The Otter Hound. 171 



fawn, and yellow or fawn and white hounds are like- 

 wise good old colours, and, as I have said, black and 

 tan is not amiss, with, maybe, w^hite on the breast 

 and feet ; but black tan and white in patches is not 

 nice on an otter hound, however gaudy it may be on 

 others of the race. I have also seen one or two 

 almost white hounds, but never one of the latter 

 W'ith the correct coat, which should be hard and 

 crisp and close, as water and w^eather resisting as 

 possible, and not too long. Often the long coats 

 incline to an indication of silkiness in texture, which, 

 however, is preferable to a soft, woolly jacket. In 

 build an otter hound should be like a foxhound, 

 strong, level, and w^ell put together, stern carried 

 gaily, feet close and particularly hard, and this is 

 even more desirable than in a foxhound, as being 

 one minute in the water and another on the hard 

 rocks and stones tries the pads very much. A big 

 foot is likely to increase the pace in sw^imming. The 

 head must be long, jaws strong and powerful, eyes 

 giving a certain sedate and intellectual appearance ; 

 thev sometimes show the haw, which is no defect. 

 Ears long and pendulous, close set, in order that 

 the water may be kept from penetrating into some 

 of the delicate internal parts. However, what an 

 otter hound ought to be the illustration preceding 

 this article will best inform the reader searching 



