Dogs and All about Them Part 17

The following is the description laid down by the White English Terrier Club:--

HEAD--Narrow, long and level, almost flat skull, without cheek muscles, wedge-shaped, well filled up under the eyes, tapering to the nose, and not lippy. EYES--Small and black, set fairly close together, and oblong in shape. NOSE--Perfectly black. EARS--Cropped and standing perfectly erect. NECK AND SHOULDERS--The neck should be fairly long and tapering from the shoulders to the head, with sloping shoulders, the neck being free from throatiness, and slightly arched at the occiput. CHEST--Narrow and deep. BODY--Short and curving upwards at the loins, sprung out behind the shoulders, back slightly arched at loins, and falling again at the joining of the tail to the same height as the shoulders. LEGS--Perfectly straight and well under the body, moderate in bone, and of proportionate length. FEET--Feet nicely arched, with toes set well together, and more inclined to be round than hare-footed. TAIL--Moderate length, and set on where the arch of the back ends, thick where it joins the body, tapering to a point, and not carried higher than the back. COAT--Close, hard, short, and glossy. COLOUR--Pure white, coloured marking to disqualify.

CONDITION--Flesh and muscles to be hard and firm. WEIGHT--From 12 lb. to 20 lb.

CHAPTER x.x.x

THE BLACK AND TAN TERRIER

The Black and Tan, or Manchester, Terrier as we know him to-day is a comparatively new variety, and he is not to be confounded with the original terrier with tan and black colouring which was referred to by Dr. Caius in the sixteenth century, and which was at that time used for going to ground and driving out badgers and foxes.

Formerly there was but little regard paid to colour and markings, and there was a considerably greater proportion of tan in the coat than there is at the present day, while the fancy markings, such as pencilled toes, thumb marks, and kissing spots were not cultivated.

The general outline of the dog, too, was less graceful and altogether coa.r.s.er.

During the first half of the nineteenth century the chief accomplishment of this terrier was rat-killing. There are some extraordinary accounts of his adroitness, as well as courage, in destroying these vermin. The feats of a dog called Billy are recorded.

He was matched to destroy one hundred large rats in eight minutes and a half. The rats were brought into the ring in bags, and as soon as the number was complete Billy was put over the railing into their midst. In six minutes and thirty-five seconds they were all destroyed.

In another match he killed the same number in six minutes and thirteen seconds.

It was a popular terrier in Lancas.h.i.+re, and it was in this county that the refining process in his shape and colouring was practised, and where he came by the name of the Manchester Terrier.

Like the White English Terriers the Black and Tan has fallen on evil days. It is not a popular dog among fanciers, and although many good ones may be seen occasionally about the streets the breed suffers from want of the care and attention that are incidental to the breeding and rearing of dogs intended for compet.i.tion at shows.

There are many who hold the opinion that one of the chief reasons for the decadence in the popularity of the Black and Tan Terrier, notwithstanding its many claims to favour, is to be found in the loss of that very alert appearance which was a general characteristic before the Kennel Club made it illegal to crop the ears of such as were intended for exhibition. It must be admitted that until very recently there was a considerable amount of truth in the prevalent opinion, inasmuch as a rather heavy ear, if carried erect, was the best material to work upon, and from which to produce the long, fine, and upright, or "p.r.i.c.ked" effect which was looked upon as being the correct thing in a cropped dog; hence it followed that no care was taken to select breeding stock likely to produce the small, semi-erect, well-carried, and thin ears required to-day, consequently when the edict forbidding the use of scissors came into force there were very few small-eared dogs to be found. It has taken at least ten or a dozen years to eradicate the mischief, and even yet the cure is not complete.

Another factor which has had a bad effect is the belief, which has become much too prevalent, that a great deal of "faking" has been practised in the past, and that it has been so cleverly performed as to deceive the most observant judge, whereby a very artificial standard of quality has been obtained.

The standard of points by which the breed should be judged is as follows:--

GENERAL APPEARANCE--A terrier calculated to take his own part in the rat pit, and not of the Whippet type. HEAD--The head should be long, flat, and narrow, level and wedge-shaped, without showing cheek muscles; well filled up under the eyes, with tapering, tightly-lipped jaws and level teeth. EYES--The eyes should be very small, sparkling, and bright, set fairly close together and oblong in shape.

