136 The Fox Terrier. 



preserved to the detriment of what I may term that breed's 

 original form and character. We do not want to improve 

 a variety ' off the face of the earth,' and I sincerely 

 hope that, of fox terriers, a later race of owners may be 

 able to say that wisdom has been shown in the present 

 day by breeders sticking to working characteristics as 

 the leading essentials of their favourite dog. By working 

 characteristics I mean those desirable qualities which 

 every competent hound judge would lay most stress 

 upon in selecting his entry from amongst his puppies. 

 Still it must be borne in mind that in hounds more 

 freedom in elbows is required than most judges of fox 

 terriers would approve ; and hounds with the very best, 

 most orthodox, feet will let their toes down ; as this, in 

 my experience, rarely happens with terriers, there seems 

 no need to endeavour to obtain the hounds' formation 

 of foot for terriers, and risk loss of terrier type in so 

 doing. 



" A dog show is too much of a beauty show, and as such, 

 handsomeness and quality, when in conjunction with the 

 essential points of make, shape, bone, and coat, must take 

 precedence over what may be a first-rate workman — a 

 workman does not necessarily require to be a beauty. As 

 shows are held more with the view to breeding high-class, 

 thoroughbred stock than actual workers, I have always con- 

 sidered that a little license as regards size on the show 

 bench is admissible — in fact advisable. The dogs that 

 appear a size large in show condition, in work with hounds 

 become greatly reduced — those which stand the work best 

 train fine. With the use of some of our best full-sized 

 winning show dogs as sires, my experience has been that 

 more young terriers have had to be drafted for being too 



