CHOOSING A DOG. 



211 



CHOOSING A DOG. 



|r. BURGES says: In choosing a dog, the first thing 

 to be considered, then, is blood, for though there 

 may be and certainly are some dogs which have no 

 definite pedigree, yet are first-class performers in 

 the field, the advantages of superior blood are too evident 

 to be neglected when contemplating a purchase. In all 

 cases where a dog is represented as belonging to a partic- 

 ular stock, examine him to see if he bears the marks of 

 that stock. Do not be imposed upon by the assertion that 

 the dog is pure blooded, but is mismarked. Remember 

 that there are certain colors which have belonged to each 

 blood for so many years that any change in these is the 

 strongest proof of an outer oss. 



Each of the prominent breeds of Setters, viz. : English, 

 Irish and Gordon, has its individual and recognized color 

 or colors, and as these are unknown to many of our sports- 

 men, I give the following as rules for judgment, in which I 

 am supported by the leading sporting authorities of Eng- 

 land. 



Of the English Setter, "Stonehenge," in his ''Dogs oj 

 the British Isles" says : "We place the colors in order of 

 merit : 1 — Orange and white, with freckled nose and legs ; 

 2 — Orange and white; 3 — Lemon and white; 4 — Black and 

 white ticked, with slight tanned spots on feet and legs, 

 commonly called Belton greys; 5 — Pure white ; 6 — Black; 

 7 — Fallow or yellow ; 8 — Liver, or liver and white." In 

 "The Setter," Mr. Laverack mentions these colors, and 

 gives the colors of a breed bearing his name, the blood oi 

 which can be traced back for over eighty years. Color 

 black, or blue and white ticked. * * * * "Therein 

 another variety of the same strain, called the lemon and 



