n8 , BRITISH DOGS 



The late Duke of Leeds had as pure blood of the old breed as 

 any one. After shows were the fashion, great size, at the expense 

 of other qualities, was considered necessary, and lately there has 

 been much resort to crossing. I am an advocate for size myself, 

 but speed must not be sacrificed to it. If you desire a true guide 

 to tell whether a dog has been crossed, look at his ear first. If that 

 is SMALL, and lies folded close to his head, like a Greyhound's, I 

 should consider that a very great point in his favour as to his 

 purity; but if his ears droop, and are large, no matter what his size 

 and appearance were, I should be quite certain he had a cross 

 somewhere. I consider size and shape before colour, and the 

 purest dogs of old time had little white upon them the less the 

 better on the feet and legs ; but colour is always a superficial 

 matter, and can always be regulated as the breeder chooses. Size 

 and FORM, especially combining strength and great speed, are far 

 more difficult to obtain.' 



I can commend every word of the foregoing to the careful 

 consideration of every admirer of the Deerhound, especially those 

 with regard to the ear, as close observation has convinced me of 

 their perfect truth, as I have invariably noticed, in those strains 

 which have been notoriously crossed within a recent period, that, 

 though they might pass muster in other respects, they had large, 

 heavy, hanging ears. 



As regards the size required in the Deerhound for work in the 

 Highlands, there seems to be no doubt that a dog over 3oin. at the 

 shoulder would be useless. Indeed, one authority, whose family claim 

 to have kept the purest breed in the Highlands, solely for woik, 

 for upwards of the last sixty years, puts the height at 26in. up to 

 28in. He says : * Larger dogs may be good enough for racing, 

 but for hard work, so far as my experience has gone, I always found 

 an ordinary sized dog do his work much better.' 



The following opinions of the two greatest authorities that could 

 be produced, Lochiel and Horatio Ross, Esq., must convince even 

 those who, by their arguments and aims, seem to think that the 

 Deerhound can never be too large for his work. The former 

 observes : ' Personally, I do not like dogs over 3oin., and prefer 

 them between 28in. and 3oin. They get too coarse at a great 

 height, and quite useless for real work. Great size too often depends 

 on feeding, and if thus produced gives a coarse and soft dog, quite 

 unsuited lor the purpose for which he is intended.' The latter states, 

 that for deerstalking a height of ' 28in. to join, is ample. A very 

 large dog is never a good dog; he gets beat going up hill.' What 

 is the use of theory against opinions like these ? 



The late Lieut.-Colonel Inge, who for many years possessed one 

 of the most extensive deer forests in Scotland, and whose kennel of 



