activity, and symmetry simply did not count. As happens to all absurd crazes of this kind when carried to exaggeration, public opinion has proved too much for it, but not before a great deal of harm has been done to a breed which is certainly ornamental, and can be most useful as well. Most of the prize-winners of the present day are sound, useful dogs capable of work, and it is to be hoped that judges will combine to keep them so.

The coloured Field Spaniel has now almost invariably at the princ.i.p.al shows special cla.s.ses allotted to him, and does not have to compete against his black brother, as used to be the case in former years.

The systematic attempt to breed Spaniels of various colours, with a groundwork of white, does not date back much more than a quarter of a century, and the greater part of the credit for producing this variety may be given to three gentlemen, Mr. F. E. Schofield, Dr.

J. H. Spurgin, and Mr. J. W. Robinson. In the early days of breeding blacks, when the b.i.t.c.hes were mated either with Suss.e.x or liver and white Springers or Norfolk Spaniels, many parti-coloured puppies necessarily occurred, which most breeders destroyed; but it occurred to some of these gentlemen that a handsome and distinct variety might be obtained by careful selection, and they have certainly succeeded to a very great extent. The most famous names among the early sires are Dr. Spurgin's Alonzo and his son Fop, and Mr. Robinson's Alva Dash, from one or other of whom nearly all the modern celebrities derive their descent.

Those who have been, and are, interested in promoting and breeding these variety Spaniels deserve a large amount of credit for their perseverance, which has been attended with the greatest success so far as producing colour goes. No doubt there is a very great fascination in breeding for colour, and in doing so there is no royal road to success, which can only be attained by the exercise of the greatest skill and the nicest discrimination in the selection of breeding stock. At the same time colour is not everything, and type and working qualities should never be sacrificed to it. This has too often been done in the case of coloured Field Spaniels. There are plenty of beautiful blue roans, red roans, and tricolours, whether blue roan and tan or liver roan and tan, but nearly all of them are either c.o.c.ktailed, weak in hind-quarters, crooked-fronted, or houndy-headed, and showing far too much haw. In fact, in head and front the greater number of the tricolours remind one of the Ba.s.set-hound almost as much as they do in colour. It is to be hoped that colour-breeders will endeavour to get back the true Spaniel type before it is too late.

The points of both black and coloured Field Spaniels are identical, bar colour, and here it must be said that black and tan, liver and tan, and liver are not considered true variety colours, though of course they have to compete in those cla.s.ses, but rather sports from black. The colours aimed at by variety breeders have all a ground colour of white, and are black and white, blue roan, liver and white, red roan, liver white and tan, and tricolours or quadri-colours--_i.e._, blue or red roan and tan, or both combined, with tan. The Spaniel Club furnishes the following description of the Black Field Spaniel:--

HEAD--Should be quite characteristic of this grand sporting dog, as that of the Bloodhound or the Bulldog; its very stamp and countenance should at once convey the conviction of high breeding, character and n.o.bility; skull well developed, with a distinctly elevated occipital tuberosity, which, above all, gives the character alluded to; not too wide across muzzle, long and lean, never snipy nor squarely cut, and in profile curving gradually from nose to throat; lean beneath eyes, a thickness here gives coa.r.s.eness to the whole head. The great length of muzzle gives surface for the free development of the olfactory nerve, and thus secures the highest possible scenting powers. EYES--Not too full, but not small, receding or overhung; colour dark hazel or dark brown, or nearly black; grave in expression, and bespeaking unusual docility and instinct. EARS--Set low down as possible, which greatly adds to the refinement and beauty of the head, moderately long and wide, and sufficiently clad with nice Setter-like feather. NECK--Very strong and muscular, so as to enable the dog to retrieve his game without undue fatigue; not too short, however. BODY (INCLUDING SIZE AND SYMMETRY)--Long and very low, well ribbed up to a good strong loin, straight or slightly arched, never slack; weight from about 35 lbs. to 45 lbs. NOSE--Well developed, with good open nostrils, and always black. SHOULDERS AND CHEST--Former sloping and free, latter deep and well developed, but not too round and wide.

BACK AND LOIN--Very strong and muscular; level and long in proportion to the height of the dog. HIND-QUARTERS--Very powerful and muscular, wide, and fully developed. STERN--Well set on, and carried low, if possible below the level of the back, in a perfectly straight line, or with a slight downward inclination, never elevated above the back, and in action always kept low, nicely fringed, with wavy feather of silky texture. FEET AND LEGS--Feet not too small, and well protected between the toes with soft feather; good strong pads. Legs straight and immensely boned, strong and short, and nicely feathered with straight or waved Setter-like feather, overmuch feathering below the hocks objectionable. COAT--Flat or slightly waved, and never curled.

Sufficiently dense to resist the weather, and not too short. Silky in texture, glossy, and refined in nature, with neither duffelness on the one hand nor curl or wiriness on the other. On chest under belly, and behind the legs, there should be abundant feather, but never too much, and that of the right sort, viz., Setter-like. The tail and hind-quarters should be similarly adorned. COLOUR--Jet black throughout, glossy and true. A little white on chest, though a drawback, not a disqualification. GENERAL APPEARANCE--That of a sporting dog, capable of learning and doing anything possible for his inches and conformation. A grand combination of beauty and utility.

