296 British Dogs. 



doubt say, there are the champions Buffet and Nimrod, and their sire 

 Buffer. Buffet must have had a lot of chances, and has got nothing 

 worthy of notice, with the exception of the second prize dog at Nottingham, 

 and he had the same fault as most of the Buffer breed, viz., heavy ears 

 hung helplessly down by the side of the head ; and I think that, 

 with hardly an exception, the two worst dogs at Nottingham were 

 by Nimrod ; they had ears that would have suited a foxhound, and 

 they were out of different bitches. Buffer, although he has got two 

 exceedingly good ones, is the sire of some of the worst I ever saw 

 one, own brother to Speculation, weighs about 301b., and has immense 

 ears. 



I will now give my opinion as to how a first-class fox terrier should 

 be made. The head should be of fair length, not too long, but in 

 proportion to the size of the dog. The jaw should be muscular, and 

 the muzzle not too fine ; and, of course, the nose should be black. 

 The ears small, not very thin, and dropping forward, so as to keep 

 out the dirt. The eye must be small, rather sunken, and dark, a 

 prominent eye being objectionable, as showing bull. The neck should 

 be of fair length, lean, and muscular ; the shoulders long, fine, and 

 sloping ; and the chest deep and rather narrow ; the back short and 

 strong; and the loin slightly arched and full of muscle. A very im- 

 portant part is the legs. The fore legs must be straight and strong 

 in bone, and the feet small, round, and arched, with a good thick 

 sole. This is of much importance, as a dog with a thin sole soon 

 gets footsore. The thighs, of course, muscular, and the hocks straight 

 and well let down. The tail should be strong, and set on rather 

 high ; and the coat hard and abundant, but close and smooth. 

 The carriage of a good terrier should be gay and lively, and the ex- 

 pression of the face intelligent and good tempered. There is one thing 

 I want particularly to impress on readers, and that is, that a fox terrier 

 should in no way resemble "a brick with the corners knocked off," or 

 "a shorthorn," a simile that has frequently been used by more than one 

 writer on fox terriers. Could anyone imagine an animal whose formation 

 is less adapted for speed and endurance than a shorthorn, unless a brick 

 could be endowed with life P If a fox terrier's build has been likened to 

 a foxhound or good hunter, I would have agreed ; but a shorthorn or 

 brick, never ! 



