45 6 British Dogs. 



child may inherit the features or peculiarities of one of the grandfathers 

 or grandmothers. And so it is in the lower animals ; and this tendency 

 to throw back is seen to go still farther in some instances of crossing 

 when the artificial distinctions produced by domestication and selection 

 in breeding are thrown down, and an effort is made by nature to repro- 

 duce an animal in, if not its original, at least in a long past, form. This, 

 in the dog, is shown in the gaunt form seen in many mongrels, and in 

 its- most pronounced form often assumes that of his congener the wolf. 

 I do not say that the crossing of any two varieties of our domestic dog 

 will produce one or more pups with a wolfish semblance, but that, if 

 allowed to breed promiscuously, unmistakable traits of the wild dog 

 will be developed. 



We have here, then, two rules to be observed in breeding, which, at 

 first sight, appear to be antagonistic, but are really not so. Like breeds 

 like, but as each sire and dam have also had a sire and dam that may 

 have possessed very distinctive characteristics, the proneness to throw 

 back is merely a proof and confirmation that like does produce its like, 

 although a generation may have been skipped in the development of a 

 special feature or set of features. 



Importance of Pedigree. The foregoing shows the vast importance of 

 pedigree, and on both sides this should be studied, and the prevailing 

 family characteristics carefully considered. The kennel chronicles, 

 calendars, stud books, and systems of registration, public and private, 

 now accessible, are of the greatest help to the breeder, and will become 

 more so year by year, although the best of them are far from being so 

 useful as they might be made. For instance, if in the registration of 

 puppies the date of service, relative to the period of osstrum, were care- 

 fully given, we should soon have data on which to determine the dis- 

 puted point as to whether the time of service influences the sex of the 

 progeny. 



I presume readers to be acquainted with the theory held by many 

 observant breeders, that if the bitch is served at the early period of her 

 heat the progeny will be mostly bitches, and, on the contrary, if near the 

 end of the eestrum, the majority of the puppies will be dogs. No one 

 person's experience, however extensive, can be taken to settle this ques- 

 tion, which is of very great practical importance, not only in respect to 

 dogs but other stock. 



