250 DOGS AND ALL ABOUT THEM 



dangerous work. It is only of late years that dogs have been 

 bred for show. The so-called ' Scottish ' Terrier, which at 

 present rules the roost, dates from 1879 as a show dog. 



" I therefore earnestly hope that no fancy will arise about 

 these dogs which will make them less hardy, less wise, less 

 companionable, less active, or less desperate fighters under- 

 ground than they are at present. A young dog that I gave to a 

 keeper got its stomach torn open in a fight. It came out of 

 the cairn to its master to be helped. He put the entrails 

 back to the best of his ability, and then the dog slipped out 

 of his hands to finish the fight, and forced the fox out into the 

 open ! That is the spirit of the breed ; but, alas, that cannot 

 be exhibited on the show bench. They do say that a keeper 

 of mine, when chaffed by the ' fancy ' about the baby faces 

 of his ' lot,' was driven to ask, ' Well, can any of you gentle- 

 men oblige me with a cat, and I'll show you ? ' I did not 

 hear him say it, so it may only be a tale. 



" Anyhow, I have in my kennel a dog who, at ten months old, 

 met a vixen fox as she was bolting out of her cairn, and he at 

 once caught her by the throat, stuck to her till the pack came 

 up, and then on till she was killed. In the course of one 

 month his wounds were healed, and he had two other classical 

 fights, one with a cat and the other with a dog fox. Not bad 

 for a pup with a ' baby face ? ' 



" I trust my readers understand that the West Highland 

 White Terriers are not White Aberdeens, not a new invention, 

 but have a most respectable ancestry of their own. I add the 

 formal list of points, but this is the work of show bench 

 experts and it will be seen from what I have written that I 

 do not agree with them on certain particulars. There should 

 be feather to a fair degree on the tail, but if experts will not 

 allow it, put rosin on your hands and pull the hair out and 

 the rosin will win your prize. The eye should not be sunk, 

 which gives the sulky look of the ' Scotch ' Terrier, but should 

 be full and bright, and the expression friendly and confiding. 

 The skull should not be narrow anywhere. It is almost 



