British Dogs at Work 



are frequently arising in the press of a 

 more or less animated, if not acrimonious 

 nature. In defence of showing it may be 

 claimed at any rate that some varieties 

 would in all probability have become extinct 

 if it were not for the stimulus supplied by 

 competition. This remark would have been 

 unnecessary if as much devotion to breeding 

 on correct lines had been brought to bear 

 upon all sporting breeds as has been shown 

 in the case of the foxhound, a hound that 

 has been propagated with the greatest care 

 and intelligence for well over a century, with 

 the result that we have about as perfect 

 and breedy looking an animal as can be 

 wished. You have but to look at a fox- 

 hound to know that he has been bred with 

 scrupulous care for many generations, while, 

 on the other hand, many so-called working 

 dogs of other breeds show signs of deteriora- 

 tion and degeneracy. It is a common 

 thing to hear men say they are going to 

 judge a certain breed upon "hound lines/' 



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