66 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



found in Moldau, a dog imported by Mr. Richard Lord from Hanover. In frame this dog is a 

 grand specimen, but he is blemished by showing white on his feet and chest. We may, however, 

 with marked advantage exchange blood with our American friends, if, as we are informed, 

 fine specimens exist in the United States, where dog shows are now popular, and this breed 

 is being carefully cultivated. 



Mr. William Coats, of North Shields, one of the most successful breeders of this variety, 

 and certainly an ardent admirer of the Newfoundland, has kindly supplied us with the following 

 notes on breeding this class of dog : 



" In breeding I must have a powerfully well-built bitch, with plenty of bone and a good 

 coat. Her ears must sit close to her head, which was the characteristic of Leo's mother. 

 His father I did not like so well : he was a great lanky dog, but had a very grand head. 

 Whilst on the subject of colour, I can truly say that I have never seen a pure-bred New- 

 foundland with a y^-black coat. I have made the acquaintance of some pretty dogs which 

 have been jet-black ; but the veriest mongrel has generally the blackest coat. Under any 

 circumstances the coat must be flat and straight. As to size if you ask any practical breeder 

 of Newfoundlands what he thinks of your puppy, he will almost invariably say in his criticism, 

 'he doubts whether he is going to be big enough.' Some writers endeavour to write down 

 all large Newfoundlands, simply because they are ignorant of what the breed should be, or are 

 interested in the success of mongrels who are not big. 



"With respect to breeding, I do not hold with some authorities in their respect for in-breeding. 

 When I have not a dog of my own sufficiently far removed in blood, I always seek the most 

 powerfully-built dog of the breed I can find elsewhere. The strains I like best are those of 

 Robinson's Carlo, and Windle's Don ; and these have provided most of the blood on the dog's 

 side which I now possess. I always try to produce them as big as I can in stature and bone, 

 with a head and tail resembling those painted by Landseer. 



"As regards my experience of the habits and temperament of the breed, I can safely say 

 that I have never had a bad or cross-tempered one ; all have been of the most docile character. 

 All Newfoundlands love water, and take to it naturally. Living, as I do, near the sea, my 

 dogs have every opportunity of obeying their natural instinct. When they were missing we 

 generally found them at the sea or river side, or _else they came home dripping wet, their 

 jackets telling where they had been." 



To Mr. T. Loader Browne, of Chard, we are indebted for the following valuable notes, which 

 his position as an authority renders highly interesting : 



" No doubt there is a great difficulty in breeding dogs up to anything like a perfect 

 standard ; and I think this is particularly the case with Newfoundlands, where size is a leading 

 feature. It is comparatively easy to breed tolerably perfect small dogs ; but he is fortunate who 

 obtains one first-class large one out of thirty. My idea of a Newfoundland is that he cannot be 

 too large in size, if he be symmetrical ; but I would not sacrifice any recognised point to size, 

 much less favour a long-backed, weak-loined animal that cannot turn quickly in the water. My 

 reason for advocating large size is that, viewing him as a water dog, capable of saving life, his 

 extra size and proportionate strength give him greater facility in buoying up and landing a 

 drowning person. Any one, in such a case, would rather see a very large dog, say 33 inches 

 at the shoulder, coming to his rescue, than a smaller one of 27 inches. Also, he makes a nobler 



