The Dog Family 



107 



journeys through cross-country roads accompanied by one or more of them, and never 

 knew them miss me, even on the darkest night or in the crowded streets of a large town. 

 The favourite colour is pigeon-blue, with white collar and markings. The coat should be 

 straight and hard in texture. The illustration is from a portrait of one of the best bitches 

 ever shown, belonging to Sir H. de Trafford. 



DALMATIANS are always white, with black, liver, or lemon spots, the size of a shilling or 

 less, evenly distributed over the body, head, ears, and even tail, and pure, without mixture 

 of white. There is much of the pointer about this variety, which has long been used for 

 sporting purposes on the continent of Europe. I can testify to their many good qualities 

 as companions and house-dogs. To quote again from the article above mentioned : " It is 

 commonly believed that the spotted carriage-dogs once so frequently kept in England were 



BULL-DOGS. 



The photograph is remarkably good and characteristic of this variety. 



[Baker Street. 



about the most useless creatures of the dog kind, maintained only for show and fashion. 

 This is a mistake. They were used at a time when a travelling-carriage carried, besides its 

 owners, a large amount of valuable property, and the dog watched the carriage at night 

 when the owners were sleeping at country inns. We feel we owe an apology to the race of 

 carriage-dogs. . . . While this dog is becoming extinct, in spite of his useful qualities, other breeds 

 are invading spheres of work in which they had formerly no part." There is only one point in 

 which I differ from the above, and that is contained in the last sentence. There are a number 

 of enthusiastic breeders very keen on reviving interest in this variety, and I have during the last 

 few years had large entries to judge, so that we shall probably see more of them in the future. 



POODLES are of many sizes and colours. They are very intelligent, easily taught tricks, 

 and much used as performing dogs. They have various kinds of coats : corded, in which 

 the hair hangs in long strands or ringlets ; curly, with a profusion of short curls all over 



