66 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



A Difficult Ff.at which 

 REQUIRES Loxci Practice 



Circus Training 



suffice to take 

 him by the two 

 front paws and 

 make him walk 

 backward on 

 his hind paws. 

 That will cure 

 him of his de- 

 sire to leap upon 

 you in future. 



XIV. Bench 

 Shows and 



Co.MPETITIONS 



Bench shows, 

 which are really 

 a subdivision of 

 six)rt with dogs, 

 are among the 

 most important 

 things for a 

 breeder. That 

 which attracts 

 or ought to at- 

 tract thither 



the amateur 

 breeder is not 

 so much the 

 chance of car- 

 rying off prizes 

 as the honor 

 and satisfaction 

 of seeing them 

 won b)' animals 

 he has bred 

 himself. 



The first 

 canine bench 

 show took place 

 in 1859 at New- 

 cast 1 e - u p o n - 

 T3ne. Although 

 f)nly pnin ters 

 and setters were 

 shown, it was 

 an exhibition 

 very superior 

 ti> the dog sales 

 hitherto organized by dealers at the inns, where 

 visitors (mostly coachmen) did business and 

 drank brandy together. In i S60 the great bench 

 show at Birmingham took place ; this was fol- 

 lowed by many others, not very large ones, it 

 is true, but held under the stern control of the 

 English Kennel Club and the best known ex- 

 perts, who now make a business of it and form 

 the jury of awards. The great English bench 

 shows — those of the said club, for instance — 

 last three days and are attended by thousands 

 of paying visitors, who can thus review from 

 one thousand to fifteen hundred dogs. 



In France the first bench show took place 

 in May, 1863, at the Jardin des Plantes. 

 The committee was formed of the members 

 of the Jockey Club, and the cost of the show 

 was paid by subsidies from the railways, the 

 city of Paris, and Baron Rothschild. The prizes 

 given amounted to three thousand dollars, 

 which was certainly a good send-off. Later 

 there were several shows eveiy year. Those 

 which are now held in France, usually lasting 

 three days and devoted to different races of 

 dogs, are considered among the best. The 