NOSE--Black. EARS--The correct carriage of ears is a debatable point since cropping has been abolished. Probably in the large breed the drop ear is correct, but for Toys either erect or semi-erect carriage of the ear is most desirable. NECK AND SHOULDERS--The neck should be fairly long and tapering from the shoulders to the head, with sloping shoulders, the neck being free from throatiness and slightly arched at the occiput. CHEST--The chest should be narrow but deep.

BODY--The body should be moderately short and curving upwards at the loin; ribs well sprung, back slightly arched at the loin and falling again at the joining of the tail to the same height as the shoulders.

FEET--The feet should be more inclined to be cat- than hare-footed.

TAIL--The tail should be of moderate length and set on where the arch of the back ends; thick where it joins the body, tapering to a point, and not carried higher than the back. COAT--The coat should be close, smooth, short and glossy. COLOUR--The coat should be jet black and rich mahogany tan, distributed over the body as follows: On the head the muzzle is tanned to the nose, which with the nasal bone is jet black. There is also a bright spot on each cheek and above each eye; the underjaw and throat are tanned, and the hair inside the ears is the same colour; the fore-legs tanned up to the knee, with black lines (pencil marks) up each toe, and a black mark (thumb mark) above the foot; inside the hind-legs tanned, but divided with black at the hock joints; and under the tail also tanned; and so is the vent, but only sufficiently to be easily covered by the tail; also slightly tanned on each side of the chest. Tan outside the hind-legs--commonly called breeching--is a serious defect. In all cases the black should not run into the tan, nor _vice versa_, but the division between the two colours should be well defined. WEIGHT--For toys not exceeding 7 lb.; for the large breed from 10 to 20 lb. is most desirable.

CHAPTER x.x.xI

THE BULL-TERRIER

The Bull-terrier is now a gentlemanly and respectably owned dog, wearing an immaculate white coat and a burnished silver collar; he has dealings with aristocracy, and is no longer contemned for keeping bad company. But a generation or two ago he was commonly the a.s.sociate of rogues and vagabonds, skulking at the heels of such members of society as Mr. William Sikes, whom he accompanied at night on darksome business to keep watch outside while Bill was within, cracking the crib. In those days the dog's ears were closely cropped, not for the sake of embellishment, but as a measure of protection against the fangs of his opponent in the pit when money was laid upon the result of a well-fought fight to the death. For fighting was the acknowledged vocation of his order, and he was bred and trained to the work. He knew something of rats, too, and many of his kind were famed in the land for their prowess in this direction. Jimmy Shaw's Jacko could finish off sixty rats in three minutes, and on one occasion made a record by killing a thousand in a trifle over an hour and a half.

The breed is sufficiently modern to leave no doubt as to its derivation. In the first quarter of the nineteenth century attention was being directed to the improvement of terriers generally, and new types were sought for. They were alert, agile little dogs, excellent for work in the country; but the extravagant Corinthians of the time--the young gamesters who patronised the prize-ring and the c.o.c.k-pit--desired to have a dog who should do something more than kill rats, or unearth the fox, or bolt the otter: which accomplishments afforded no amus.e.m.e.nt to the Town. They wanted a dog combining all the dash and gameness of the terrier with the heart and courage and fighting instinct of the Bulldog. Wherefore the terrier and the Bulldog were crossed. A large type of terrier was chosen, and this would be the smooth-coated Black and Tan, or the early English White Terrier; but probably both were used indifferently, and for a considerable period. The result gave the young bucks what they required: a dog that was at once a determined vermin killer and an intrepid fighter, upon whose skill in the pit wagers might with confidence be laid.

The animal, however, was neither a true terrier nor a true Bulldog, but an uncompromising mongrel; albeit he served his immediate purpose, and was highly valued for his pertinacity, if not for his appearance.

