THE FOX-TERRIER 435 



coachman or keeper put a bitch to him, and Old Trap resulted ; 

 he also remembers seeing about Leicester lots of Terriers with the 

 distinctive type of head characteristic of Hitchcock's dog's progeny." 

 As, however, an endeavour is made in the Fox-terrier Stud Book to 

 make the descent of our present dogs clearer than can well be done 

 by running comment, we need quote no further. 



Passing from the necessarily brief account of the history of 

 the variety, we come to the consideration of the dog as we find 

 him at the present day. And in doing so we take in the standard 

 which the Fox-terrier Club has laid down. Such standards are, 

 of course, excellent guides, but they must not be taken too literally. 

 The fact is, in every case they are more or less idealised, and 

 the fancier who expects to find a dog agreeing absolutely in every 

 detail is certain to be disappointed. Approximately, of course, 

 all standards are reached, but perfection has yet to be attained 

 by any breed. Considerable care has been taken from time to 

 time by the Fox-terrier Club in respect of its standard, to render 

 it free from what may be termed technicalities and the jargon of 

 the kennel. There are, however, one or two points which to novices 

 may require further explanation than can be expected in a standard 

 proper, and these^we propose to notice as we proceed. 



Head. The skull should be flat and moderately narrow ; broader between 

 the ears, and gradually decreasing in width to the eyes. Not much "stop" 

 should be apparent ; but there should be more dip in the profile, between the 

 forehead and top jaw, than is seen in the case of a Greyhound. The ears should 

 be V-shaped, and rather small ; of moderate thickness, and dropping forward 

 closely to the cheek, not hanging by the side of the head, like a Foxhound's. 

 The jaw should be strong and muscular, but not too full in the cheek ; it should 

 be of fair punishing length, but not so as in any way to resemble the Greyhound's 

 or modern English Terrier's. There should not be much falling away below the 

 eyes ; this part of the head should, however, be moderately chiselled out, so as 

 not to go down in a straight slope like a wedge. The nose, towards which the 

 muzzle must slightly taper, should be black. The eyes should be dark-rimmed, 

 small, and rather deep set ; full of fire and life. The teeth should be level and 

 strong. 



Length of head is esteemed so highly in the Fox-terrier 

 that some may wonder that no mention of it is made by the Club 

 in dealing with the head. The reason is pretty obvious to the 

 fancier. The point must not be considered alone ; it is, or should 

 be, a relative one. It would not do for the Club to set down an 

 arbitrary length of head for the fancier to breed to. Such would 

 only lead him astray ; for in his endeavours to produce the extra 

 long head he would most certainly produce an unsymmetrical whole, 

 or maybe a head altogether lacking in shapeliness. Nevertheless, 

 there is a tendency on the part of faddist judges to favour an extra 

 long head, at the expense of more desirable all-round qualities. 

 The craze for a long head, however, is no modern innovation, but 

 dates back at least to the days of Old Trap. 



