The Dandie Dinmont Terrier. 291 



other varieties of the terrier. His long body and 

 short legs enable him to carry a considerable amount 

 of street dirt into the house when he is made a part 

 and parcel of the family. Otherwise he is a good 

 family quadruped, being fond of children and 

 amiable in his disposition. To my mind, he is not 

 so useful as an assistant to hounds as a fox terrier, 

 or as a longer-legged, more active dog. Nor is he 

 fast enough for rabbit coursing. The latter is, no 

 doubt, an advantage to them from a moral point of 

 view, because coursing matches with bagged rabbits 

 are not likely to be made in his favour, as is unfor- 

 tunately the case with the modern fox terrier. The 

 Dandie Dinmont, a hard bitten, determined terrier, 

 is liable to kill his fox underground, if he can get to 

 him, rather than drive him into the open, nor is he 

 of that form likely to make him an active water 

 dog, though fond enough of a swim. He is quaint 

 in appearance, by no means unornamental on the 

 hearthrug before the dining-room fire, and will repay 

 in affection for anything that he eats when kept as 

 a dog in the house. 



No better dog as a " friend " could possibly have 

 been than the writer's Sir Douglas, alluded to 

 earlier on. Often the companion of my fishing 

 excursions, he knew when to hunt rats and when 

 not to do so. He struck up an acquaintance with a 



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