VII. THE ENGLISH SPRINGER.--It is only quite recently that the Kennel Club has officially recognised the variety known by the name at the head of this section. For a long time the old-fas.h.i.+oned liver and white, or black Spaniels, longer in the leg than either Suss.e.x or Field Spaniels, had been known as Norfolk Spaniels, and under this t.i.tle the Spaniel Club has published a description of them. There had, however, been a considerable amount of discussion about the propriety of this name of "Norfolk," and the weight of the evidence adduced went to show that as far as any territorial connection with the county of that name went, it was a misnomer, and that it probably arose from the breed having been kept by one of the Dukes of Norfolk, most likely that one quoted by Blaine in his _Rural Sports_, who was so jealous of his strain that it was only on the expressly stipulated condition that they were not to be allowed to breed in the direct line that he would allow one to leave his kennels.

But, when this old breed was taken up by the Sporting Spaniel Society, they decided to drop the name of "Norfolk," and to revert to the old t.i.tle of "Springer," not, perhaps, a very happy choice, as all Spaniels are, properly speaking, Springers in contradistinction to Setters. The complete official designation on the Kennel Club's register is "English Springers other than Clumbers, Suss.e.x, and Field," a very clumsy name for a breed. There is no doubt that this variety of Spaniel retains more resemblance to the old strains which belonged to our forefathers, before the long and low idea found favour in the eyes of exhibitors, and it was certainly well worth preserving.

The only way nowadays by which uniformity of type can be obtained is by somebody having authority drawing up a standard and scale of points for breeders to go by, and the Sporting Spaniel Society are to be commended for having done this for the breed under notice, the fruit of their action being already apparent in the larger and more uniform cla.s.ses to be seen at shows.

As the officially recognised life of the breed has been such a short one, there are naturally not very many names of note among the prize-winners. The princ.i.p.al breeders and owners have so far been Mr. W. Arkwright, Mr. Harry Jones, Sir Hugo FitzHerbert, Mr. C. C.

Bethune Eversfield, and Mr. Winton Smith.

They are undoubtedly the right dogs for those who want Spaniels to travel faster and cover more ground than the more ponderous and short-legged Clumbers, Suss.e.x, or Field Spaniels do, but their work is hardly equal in finish and precision to that of either of the two former breeds.

The following revised description of the English Springer has been issued by the Sporting Spaniel Society:--

SKULL--Long and slightly arched on top, fairly broad, with a stop, and well-developed temples. JAWS--Long and broad, not snipy, with plenty of thin lip. EYES--Medium size, not too full, but bright and intelligent, of a rich brown. EARS--Of fair length, low set, and lobular in shape. NECK--Long, strong, and slightly arched.

SHOULDERS--Long and sloping. FORE-LEGS--Of a moderate length, straight, with flat strong bone. BODY--Strong, with well-sprung ribs, good girth, and chest deep and fairly broad. LOIN--Rather long, strong, and slightly arched. HIND-QUARTERS AND HIND-LEGS--Very muscular, hocks well let down, stifles moderately bent, and not twisted inwards or outwards. FEET--Strong and compact. STERN--Low carried, not above the level of the back, and with a vibratory motion.

COAT--Thick and smooth or very slightly wavy, it must not be too long.

The feathering must be only moderate on the ears, and scanty on the legs, but continued down to the heels. COLOUR--Liver and white and black and white (with or without tan), fawn and white, yellow and white, also roans and self colours of all these tints. The pied colours are preferable, however, as more easily seen in cover. GENERAL APPEARANCE--An active compact dog, upstanding, but by no means stilty.

His height at shoulder should about equal his length from the top of the withers to the root of the tail.

VIII. THE WELSH SPRINGER.--Like the English Springer, the Welsh Springer has only very recently come into existence--officially, that is to say; but his admirers claim for him that he has existed as a separate breed for a long time, though not beyond the bounds of the Princ.i.p.ality, where he is referred to as the Starter.

When his claims were first put forward they were vigorously contested by many who could claim to speak and write with authority upon the various breeds of Spaniels existing in these islands, and it was freely a.s.serted that they were nothing but crossbreds between the ordinary Springer and probably a Clumber in order to account for the red or orange markings and the vine-leaf-shaped ears. Even if they are a new breed, they are a most meritorious one, both in their appearance, which is eminently sporting and workmanlike, and for the excellence of their work in the field, which has been amply demonstrated by the record earned at the field trials by Mr. A. T.

Williams and others, but those who have seen them at work have nothing but good to say of them, and for working large rough tracts of country in teams their admirers say they are unequalled.

In appearance they are decidedly attractive, rather more lightly built than most Spaniels, small in size, indeed very little larger than c.o.c.kers, invariably white in colour, with red or orange markings, and possessing rather fine heads with small Clumber-shaped ears. Their general appearance is that of extremely smart and active little dogs.

