266 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



from a vessel bound from Newfoundland to 

 England and wrecked on the shores of 

 Chesapeake Bay, and that a cross with a 

 common yellow and tan coloured hound 

 or coon dog produced the liver or " sedge " 

 colour of the true Chesapeake Bay Retriever. 

 It is not a particularly handsome dog, but 

 for its purpose it is an excellent worker. The 

 chief characteristic which distinguishes it 

 from a very ordinary wavy-coated English 

 Retriever is that of colour. There is a 

 Chesapeake Bay Dog Club with head- 

 quarters in Baltimore, whose official stan- 

 dard of points is as follows : — 



i. General Appearance. — A symmetrical and 

 well-built dog, fit for duck-shooting. 



2. Head. — Broad, running to nose only a trifle 

 pointed, but not at all sharp ; face covered with 

 very short hair. 



3. Eyes. — Of a yellow colour; lively and intelli- 

 gent in expression. 



4. Ears. — Small, placed well on the head. 



5. Neck. — Should be only moderately long, 

 and with a firm, strong appearance. 



6. Shoulders. — Should have full liberty, with 

 plenty of show for power and no tendency to 

 restriction of movement. 



7. Chest. — Strong and deep. 



8. Hind Quarters. — Should show fully as much, 

 if not more power than the fore quarters. Any 

 tendency to weakness must be avoided. 



9. Legs. — Rather short, showing both bone 

 and muscle ; fore-legs rather straight and sym. 

 metrical ; elbows well let down and set straight. 



10. Feet. — Of good size and well webbed. 



11. Tail. — Stout, somewhat long, the straighter 

 the better, and showing only moderate feather. 



12. Coat. — Short and thick, somewhat coarse, 



with tendency to wave over shoulders, back and 

 loins, where it is longest, nowhere over ij inches 

 to i£ inches long; that on flanks, legs and belly 

 shorter, tapering to quite short near the feet. 

 Under all this is a short woolly fur, which should 

 well cover the skin, and can be readily observed 

 by pressing aside the outer coat. This coat pre- 

 serves the dog from the effects of the wet and 

 cold, and enables him to stand severe exposure 

 and is conducive to speed in swimming. 



13. Colour. — Nearly resembling wet sedge grass 

 or discoloured coat of a buffalo, though toward 

 spring it becomes lighter by exposure to weather. 

 A small white spot or frill on the breast is admis- 

 sible. 



14. Height at Shoulder. — About 24 inches. 



15. Weight. — Dogs from 60 lb. to 70 lb. ; 

 bitches from 45 lb. to 55 lb. 



The Norfolk Retriever. — There is a 

 coarse, liver - coloured dog, sometimes to 

 be seen in the marshy districts of East 

 Anglia, which some people claim as a dis- 

 tinct breed, meriting the name of the 

 Norfolk Retriever. The coat is curly, 

 the neck long, the legs are muscular, and 

 the feet webbed. The ears are large, 

 with a considerable amount of feather. 

 Some specimens almost resemble the Irish 

 Water Spaniel, or a cross between that 

 breed and the curly-coated Retriever. They 

 are often used for fowling on the Broads, 

 and are good water dogs. It is perha] s 

 necessary to mention him, but he may 

 nevertheless be dismissed as a decided 

 mongrel. 



Photograph by C Kcul, II is) 101, 