In 1806 Lord Camelford possessed one for which he had paid the very high price of eighty-four guineas, and which he presented to Belcher, the pugilist. This dog was figured in _The Sporting Magazine_ of the time. He was a short-legged, thick-set, fawn-coloured specimen, with closely amputated ears, a broad blunt muzzle, and a considerable lay-back; and this was the kind of dog which continued for many years to be known as the Bull-and-terrier. He was essentially a man's dog, and was vastly in favour among the undergraduates of Oxford and Cambridge.

Gradually the Bulldog element, at first p.r.o.nounced, was reduced to something like a fourth degree, and, with the terrier character predominating, the head was sharpened, the limbs were lengthened and straightened until little remained of the Bulldog strain but the dauntless heart and the fearless fighting spirit, together with the frequent reversion to brindle colouring, which was the last outward and visible characteristic to disappear.

Within the remembrance of men not yet old the Bull-terrier was as much marked with fawn, brindle, or even black, as are the Fox-terriers of our own period. But fifty years or so ago white was becoming frequent, and was much admired. A strain of pure white was bred by James Hinks, a well-known dog-dealer of Birmingham, and it is no doubt to Hinks that we are indebted for the elegant Bull-terrier of the type that we know to-day. These Birmingham dogs showed a refinement and grace and an absence of the crook-legs and coloured patches which betrayed that Hinks had been using an out-cross with the English White Terrier, thus getting away further still from the Bulldog.

With the advent of the Hinks strain in 1862 the short-faced dog fell into disrepute, and pure white became the accepted colour. There was a wide lat.i.tude in the matter of weight. If all other points were good, a dog might weigh anything between 10 and 38 lbs., but cla.s.ses were usually divided for those above and those below 16 lb. The type became fixed, and it was ruled that the perfect Bull-terrier "must have a long head, wide between the ears, level jaws, a small black eye, a large black nose, a long neck, straight fore-legs, a small hare foot, a narrow chest, deep brisket, powerful loin, long body, a tail set and carried low, a fine coat, and small ears well hung and dropping forward."

Idstone, who wrote this description in 1872, earnestly insisted that the ears of all dogs should be left uncut and as Nature made them; but for twenty years thereafter the ears of the Bull-terrier continued to be cropped to a thin, erect point. The practice of cropping, it is true, was even then illegal and punishable by law, but, although there were occasional convictions under the Cruelty to Animals Act, the dog owners who admired the alertness and perkiness of the cut ear ignored the risk they ran, and it was not until the Kennel Club took resolute action against the practice that cropping was entirely abandoned.

The president of the Kennel Club, Mr. S. E. s.h.i.+rley, M. P., had himself been a prominent owner and breeder of the Bull-terrier. His Nelson, bred by Joe Willock, was celebrated as an excellent example of the small-sized terrier, at a time, however, when there were not a great many compet.i.tors of the highest quality. His d.i.c.k, also, was a remarkably good dog. Earlier specimens which have left their names in the history of the breed were Hinks's Old Dutch, who was, perhaps, even a more perfect terrier than the same breeder's Madman and Puss.

Lancas.h.i.+re and Yorks.h.i.+re have always been noted for good Bull-terriers, and the best of the breed have usually been produced in the neighbourhoods of Leeds, Bradford, Manchester, Bolton, and Liverpool, while Birmingham also shared in the reputation. At one time Londoners gave careful attention to the breed, stimulated thereto by the encouragement of Mr. s.h.i.+rley and the success of Alfred George.

Of recent years the Bull-terrier has not been a great favourite, and it has sadly deteriorated in type; but there are signs that the variety is again coming into repute, and within the past two years many admirable specimens--as nearly perfect, perhaps, as many that won honour in former generations--have been brought into prominence.

Among dogs, for example, there are Mr. E. T. Pimm's Sweet Lavender, Dr. M. Amsler's MacGregor, Mr. Chris Houlker's His Highness, and Mr.

J. Haynes' Bloomsbury Young King. Among b.i.t.c.hes there are Mrs.

Kipping's Delphinium Wild and Desdemona, Mr. Hornby's Lady Sweetheart, Mr. W. Mayor's Mill Girl, Mr. T. Gannaway's Charlwood Belle, Dr. J. W.