The Welsh Springer is described by the Sporting Spaniel Society as follows:--

SKULL--Fairly long and fairly broad, slightly rounded with a stop at the eyes. JAWS--Medium length, straight, fairly square, the nostrils well developed, and flesh coloured or dark. A short, chubby head is objectionable. EYES--Hazel or dark, medium size, not prominent, not sunken, nor showing haw. EARS--Comparatively small and gradually narrowing towards the tip, covered with feather not longer than the ear, set moderately low and hanging close to the cheeks. NECK--Strong, muscular, clean in throat. SHOULDERS--Long and sloping. FORE-LEGS--Medium length, straight, good bone, moderately feathered. BODY--Strong, fairly deep, not long, well-sprung ribs.

Length of body should be proportionate to length of leg.

LOIN--Muscular and strong, slightly arched, well coupled up and knit together. HIND-QUARTERS AND HIND-LEGS--Strong; hocks well let down; stifles moderately bent (not twisted in or out), not feathered below the hock on the leg. FEET--Round, with thick pads. STERN--Low, never carried above the level of the back, feathered, and with a lively motion. COAT--Straight or flat, and thick. COLOUR--Red or orange and white. GENERAL APPEARANCE--Symmetrical, compact, strong, merry, active, not stilty, built for endurance and activity, and about 28 lb. and upwards in weight, but not exceeding 45 lb.

IX. THE c.o.c.kER SPANIEL.--For the last few years the popularity of this smaller sized branch of the Spaniel tribe has been steadily increasing, and the c.o.c.ker cla.s.ses at most of the best shows are now remarkable both for the number of entries and the very high standard of excellence to which they attain.

A short time ago black c.o.c.kers were decidedly more fas.h.i.+onable than their parti-coloured relatives, but now the reverse is the case, and the various roans and tricolours have overtaken and pa.s.sed the others, both in general quality and in the public esteem. The reason for this popularity of the breed as a whole is not far to seek. The affectionate and merry disposition of the c.o.c.ker and his small size compared with that of the other breeds pre-eminently fit him for a companion in the house as well as in the field, and he ranks among his admirers quite as many of the fairer s.e.x as he does men--a fact which is not without a certain element of danger, since it should never be lost sight of that the breed is a sporting one, which should on no account be allowed to degenerate into a race of mere house companions or toys.

Small-sized Spaniels, usually called c.o.c.kers, from their being more especially used in woodc.o.c.k shooting, have been indigenous to Wales and Devons.h.i.+re for many years, and it is most likely from one or both of these sources that the modern type has been evolved. It is probable too that the type in favour to-day, of a short coupled, rather "cobby"

dog, fairly high on the leg, is more like that of these old-fas.h.i.+oned c.o.c.kers than that which obtained a decade or two ago, when they were scarcely recognised as a separate breed, and the Spaniel cla.s.ses were usually divided into "Field Spaniels over 25 lb." and "Field Spaniels under 25 lb." In those days a large proportion of the prizes fell to miniature Field Spaniels. The breed was not given official recognition on the Kennel Club's register till 1893, nor a section to itself in the Stud Book; and up to that date the only real qualification a dog required to be enabled to compete as a c.o.c.ker was that he should be under the weight of 25 lb., a limit arbitrarily and somewhat irrationally fixed, since in the case of an animal just on the border-line he might very well have been a c.o.c.ker before and a Field Spaniel after breakfast.

It is not easy to find authentic pedigrees going back further than a quarter of a century, but Mr. C. A. Phillips can trace his own strain back to 1860, and Mr. James Farrow was exhibiting successfully thirty-five years ago. The former gentleman published the pedigree of his b.i.t.c.h Rivington Dora for eighteen generations _in extenso_ in _The Sporting Spaniel_; while the famous Obo strain of the latter may be said to have exercised more influence than any other on the black variety both in this country and in the United States.

It was in 1880 that the most famous of all the "pillars" of the c.o.c.ker stud, Mr. James Farrow's Obo, made his first bow to the public, he and his litter sister Sally having been born the year before. He won the highest honours that the show bench can give, and the importance of his service to the breed both in his owner's kennel and outside it, can scarcely be over-estimated. Nearly all of the best blacks, and many of the best coloured c.o.c.kers, are descended from him. At this period the type mostly favoured was that of a dog rather longer in the body and lower on the leg than it is at present, but the Obo family marked a progressive step, and very rightly kept on winning under all the best judges for many years, their owner being far too good a judge himself ever to exhibit anything but first-cla.s.s specimens.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THREE GENERATIONS OF MR. R. DE C. PEELE'S BLUE ROAN c.o.c.kER SPANIELS--CH. BEN BOWDLER (Father), CH. BOB BOWDLER (Son), and CH. DIXON BOWDLER (Grandson) _From the Painting by Lilian Cheviot_]

Meanwhile, although the blacks were far the most fas.h.i.+onable--and it was said that it was hopeless to try to get the same quality in coloured specimens--several enthusiastic breeders for colour were quietly at work, quite undismayed by the predilection shown by most exhibitors and judges for the former colour. Among them was Mr. C.