THE BOB-TAILED SHEEP-DOG. 79 



SCALE OF POINTS FOR JUDGING SHEEP-DOGS. 



Head ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ic 



Chest and shoulders ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Body ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Loin and tail ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Legs and feet ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Colour ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Coat ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 



General appearance ... ... ... ... 5 



Total ... ... ... 50 



THE BOB-TAILED SHEEP-DOG. 



This variety has little in common with the Collie dog as described above, and is a rare 

 companion for people in the higher classes of society, as his homely and rugged exterior place 

 his claims to aristocratic patronage beneath those of the ordinary Collie. In appearance he 

 is of a far stouter and coarser build than his cousins, the Scotch and Welsh Sheep-dogs, and 

 his coat is usually long, shaggy, and inclined to curl. This last feature is a defect, but in this 

 variety only a minor one. His face is shaggy, if not devoid of long hair, as in the Collie, and 

 his colour is usually grizzle. The skull is round and muzzle truncated, with the couplings 

 short and square. The chief feature in the breed, however, is the almost absence of tail, which 

 is of the shortest possible dimensions. A theory has been started that this is the result of 

 constant generations of Sheep-dogs with docked tails having been bred together ; but this appears 

 incredible to us. Should this reasoning be correct, we may shortly expect to produce English 

 Terriers with ready cropped ears, or Fox-terriers and Spaniels with naturally docked tails. 

 Another theory is that this breed has been crossed with the Bull-dog, and hence the natural 

 singularity in its caudal appendage. We cannot however 'receive this suggestion with more favour 

 than the former, as so large a cross of Bull would inevitably render the dog too " hard " in mouth, 

 and give the breed a tendency to worry stock, which would be very undesirable in a drover's dog. 

 However, whatever may be the reason for this development, the variety exists, and, as a working 

 dog, has no superior. 



Mr. R. J. Lloyd Price, of Rhiwlas, has owned some of the best specimens we have seen, his 

 old Bob being a very large prize-winner at our shows. He says of them that " They come 

 principally from the Lake Country, and are not adapted for penning or driving, but are best 

 for escorting sheep along the roads, where they often show their cleverness by running over 

 the backs of a closely-packed flock of sheep, and getting in front to turn them, when they 

 cannot pass by the side. They are even better adapted for rough wear and tear than the long- 

 haired sort, their coat being of a sort of door-mat texture. The bob-tail I believe to have arisen 

 from the fact that a tax used to be imposed on all dogs with a tail, and a long course of breeding 

 from dogs with the tails cut off has produced these results." It will be seen from the latter 

 remarks that Mr. Price has faith in the theory given above, though we cannot admit our own 

 is very great. His allusion, too, to the bob-tailed dog running over the backs of sheep has, 

 to a certain extent, surprised us. We know the practice is a common one amongst Sheep- 

 dogs, but should have considered the breed in question of too heavy a build to resort to such 

 means of heading his sheep. 



The original type of the bob-tailed Sheep-dog is uncertain. The best we have met with 