Low's Bess of Hardwicke, and Mrs. E. G. Money's Eastbourne Tarqueenia.

While these and such as these beautiful and typical terriers are being bred and exhibited there is no cause to fear a further decline in popularity for a variety so eminently engaging.

The club description is as follows:--

GENERAL APPEARANCE--The general appearance of the Bull-terrier is that of a symmetrical animal, the embodiment of agility, grace, elegance, and determination. HEAD--The head should be long, flat, and wide between the ears, tapering to the nose, without cheek muscles. There should be a slight indentation down the face, without a stop between the eyes. The jaws should be long and very powerful, with a large black nose and open nostrils. Eyes small and very black, almond shape preferred. The lips should meet as tightly as possible, without a fold. The teeth should be regular in shape, and should meet exactly; any deviation, such as pigjaw, or being underhung, is a great fault. EARS--The ears, when cropped, should be done scientifically and according to fas.h.i.+on. Cropped dogs cannot win a prize at shows held under Kennel Club rules, if born after March 31st, 1895. When not cropped, it should be a semi-erect ear, but others do not disqualify. NECK--The neck should be long and slightly arched, nicely set into the shoulders tapering to the head without any loose skin, as found in the Bulldog. SHOULDERS--The shoulders should be strong, muscular, and slanting; the chest wide and deep, with ribs well rounded. BACK--The back short and muscular, but not out of proportion to the general contour of the animal. LEGS--The fore-legs should be perfectly straight, with well-developed muscles; not out at shoulder, but set on the racing lines, and very strong at the pastern joints.

The hind-legs are long and, in proportion to the fore-legs, muscular, with good strong, straight hocks, well let down near the ground.

FEET--The feet more resemble those of a cat than a hare.

COLOUR--Should be white. COAT--Short, close, and stiff to the touch, with a fine gloss. TAIL--Short in proportion to the size of the dog, set on very low down, thick where it joins the body, and tapering to a fine point. It should be carried at an angle of about 45 degrees, without curl, and never over the back. HEIGHT AT SHOULDERS--From 12 to 18 inches. WEIGHT--From 15 lb. to 50 lb.

CHAPTER x.x.xII

THE SMOOTH FOX-TERRIER

To attempt to set forth the origin of the Fox-terrier as we know him to-day would be of no interest to the general reader, and would entail the task of tracing back the several heterogeneous sources from which he sprang. It is a matter of very little moment whether he owes his origin to the white English Terrier or to the Bull-terrier crossed with the Black and Tan, or whether he has a mixture of Beagle blood in his composition, so it will suffice to take him as he emerged from the chaos of mongreldom about the middle of the last century, rescued in the first instance by the desire of huntsmen or masters of well-known packs to produce a terrier somewhat in keeping with their hounds; and, in the second place, to the advent of dog shows. Prior to that time any dog capable, from his size, conformation, and pluck, of going to ground and bolting his fox was a Fox-terrier, were he rough or smooth, black, brown, or white.

The starting-point of the modern Fox-terrier dates from about the 'sixties, and no pedigrees before that are worth considering.

From three dogs then well known--Old Jock, Trap, and Tartar--he claims descent; and, thanks to the Fox-terrier Club and the great care taken in compiling their stud-books, he can be brought down to to-day. Of these three dogs Old Jock was undoubtedly more of a terrier than the others. It is a moot point whether he was bred, as stated in most records of the time, by Captain Percy Williams, master of the Rufford, or by Jack Morgan, huntsman to the Grove; it seems, however, well established that the former owned his sire, also called Jock, and that his dam, Grove Pepper, was the property of Morgan. He first came before the public at the Birmingham show in 1862, where, shown by Mr. Wootton, of Nottingham, he won first prize. He subsequently changed hands several times, till he became the property of Mr.

Murchison, in whose hands he died in the early 'seventies. He was exhibited for the last time at the Crystal Palace in 1870, and though then over ten years old won second to the same owner's Trimmer. At his best he was a smart, well-balanced terrier, with perhaps too much daylight under him, and wanting somewhat in jaw power; but he showed far less of the Bull-terrier type than did his contemporary Tartar.