CHAPTER XLV 

 THE WELSH TERRIER 



ALTHOUGH to many readers it may not be known, it is nevertheless 

 a fact that our Welsh neighbours are very keen dog-fanciers. The 

 writer, having both shown and judged on many occasions in the 

 Principality, can truthfully say that he does not remember anywhere 

 to have seen such excitement and enthusiasm as at some of the 

 Welsh shows. Nor do they allow their enthusiasm to run riot 

 when they claim this dog as of Wales originally ; for notwithstanding 

 the fact that some of the most noteworthy specimens have been 

 bred in England, there are fanciers who remember them in the 

 Principality long ere they were taken up here. 



It will be well within the memory of many of the older fanciers 

 when classes were first provided for the national Terrier of Wales 

 at some of the shows. It was somewhere about 1884, as none of 

 them are registered in the Kennel Club Stud Books until Vol. XIIL, 

 published in 1886, and that contains those registered in 1885. 

 They were but six in number. Many hundreds have appeared in 

 subsequent volumes, and there are few varieties of the great Terrier 

 family that have made such advances in uniformity of type and 

 quality since that period. 



The Welsh Terrier may be said to have a good deal of the 

 general appearance of a Wire-haired Fox-terrier, but is rather shorter 

 and broader in head, with small drop ears, and in colour almost 

 invariably shades of black or dark grizzle on head and the upper 

 parts of body and tail, with the muzzle, chest, rest of the body, legs, 

 and feet marked with tan, more or less hound-like in shade. 



Welsh Terriers make bright, cheerful companions and sharp house- 

 dogs, and they are able and willing to do any work required of them 

 as Terriers, being very active and fond of sport. Their size and 

 character make them suitable for house, stable, or kennel, and they 

 deservedly enjoy a great deal of popularity both in and out of their 

 native land. 



Amongst early supporters of the variety may be mentioned 

 Mr. C. H. Beck (Macclesfield), Mr. F. H. Field (Oxford), Mr. W. 

 A. Drew and Colonel Savage (both of Bangor), Messrs. E. Buckley, 



